Mary Eileen Ahern

Mary Eileen Ahern (October 1, 1860 – May 22, 1938) was an American librarian, a leader of the modern library movement, and an early organizer of libraries in the United States. Throughout her career as a state librarian, journal editor, public speaker, and organizer, Ahern crusaded for the value of public libraries in educating the public. Ahern was inducted in the Library Hall of Fame in 1951, and named in American Libraries in 1999 as one of the "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century."