CURRENT POSITION Director, Hoboken Public Library, NJ DEGREE MLS, Queens College, CUNY, 2009 FAST FACT Pu was scouted to be a Gerber baby. Her mother said no. FOLLOW Instagram: @hobokenlibrary; hobokenlibrary.org; hobokenlibrary.org/booksanctuary; linkedin.com/in/jenniepu Photo by William Neumann Photography

Force of Nature

After working in school, academic, and museum libraries, Jennie Pu landed her first public library job as Hoboken Public Library (HPL) director two and a half years ago, and has already made her mark as a champion of intellectual freedom. Skip Auld, CEO of Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD, calls her a “force of nature.”

As cochair of the New Jersey Library Association Public Policy Committee, Pu is helping advance Senate Bill 2421, the state’s first Freedom to Read legislation. She sits on the Urban Libraries Council board of directors and the American Library Association Policy Corps’ Unite Against Book Bans cadre.

Closer to home, Pu managed a $7 million renovation, eradicated library fines, and hired the first city social worker. In June 2023, HPL’s Banned Books Read-a-Thon caught the attention of conservative groups that attacked library and city officials via social media. The oppositional campaign backfired; support poured in from all corners, and the mayor read at the event.

Seeking to make a stronger statement, the HPL Board unanimously passed a resolution designating HPL a book sanctuary. The following month, Hoboken City Council followed suit, proclaiming the entire city a book sanctuary—the first New Jersey municipality to do so. Pu, who is famously generous with ideas and advice, has shared the process widely. So far 19 New Jersey libraries and four municipalities—plus Paris–Bourbon County Library, KY, and Savannah, GA—have done so as well, with more in the works.

“I’m heartened by that,” says Pu. “Every great city deserves a great public library, and that’s my ambition. I want us to be vibrant and visible and happy and inclusive.”