Montclair Library Worker’s ‘Passion’ For The Job Earns Him An Award

MONTCLAIR, NJ — “Dedication, innovation and passion.” These are the traits that recently earned Thomas Hoesly, a Montclair Public Library employee, a nod as the recipient of the 2024 Margery Quigley Award.

According to the Montclair Public Library Foundation (MPLF), the annual award is given to a staff member who has demonstrated the same dedication, innovation and passion as Margery Closey Quigley – the library’s longest serving director.

The MPLF credited Quigley, who served from 1927 to 1956, was a “forward thinker” who helped the library to innovate and become more responsive to the community’s needs.

And Hoesly, the library’s head of borrower services, deserves a tip of the cap in her name, the foundation said.

Here’s what Hosely’s peers had to say about him:

• “Tom's dedication to and passion for librarianship is illustrated daily in his quietly powerful commitment to patrons and pedagogy. He is calm under pressure, a veritable font of information, an attentive listener, and an astute observer. Patrons and staff alike feel very confident that they are in good hands when being helped by and/or working with Tom.”
• “Tom is able to adapt to changes being made in the library very quickly and that is an admirable trait of his. His adaptability is part of what keeps the circulation department running smoothly.”
• “Tom is always willing to take on extra things such as lending a helping hand to staff when we're short-staffed or on collaborating. His dedication to Pokemon Club is amazing, and his interactions with the teens and kids that attend really shows how he cares for building community.”
• “Tom is very receptive to ideas and supports his crew. I love having him as a boss. I would say he is one of the best bosses I've ever had!”

Hoesly received the surprise award at a staff appreciation breakfast reception held in May.

The Margery Quigley Award has been organized and sponsored annually by the Montclair Public Library Foundation since 2021.

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