GROVELAND - Marianne "Mim" Burbridge says she will miss the little children she has watched walk through the library's door the last 30 years who get excited when they find that special book.
On Monday, friends and staffers of the Langley-Adams Library will hold an open house for the library director, who has served Groveland's library patrons for the past 30 years. The open house will toast Burbridge's career with light refreshments. The public is welcome to stop by from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
"I've never regretted it for one day. What better job to have when you love books - and this place is full of books," Burbridge said.
Ten-year-old Max Walsh of Groveland found Burbridge always helpful. She recently "took out extra time to help me look for books," Max said. "She really had to dig for them," he said of what happened after he approached her and asked her if the library had books on learning how to play a saxophone. Burbridge remembered Max by name and even asked about him and his books a couple of days later, said Alice Walsh, Max's mom, who agreed that Burbridge and the library staff have always been helpful.
Burbridge's love of books started when she was a girl living in Somerville. She recalls being 8 or 9 years old and sneaking her father's strong police officer flashlight. Her late parents, Thomas and Eleanor Hall, would find her off in a corner reading or at night under the covers where she would be using her father's flashlight. Her father would eventually buy her one of her own, so he would be sure to have his when he walked the beat as a police officer in Somerville.
Burbridge volunteered at the Somerville Public Library as a teenager and then got a job as a junior assistant at the front desk.
For the past 37 years, Groveland has been home to Burbridge; her husband of 45 years, Fred; and their two sons.
In 1970, Burbridge volunteered again, this time at the Langley-Adams Library's former location, and loved it. Opportunity knocked, and she became the library director.
Burbridge said she was proud of the many goals realized during her time as director.
"It has grown and evolved from the little building on the hill where patrons wrote their names on the book cards as a check-out system to a fully automated member of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium," she said. "This was accomplished through the years with the assistance of many dedicated and hard-working staff members, volunteers and the support of trustees, friends of the library and townspeople."
Burbridge's last day on the job will be Oct. 12. Her official retirement date is Nov. 15.
