Atherton: Longtime library assistant checks out retirement Atherton: Longtime library assistant checks out retirement (February 25, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

Mark Marquez's childhood was right out of kids' literature.

"I was born in a boxcar. I'm one of the original boxcar children," he jokes with a husky laugh, referring to the popular series of books by Gertrude Chandler Warner. "My family's from Kansas; my dad worked for the railroad. They made boxcars into houses that you could live in, so we did," he says.

The story couldn't be more fitting. Mr. Marquez has spent the last 31 years of his life surrounded by books, working for the San Mateo County library system. The most recent 15 have been at the Atherton Library, where Mr. Marquez's broad smile and gravelly voice have become familiar to many.

As senior library assistant, Mr. Marquez, 62, has done everything from checking out books to answering reference questions. One of his favorite projects has been creating the colorful murals in the children's section, with themes such as summer reading or "Finding Nemo."

These days, though, the mural that adorns the Atherton Library's lobby has a different message. Created by one of Mr. Marquez's co-workers, it has a huge image of Mr. Marquez's face and the words "Happy Trails," letting everyone know that he is retiring. February 27 is his last day on the job, and the library will have a barbecue to mark the occasion.

True to form, Mr. Marquez will be showing a kid-pleasing movie, "Freaky Friday," on his last day. He says he's always had a special appreciation for the younger patrons.

"I love kids who love attention," he says. "When you help 'em with their homework, they just think you're 'it.'"

Passing through the library while Mr. Marquez is being interviewed by a reporter, Tony Hodges, a former Atherton resident, chimes in to say that Mr. Marquez read to his daughter when she was a child, and was a guest at her high school graduation.

"It's simply stunning what they did for her," he says of Mr. Marquez and his co-workers. "They instilled reading in her. Now she's an English major."

When Mr. Marquez began working 31 years ago at "Central," the county's main office in Belmont, the staff didn't have computers to help sort and process the books.

"We had a super-long card catalog," Mr. Marquez recalls. "It was tedious, but it was the only way we could keep track."

Mr. Marquez worked there six years, then in the East Palo Alto Library for 11.

With technology marching on, his work as a librarian was always-evolving. Mr. Marquez found that with the advent of the Internet, patrons asked fewer reference questions, but he still enjoys providing the personal touch in recommending books.

"If a patron says, 'I like this,' I keep it in mind because I know who might like it. Then I recommend it to another patron," he says. "I've never had anyone disappointed."

In retirement, Mr. Marquez hopes to pursue one of his passions, watercolor painting. He also plans to tackle many books he was too busy to finish reading, such as "Touched by Fire," a Louise Barnett biography of General Custer.

"When I have time," he says. "It's a big book."

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