Mary K. Spore-Alhadef Honored for Contributions to Library Sciences

    PALO ALTO, CA April 27, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Mary K. Spore-Alhadef has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

An esteemed librarian who has consistently dedicated herself to her community and various institutions of knowledge over the years, Ms. Spore-Alhadef's professional path began in her native city of Boston, Massachusetts, where she would later pursue a higher education at Boston College. Presented with the option of attending the School of Nursing or the School of Education, as they were the only academic subsections of the college willing to accept female students, she would graduate in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science and a desire to become a history teacher. She would subsequently conclude her academic endeavors at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, from which she earned a Master of Library Science in 1966. Soon thereafter, Ms. Spore-Alhadef accepted a position as an assistant to the director of libraries at her undergraduate alma mater from 1966 to 1968.

Ms. Spore-Alhadef had fostered a lifelong interest in history spawning from her youth in Boston, and she was proud to continue learning and adapting at every library and college with which she was employed. In the years that followed, she refined her skills as a librarian at the Weston College School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts between 1968 and 1973. Over the course of her stellar career, Ms. Spore-Alhadef became established among her peers as a cataloger who devoted her time and attention to various programs for adult departments.

During her time at the School of Theology, Ms. Spore-Alhadef became affiliated with the American Theological Library Association in Chicago, Illinois, a membership that she maintained until 2009. After her departure from Weston College, she served at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California, as a librarian from 1973 to 1976. Ms. Spore-Alhadef later worked briefly as a reference librarian at the Graduate Theological Union Library in Berkeley, California between 1976 and 1977.

Ms. Spore-Alhadef would eventually excel in a number of capacities with the Redwood City Public Library, with which she was initially active as an audio-visual librarian from 1978 to 2006. At the beginning of this tenure, she advanced to the head of technical services shortly before an income freeze led to her being recruited to the audio-visual department, which she learned entirely by herself without any prior experience. She would further contribute to the California-based library as a general reference, local history and archives librarian between 2006 and 2019. Retiring from full-time professional efforts in 2019, Ms. Spore-Alhadef continues to dedicate herself to the Redwood City Public Library on a part-time basis as a member of the Archives and Local History Committee.

Ms. Spore-Alhadef has also found success with her written works throughout her career as well, having authored chapters for both "Redwood City: A Hometown History" and "150th Anniversary Book." In these publications, she detailed much of the interesting and peculiar history of Redwood City, including the history of local saloons, breweries, government buildings and even bordellos. She additionally highlighted some of the more jaw-dropping crimes recorded in the city limits, including a sensational bank fraud case that ended in deception and tragedy. Moreover, Ms. Spore-Alhadef has provided her wealth of expertise to professional papers in her field as well.

As a testament to her outstanding career, Ms. Spore-Alhadef was interviewed by Korean Television in 2018, which she considers as the highlight of her professional journey and her self-described "five seconds of fame." In this interview, she helped explore the history of Korea's origins and the history of the South Korean Air Force, as there had been multiple essential pictures in relation to these true tales at the Redwood City Public Library. She has likewise been profiled in such high-profile publications as Forbes, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, Ms. Spore-Alhadef has been selected for inclusion in seven editions of Who's Who in America between 2011 and 2019.

Although she had been constantly interested and engaged in her field, Ms. Spore-Alhadef was also motivated toward library sciences after facing adversity in education as she discovered many learning institutions were looking for male teachers who could double as coaches for sports programs. She is incredibly grateful for the mentorship of her parents, who encouraged her to be economically conscious so she may have a comfortable life, as well as the support of her husband, John Alhadef, who inspired her in all of her pursuits. Another important figure in Ms. Spore-Alhadef's professional development was Father Brendon Connelly, the former director of libraries at Boston College whose kindhearted and humorous personality left a wonderful impression on her.

Among the many highlights of her career, Ms. Spore-Alhadef is proud to have aided Weston College School of Theology in moving its collection from a remote location in the country to its primary location in Cambridge. To the next generation of prospective librarians, she stresses the importance of receiving an excellent education as to become as effective as possible working with patrons in a desk position where not all of the information needed will be readily available at hand. Looking toward the future, Ms. Spore-Alhadef hopes to cement her legacy as a figure in library sciences and services, who was embraced by her community as funny, kind and extraordinarily helpful.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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