Rose Boghosian and Maurine Barinek became lifelong friends after volunteering together for seven years in our Children’s Department. The two women were posthumously honored with the annual Library Award at the April 19 meeting of the Library Board of Trustees at City Hall.

Alice Boghosian and her daughter, Lydia, attended the meeting in person. Several members of Maurine Barinek’s family attended via Zoom.

Boghosian volunteered for 16 years while Barinek gave 9 years. The two women cleaned the books in the department, assembled craft kits and helped with other projects over the years, according to Library Assistant Mary Mason, who frequently worked with the women and nominated them for the award because she found the bond they formed as volunteers and friends was so inspiring.

“They would talk about all sorts of things while they worked,” Mason wrote in her nomination letter. “Sometimes the conversation would turn to politics, where they didn’t always agree, but they would just share their thoughts on the matter, listen to one another’s opinion, and maybe disagree, but with respect and kindness they would move on to another topic. I learned some life lessons from Rose and Maurine about true friendship, and accepting people as they are, even if you don’t always agree.”

Members of both families spoke about how much the two women loved volunteering at the library and how close they became through their work.

Established in 2006, the Library Award recognizes individuals and groups that have performed extraordinary service to the Library. The award recipients were selected by the Communications and Development Committee, with approval from the Library Board of Trustees.