Mary and Julia Leonard were one of three pairs of sisters who served as heads of neighborhood branches.
They both started in the New York Free Circulating Library in the 1890s and became a librarian of NYPL when it absorbed the NYFCL in 1901. Neither appears to have had any formal library training.
Julia Leonard headed three NYPL branches starting in 1908 and continuing until 1938, when she retired.
Mary Leonard became the head of the Hudson Park Branch in 1911 and served there until she retired in 1939. At Hudson Park she was hailed for her work with the Greenwich Village community, and Leonard continued to work on local housing issues even when she retired.
March 24th would be the 134th birthday of Mary Leonard.
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