Mary
Gender: Female
Age: 25-64
Race: White
Nativity: Born in US but not NCEducational Attainment:
Bachelor’s Degree
Occupation: Teacher
Travel Time to Work: 15 minutes
Internet Access in Home: Yes
Religion: Humanist
City: Raleigh
Narrative:
Reading has been a life long interest for Mary. As a very young child she remembers reading Make Way for Ducklings with her grandmother. She and Mary would go to Boston Public Gardens to see the ducks and ride the swan boats a few times each spring or summer. Perhaps it was these children’s books that sparked Mary’s interest in reading, or the fact that her father was an avid reader of newspapers and magazines. Whatever the cause, it is an interest she has carried through life. Another of Mary’s fond memories of books and reading was when she was a freshman in a Boston, MA high school. When riding the bus home she would take the most indirect way so as to stop by the local public library. It was the oldest free library in the United States. “You traveled up the wide marble stairs to Bates Hall where you were quieter than you ever were in church.” Mary said. After determining what books or reference materials she wanted, she would give a librarian a list of the books, and take a seat at one of the long oak tables, on which busts of authors were placed. One of Mary’s favorite busts was one of Voltaire. Mary’s requested books would be brought to her. Mary said, “The room smelled like books and knowledge and secrets waiting to be discovered!” Mary still loves libraries, and visits them on vacation when she gets a chance. Not only does she still carry her love for reading, but she has passed it on to her children, who have also had the experience of reading Make Way for Ducklings and visiting the Boston Public Gardens to see the little ducklings.