For more than 40 years, Mary Beth Sinclair has been a familiar face at the children’s desk in the Marshall-Lyon County Library. Sinclair will retiring at the end of July, and an open house is planned at the library.

MARSHALL — Mary Beth Sinclair said she’s always liked books. But children were the real reason she decided to become a librarian instead of a teacher.

“You see different kids every day,” Sinclair said. “At the school library or in school, you see the same kids every day for nine months. So, I liked the variety.”

As children’s librarian at the Marshall-Lyon County Library, Sinclair has gotten to know kids around the area. Later this month, she will be retiring after more than 40 years with MLCL. A retirement celebration for Sinclair will be held July 31 at the library.

Sinclair started her career teaching fourth grade in Gibbon, as well as serving part time as the school librarian. She went on to teach and serve as a librarian at St. Anne’s Catholic School in Wabasso. That was where, in 1982, Sinclair saw an advertisement for a children’s librarian position in Marshall.

She didn’t apply for the job right away, however.

“There was a restaurant in town, and I had promised I would manage it for the summer. So I thought, ‘Oh, I can’t apply,'” she said. But the children’s librarian position was still open by August, so Sinclair turned in her application.

“I got hired, and started September 1,” she said. “Margaret Bosshardt hired me.” Bosshardt was head librarian in Marshall from 1968 to 1998.

When Sinclair was hired, she said, “All I had was an education degree. I have a minor in library science, but back then that’s all you got, was a minor. There wasn’t anything further.”

Having a full-time children’s librarian was also something new for the MLCL when Sinclair was hired.

“I was the first one,” she said. Before then, different community members volunteered to help out with children’s programs like story hour. The children’s department had to close a couple of nights a week, due to the staffing shortage, she said.

It was “intriguing” to be the first person to be a full-time children’s librarian in Marshall, and Bosshardt made the job appealing, Sinclair said.

“It was sort of wide open, what to try and what to do,” she said. She did research, and reached out to learn from other librarians in the Plum Creek regional library system to help get ideas. But coming up with children’s programming at MLCL was “basically a blank board.”

“Parents wanted things for kids to do. The library was always busy, but there wasn’t much for programs,” Sinclair said.

It also helped that over the years, Marshall-Lyon County Library directors were supportive of trying out new children’s programs, and seeing what worked best, she said.

When she first started out as children’s librarian, Sinclair was running children’s programs in Marshall, Balaton and Cottonwood. She also went through and updated the library’s collection of children’s books.

“There was a lot of stuff that needed to be tossed, and a lot of stuff that needed to be ordered, because the collection wasn’t in the best shape,” she said.

Compared to today, there were a lot more children’s story time events being held at local libraries, and in communities like Russell. That changed along with developments in early childhood education, Sinclair said. “Sort of what happened is, first there was all-day kindergarten, so that took all the kindergarteners away. And then when they started doing all-day preschools, that took kids away too,” she said.

While the story time schedule at area libraries isn’t as intense now as it was 40 years ago, “We still get a lot of people,” Sinclair said. Local preschool and child care groups often come to the library. Recently, the library also started a system of volunteers who deliver books and do programs with children at day cares in the area.

One major change that Sinclair saw during her time with MLCL was the library’s move from its former building at the corner of Third and Lyon Streets, to a new building along C Street. Building the new library was a major undertaking – and at first, they didn’t have a separate children’s wing.

Marshall resident and businessman Robert Carr was key in funding construction of the children’s wing, Sinclair said.

“They had to cut the children’s wing when they built the original library because they didn’t have enough money,” she said. “And bless his heart, he said ‘No, the kids need a library.’ Thank goodness he did it.”

Technology has changed a lot at the library over the years, but it’s never replaced kids’ and families’ need for books, Sinclair said. “I think the one thing about the library that has remained constant is that getting books into the hands of children is better than screen time,” she said.

Working at the library has meant being part of a close group of employees, Sinclair said. One memory that stuck with her, she said, was when she got married. “All the staff was there for my wedding. They all had parts in the wedding, doing things like cutting cake,” she said.

Sinclair said it’s also been heartwarming to see generations of children visit the library with their families. “I think we’ve even gotten a fourth generation” of visitors from one family, she said.

For Sinclair, it can be sad to read about each year’s class of Marshall High School graduates. “They weren’t even born when I started here, and now, you know, they’ve grown up and moved on,” she said. But at the same time, there are still lots of new families and kids visiting the library for the first time.

After retiring, Mary Beth and her husband John plan to stay at their farm in Wood Lake. They’ll still have plenty to do – Mary Beth runs the Lyon County 4-H llama project, and has 32 animals at the farm. August is going to be a busy month, with the Lyon County fair and preparing for the Minnesota State Fair, she said.

“By the time the snow flies, we’ll be able to settle down,” she said.

While Mary Beth said she’ll miss her work at the library, “I think it’s time to pass it on to somebody else.”

A retirement open house will be held for Sinclair on July 31, during library open hours. A short presentation and refreshments will be provided at 11 a.m.