Helen Eagle Glannon, Adult Services Librarian at the Bryant Library from 1946 until 1980, died Feb. 3, 2003, at the Fairlawn Nursing Home in Lexington, Massachusetts. She was 92 years old.

Helen continued the tradition established by William Cullen Bryant who started the library not only as a center for books, but also as a community center. Helen originated groups for New Americans, for Retired Executives and Professionals, and for Widows and Widowers. The Great Books Groups Helen brought to the library were extremely popular, along with her Provocative Books of the 20th Century series.

A typical list of semester courses might include Book Collecting for Fun and Profit, Writing Workshop, Man Does Not Invest in Stocks Alone, Science for the Unscientific, and Enjoying Our History Through Its Music. She also spearheaded Junior Great Books, and children's theater and story hour programs, presented at the library and out in the community at Laurel Homes.

Helen home delivered books to shut-ins, always believing in being a good neighbor. An outstanding writer who contributed many articles to The Roslyn News about library events and people she knew through the library, Helen was also a delightful speaker, described in a Roslyn News article celebrating the library's centennial as having "stolen the show" with her "Will Rogers-like remarks."

One of her greatest contributions to the library and community was building and organizing the Bryant Library's Grist Mill Collection of local history materials. She pioneered projects making audiotapes of local people important to Roslyn's history.

"Whether it's a book, a babysitter, a job or even a husband, Helen has been known to find it for you," said long-time friend Mary Kaufmann at a celebration in 1967 to thank Helen for all she had done for the community, attended by over 200 people.

"I feel like a naughty child who should have been spanked and instead was given a lollipop," Helen wrote in a thank you letter in The Roslyn News in response to the party, explaining that she had always done just what she enjoyed.

Helen's innovative spirit and her friendliness may have come from her pioneer heritage. Born in St. Anthony, Idaho, on September 25, 1910, Helen was the daughter of Samuel and Ida Eagle who opened a business in West Yellowstone, Montana, when the Union Pacific Railroad went through. Helen grew up among two sisters and seven brothers.

After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree from Montana State University in Bozeman, she worked at the college library, and then went on to get her Library Science degree from Columbia University in 1935. While studying there, she lived at International House where she made lasting friendships.

She married Edward Glannon, an artist and art teacher, in 1938. Helen worked at the Newark Public Library before she and Eddie and their three children moved to Roslyn in 1946, and Helen began her tenure at the Bryant Library.

Helen had many friends throughout her life. She enjoyed doing community projects with them and inviting them to dinner. An evening with the Glannons featured conversation by the fireplace, Helen's wonderful cooking and a show of Eddie's paintings of the American land.

At her retirement party in 1981 when the community room at the Bryant Library was named the Helen Glannon Meeting Room, Helen said that for her going to work was like going to a party every day. She was described as a "woman who never understood obstacles," and "a librarian who brought the warmth of her own home to the library."

Helen moved to Country Club Heights, a retirement community, in Woburn, Massachusetts, following her husband's death in 1992. She continued to make friends there and at Fairlawn Nursing Home where she lived for seven years.

She is survived by two sons, Thomas and his wife Claudia Buckholts of Somerville, Massachusetts, Joseph and his wife Annie of Acton, Massachusetts, and a daughter, Patricia Wiley and her husband Kenneth of Saranac Lake, New York, four grandchildren, two sisters and three brothers. A private memorial service will be held in March.