Mary Dow was the elder of two sisters of Herbert H. Dow. She was born in Derby, Conn., on Aug. 19, 1868. She attended Cleveland's Central High School. In June 1888, Mary Dow earned a two year library science certificate from the the Normal Training School in Cleveland. She then worked at the Carnegie libraries in Cleveland. In 1898 Mary moved to Midland, where she cared for her parents and worked at the Midland Free Reading Room. Dow served as the acting librarian at Central State Teachers' College, now Central Michigan University (CMU), 1924-1928. After the library fire which destroyed all but 17 books, she restocked the library and planned and oversaw the building of the new library in 1928. The Periodical Reading Room in the new Park Library at CMU is named for her. She died on July 19, 1953. (Information from the collection.).
From the description of Collection, 1898,2000. (Clarke Historical Library). WorldCat record id: 49763104
