Mary Jo Simons stands near booksThursday at the Mars Library. For thelast two years, she has been the librarydirector.

Butler County is filled with a variety of people doing interesting things. This weekly feature offers snapshots of some of them and their interests by asking them five questions. The latest installment appears below.

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Read Across America will be celebrated March 2, but Mary Jo Simons encourages reading every day of the year as director of Mars Library.

Simons began her career as a teacher and later worked as an investment professional before signing on two years ago as library director.

Here are some other facts Simons shared about the library:

QUESTION: What makes the Mars Library stand out?ANSWER: I think that we are small enough to be a really friendly library. We can greet people personally and develop more of a personal relationship with the patrons, but we're also large enough to have a fairly sophisticated collection and a fairly sophisticated staff.

QUESTION: What should people know about libraries?ANSWER: Libraries should be about enjoyment — it can be print, or electronic or being able to come and have a conversation. A library is much more than just reference. It should be an asset to the community and that's what we're building toward here.

QUESTION: What is your greatest challenge and how do you manage?ANSWER: I think the budget is the greatest challenge right now. Many libraries have had to cut hours, cut staff, cut materials. I know for a fact that my business background prepared me for this because I've been through recessions. I knew what was coming up. ... We simply cut costs where we could, like keeping a close eye on the utilities and not being frivolous about buying things, and so far that's paid off for us.

QUESTION: How do you encourage reluctant readers of any age?ANSWER: We've started to focus more on programming because sometimes, you just need to get people in the door. Then you can say, ‘Hey have you ever looked at this? Have you tried this? What would you like me to help you with?'”

QUESTION: Why is it especially important for libraries to reach out to children?ANSWER: People don't realize how important story time is in helping a child become literate. ... Children learn to get comfortable with words: They hear words and they can see the pictures on the page. That gets them accustomed to that and they learn how it should sound. That's really the start of becoming literate and overcoming any fear of reading.