Mary Agnes Boni secured the open seat on the Humboldt County Library Board at the Aug. 7 County Commission meeting. She and Brandie Pettis competed for the single open seat on the board. However, Pettis did not appear at the meeting.
Boni stated during her address to the County Commissioners that the library is very important to the community, and she wants to help continue its prominence. Boni currently works as a Contract Nutritionist at Humboldt General Hospital. She has worked for the Humboldt County Extension with 4-H, as well as serving as a Nutritionist for WIC (Women, Infants and Children). She has also held leadership roles in Girl Scouts, so she is no stranger to the importance of community involvement.
When asked about what inspired her to seek the position on the library board, she replied, “I feel that I can provide a positive contribution to the board, and now I am able to give my time and experience to help our library grow and serve the residents of Humboldt County.”
Boni emphasized the importance of teaming with other community services in order to extend the library’s outreach. “We need to make sure that all community members have access to [the library’s] services,” she said. “Therefore, involvement in the community is key.” Boni mentioned “Food for Fines,” a program allowing those with overdue library books to donate canned food in lieu of an overdue book fine. “That helps us get our books back,” she said, “while also supporting the food bank.”
Partnering with local education centers to host seminars on helpful topics such as resume writing or providing assistance to English Language Learners with filling out job applications also made her list of community outreach ideas. Programs like these would help the community see the library not only as a source for reading material, but also as a resource for personal improvement.
Boni said she looks forward to learning about other libraries’ successful programs and finding ways to “tweak” them for Humboldt County residents. She also looks forward to brainstorming ideas with the HCL director and other members of the library board “to continue to make our library the best in the state.”
“I want to help discover reasons to visit the library,” she said. “It belongs to all of us.”
