Agnes Griffen Papers, 1953-2006 | The American Library Association Archives

Agnes Marthe Hallanger Griffen was born in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, to Lutheran missionary parents in 1935. The family’s regularly scheduled furlough back to the United States was delayed until 1947 due to World War II. After touring Europe, the family lived in St. Paul for several years. Agnes graduated from high school in Butte, Montana. She attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, earning her Bachelor of Arts in English, cum laude, in 1957. There she worked in the school library and met and married her first husband. They moved to Whatcom County and lived on his family’s homestead. She continued her path of library work and organized the small library at Immanuel Lutheran Church in nearby Everson and volunteered at Wilson Library at Western Washington University in Bellingham. After the family moved to Seattle, Agnes earned her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Washington in 1965. She immediately began working for the King County Library System, first as area children’s librarian, then Institutional Libraries coordinator, and finally Deputy Librarian for staff and program development. She also began to contribute to the development of public libraries and librarians through writing, speaking, teaching and consulting. Her article in the Library Journal, “Social Indicators and Library Change,” (October 1, 1972), gained national attention. She would later marry her co-author. Griffen became deputy library director of the Tucson Public Library (1974 -1980), then became director of the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Public Libraries (1980-1996). She returned to Tucson as Director of the Tucson-Pima Public Library in 1997 and retired in 2003. She earned an Urban Executive Certificate in 1976 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a second from Harvard in 1993. These credentials helped her when she was appointed by and worked for elected county officials in Maryland and Arizona. She participated in civic and local government activities as well as working with Friends of the Library supporters. In 1998, Griffen testified before the US Congress at the Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Project. Griffen was a member of the American Library Association where she served on numerous boards and committees. She was also a member of the Arizona State Library Association and the Maryland Library Association. She was affiliated with the Maryland Humanities Council, the Arizona Humanities Council, the Executive Women's Council of Southern Arizona, the National Capital Area Public Access Network, and the Arizona Statewide Library Development Committee. She was the recipient of the Helping Hand Award, Maryland Association of the Deaf (1985), the Certificate of Recognition, Montgomery County Hispanic Employees Association (1985), and the Chinese American Librarians Association President’s Recognition Award (1991). She was also a personal member of REFORMA. Following her retirement, Griffen continued to live in Tucson until 2015, when she returned to the Pacific Northwest to be near family, and lived in Bellingham until her death in 2025.