I grew up a voracious reader and library user.  My aunt was the children's librarian in our town and I was the lucky kid who sometimes got a biased placement at the top of the waiting list for new publications of favorite authors.  When I was confined to bed with some childhood illness at about age 11 or 12, I received hand-delivered copies of back issues (non-circulating to most of the public) of women's magazines that in those far-off days had serialized mystery novels by the likes of Mignon Eberhard.

    I became a librarian myself mostly because I could not quite zero in on a chosen career, however.  I went from considering an art degree (did not think I had enough talent to earn a living), to foreign languages (a vague idea of becoming a simultaneous translator at the U.N. (would never have managed that), to teaching (hated education classes), to editorial work (New York was so far away)-- well, you get the picture.  Finally, after a few years of non-challenging jobs and a BA in French, I decided to go for a library degree when my cousin started earning a nice little salary as a school librarian. 

    My first professional library job as the art and music librarian in a medium-sized city was good general experience, but I was really waiting for a children's position to open up in my area.  It soon became apparent, however, that my favorite part of the day was the morning before opening when I worked on selections or cataloging for the sound recording collection.  An ad in a local librarian journal for a newly created cataloging position in a nearby school district led me to 28 years behind the scenes.  While I often said that my cataloging professor at the UW probably turned in her grave a few times over my getting that job, it was finally a fit for me.  The original plan--a career as a children's librarian--stayed in my mind until retirement got so close that it seemed just a little bit unrealistic.  But no one has told me that I can't still be a children's writer!

Do you have a library/information science degree?    

    MLS from the University of Washington, Seattle.

What kinds of library positions have you held and where?

    Art and music librarian, Everett Public Library, Everett, Washington.
    Cataloging Librarian, Renton School District, Renton, Washington.

How long were you a librarian?    Received my M.L.S. in 1965.

Are you currently working as a librarian?  

    I am retired, but still occasionally help out with cataloging at Renton S.D.

Do you plan to continue in the profession?

    I would not turn down possible temporary jobs even though now officially retired.

Which came first in your life, your work or career as a librarian, or writing for children? 

    I did not begin seriously writing until close to retirement.

Did your library work have anything to do with becoming a children's writer?

    I do think that exposure to children's literature and the general philosophical beliefs in the importance of books and reading may have led me to writing, but I did have an interest in creative writing from at least my teenage years.  I did not seriously submit my writing in those days, though.  I may have been crushed by the first rejection from Seventeen Magazine.

Did your library work directly influence your work as an author?

    As a cataloger, I absorbed so many picture books that I think that contributed to a tendency to visualize my own ideas for stories.

Did librarianship increase your knowledge of children's literature and influence the kinds of things you chose to write?

    Absolutely.  The exposure to children's books, to professional literature, critical reviews, knowledge of children's authors and the belief in the dedication to quality that I feel exists in the children's field influences me to consider attempting only those ideas and subjects that resonate emotionally with me, or with events that I am personally familiar.  My years in the library field have given me a lot of confidence in the good intentions that still exist to give children the best, even though trends in publishing may make that more difficult now than at one time.

Did incidents from your library work ever make it into your books?    Cannot not think of any.

Did you ever set any scenes in your books in the library?

    Not yet, but I may in the future.  I have very good memories of my childhood Carnegie library.

What are the greatest benefits of being a librarian to you as a writer?

    Exposure to children's books over many years gives me a knowledge of the publishing market in general.  I also have a good idea of what subjects have been done, how they were handled, what might be a fresh approach, etc.  All those librarian conferences have put me in touch with authors, editors, publishers, as well as teachers, librarians, and booksellers who are buying.

Are there any drawbacks to being a librarian and also a writer?   

    If so, I don't see them.

If you wrote while working as as librarian, how did you manage the time-juggling act?

    When I was still working full-time, it was possible, but then I took on both a second moonlighting job and a volunteer job and put my writing on hold for a few years. This was frustrating after a serious attempt to write, but I did find that ideas still continued to germinate (when driving, sitting in waiting rooms, doing housework, etc.)- so even during that period I still found occasions to jot down quick notes or to revise stories in my file, and I continued to mentally work on writing problems.  If I did not now have the luxury of extra time because I no longer work every day, I would try to maximize those opportunities.

Did you find any conflicts or job-related difficulties in being both a writer and a librarian?

    None.  I think it is a wonderful combination.

How do your library/school administration and colleagues view your authorship?

    My former colleagues seem excited about my writing and the possibility of publication, even though it has not yet happened.  I have already been invited to read my work to some classrooms.

Do you feel that librarianship has/had specific benefits to you as a writer?

    General knowledge of and background with literature, the needs of libraries, children's tastes in reading are beneficial to someone writing in the field.  I felt that I had a head start because of my library work.

Special quote from Jean Allen:

Both [librarianship and writing] are wonderful fields to be associated with.  I have always been proud to be a librarian.  I think the profession is full of dedicated, intelligent, committed and serious professionals.  I feel the same way about
children's writers and the editors who work to bring the writing to life.  I love writing children's stories, have learned a lot in the process, have enjoyed meeting other writers and sharing ideas, and will never feel that I wasted a single minute even if I never see my own work in print.