Mary Pinkham, the children's librarian at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library for 29 years, is retiring.

Always (or almost always) upbeat, personable and outgoing, Pinkham is just the kind of person you'd want to be a program director for children — or really for anyone — in a library.

“I'm going to be 70, and it's been great, but I think a younger person would be better,” Pinkham said. “It's the kind of job where you can't show up grumpy,” she said. “You really have to be on all the time. I'm an optimistic person, but I have an evil twin. There are times when it's trying.

“But I've never, ever thought, 'Oh no, I've got to go to work.' I mean, what's not to love — children and books.”

Originally from Pemaquid, Pinkham said when she first came to Boothbay Harbor she worked for dentist Dr. Greene for 11 years as an assistant. “I used to come down to the library for my lunch hour and read magazines.”

Pinkham and her daughter, Kristi, spent a lot of time at the library when Kristi was young. “We'd come down every Saturday. I couldn't afford to buy books or magazines, so we'd come to the library and she'd pick out a book and I'd read magazines.”

Joan Greenleaf was the head librarian then. She recommended Pinkham to the board. “I had had no library training, except in school where I volunteered in the library. I loved it,” Pinkham said. She interviewed and got the job.

Pinkham said she promised the board that she'd take courses, and did. “It was a perfect fit for me. I like children and I like books, and I like learning a new skill.”

When she first came to work, there was a strict budget and Pinkham said that the people involved didn't have a long-range vision for the position. So she visited a lot of libraries. “I went to Boston, and around the state, and talked to other librarians about ideas. Then she began setting up new programs for children. “I like a party, so it came naturally.”

At that time Pinkham said a lot of mothers didn't work. “I had a wonderful group of ladies – Trish Monroe, Linda Yarmosh … the parents would come in with their kids. Every month we'd have a program we called 'Between the Stacks.' Each one had a theme. It might be about Indians, the Titanic, lots of different themes … once there were some people who had traveled to Egypt and they came in dressed in Egyptian outfits.”

Pinkham said there was one program about makeup, and she was a little nervous about how the boys would react. She needn't have worried. “The boys were into makeup even more than the girls! They loved it.”

As Pinkham said, most mothers work these days, so she isn't getting the help with programs she used to. But she has started new programs, some on a weekly basis and some one-time events. One of the new programs is a chess club. There is also a Lego club, and a program in which children read a book and then they'll watch the movie made from the book. There has been a story hour every Wednesday, where Pinkham reads to the children.

“I read to them and I always have a craft for them to do,” Pinkham said. “To reinforce the story they need to go home with something to remind them of it, so they always go home with something that they made with their own hands.”

Pinkham is also in charge of the young adults room, across the lobby from the children's room. She said she lamented the lack of stacks in there. “When they put the books around the walls, I went, 'What? No stacks? When I was in high school we used to like to steal a kiss between the rows.”

“This is a natural fit for me. It's really never been a 'job' that I hated to go to, because I love books,” Pinkham said. “I can't go to bed without a book.”

Pinkham admitted that she has little patience for parents who focus on their smart phones while their children are in her room with their children. There's a sign on her door that reads, “here is no app for your lap. Read to your children.”

“I still have a flip phone,” she said. “I can go online from my computer when I leave work.” I think a younger person would be more understanding and tolerant about that kind of thing. Everybody does it, except me.”

Pinkham and her husband of 40 years, Duane, will be spending part of their time in Florida. “I think it's time for me to retire. I wasn't ready when I was 65. But my husband wants to go to Florida. I love winter, but he hates it. So I promised him that by the time I was 70 we could go.”

The couple is buying a place in Port Charlotte. Both dog lovers, they have two, and she said it was hard finding a place that would take dogs. “A lot of places would allow one, but not two, and they had to be under 30 pounds (theirs are). We lost a couple places we liked because we forgot to check on their dog policies.

“I'm in good health and everything is fine, but I just think it's time,” she said. “I think that new people will bring new ideas and a new perspective. A normal day here takes more out of me than it used to. I feel like I should always be aware of how I'm coming across to the children. That I should always be happy and cheerful, and I usually am, but that can get a little wearing at times.”

After 29 years, Pinkham has watched a lot of local children grow up. “It's so much fun to see them change over the years,” she said. “But it makes you feel old, because a lot of them have babies now.

“It's been a wonderful ride. It's a wonderful job. I'd recommend it to anybody. I do understand that the requirements have changed, and degrees are important. But if that had been the criteria when I started I wouldn't have my job. I don't think I'm the best librarian in the world, but it's my heart. I've given it everything I have. I've tried to improve my library skills by taking courses, and I've just loved the job and the kids and the books. I don't know where a degree would have helped me. A really good person who loves children and books could do the job. It's not brain surgery.”

Library Director Tim McFadden said Pinkham will be missed.

“When I started in 2012, Mary, seeing the deer-in-the-headlight look in my eyes, took pity and kindly showed me the ropes. She has a huge, loving heart. She has dedicated herself to the children and families of our community for almost 29 years, and she's leaving a priceless legacy of literacy born of her love for children. We will all miss her very much.”

“Most of my work with the children wasn't because of any course I took. It's because I love the kids and I love the books.

“For me it was from the heart,” said Pinkham.

There will be an open house at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library all day on Friday, April 1, with goodies for anyone who'd like to drop in and say good-bye and wish Mary Pinkham bon voyage. If the mood strikes you, she'd love to see people dressed in April Fools’ attire.