Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 2, 1987
Born: c. 1931
Died: March 1, 1987
Married: Ralph Meagher
Children: David, Richard
Joyce Meagher worked as a librarian at the Saranac Lake Free Library for thirty years, twelve years as assistant librarian, and 18 years as director.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 2, 1987
Joyce Meagher, librarian, dead at 56
By SHAWN TOOLEY
ALBANY — Joyce Meagher, 56, 26 Ampersand Avenue, director of the Saranac Lake Free Library, died Sunday morning, March 1, at Albany Medical Center, following a brief illness.
A lifelong-resident of Saranac Lake, Mrs. Meagher turned an intense interest in books and reading into a 30-year career at the red brick library on Main Street.
Born in Saranac Lake, the daughter of Lewis and Hazel Monica, she is survived by her husband, Ralph; two sons, David of Pittsburgh and Richard of Merritt Island, Fla.; one grandchild and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are with Marshall W. Tebbutt's Sons, Albany.
She first came to work at the library in 1949, friends say, after previously working as a secretary for the Boy Scouts.
Although she was not formally trained in library science, Mrs. Meagher's hard work and dedication soon carried her to the position of assistant librarian, which she held for 12 years. She then became library director in 1968, and remained in that position until her death.
In December 1985, she was honored with the L. Marion Mosher-Asa Wynkoop Award at ceremonies in New York City. The award is presented annually by the Public Libraries Section of the New York Library Association to a librarian who has given distinguished service to a small community.
In nominating Mrs. Meagher for the award, Janet Decker, then president of the library's board said, "I think of her as a happy blend of the modern and the old-fashioned virtues: modern, in her efforts to keep our library up-to-date in its collections, services, programs and equipment;, old-fashioned, in her intimate knowledge of the needs and tastes of each library patron, (and) in her "indefatigable efforts to supply them."
Upon getting the award, Mrs. Meagher, described as a modest person who shunned the limelight, said, "A lot of library work is public relations ... The most important thing is making people come to the library — and making them feel welcome."
Mrs. Meagher was credited with preparing a long range plan for improving library services which helped the facility win state and federal grants to fund its most recent expansion, the 1984 two-story addition on the rear, of the building. It has a large basement storage area, access ramp and other facilities for the handicapped, and a sound-proof audiovisual room.
Mrs. Meagher never tired of even the routine aspects of running the library, her associates say. She would speak to local groups about library services, lead students on library tours and oversee a steady flow of children's story hours, adult lecture programs and rotating art exhibits. She would also train the library's many adult volunteers.
A Dec. 13, 1985, story in the Daily Enterprise noted that Mrs. Meagher would be "quick to dismiss her role in all of this. She prefers to heap praise on the library's network of volunteers rather than draw attention to herself."
Among the many organizations of which Mrs. Meagher was a member were various library associations, the Reviewers Club of Saranac Lake, The Friends of the Library, Village Improvement Society and the Adirondack Genealogical-Historical Society.
Contributions in Mrs. Meagher's memory are requested to go to the Saranac Lake Free Library.
