Amy Lawrence Boynton, 305 W Pine Street
Amy Lawrence Boynton (1897-1973) never married. Instead, she devoted herself to service in her beloved city of Lodi, most notably as head librarian for the Lodi Public Library. Amy Boynton was not the first Lodi librarian, nor the first female librarian in Lodi, but she was, without a doubt, the most devoted and longest serving.Lodi’s first permanent free library was built at 305 W Pine Street — on a lot purchased through fundraising and with a structure funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. That building is now called the Carnegie Forum and houses Lodi City Council and other committee meetings. When it opened its doors in 1910, the Lodi Carnegie Library’s first librarian was Joalison Swallow. He held that position for seven years. In 1918, Helen C. Bullock took his place and stayed for five years.In 1919, right out of high school, Amy Boynton joined the library as assistant librarian. By 1922, she had been appointed head librarian — a position she served and excelled in for the next 41 years. The Lodi Historical Society noted, “…Amy Boynton probably contributed more to the Lodi Library than any other citizen.” And Lodi historian and genealogist Naomi McCallum Carey wrote in a 1996 letter to the mayor, city councilmembers, and city clerk, “To many, she WAS the Lodi Library.”During her years as head librarian, Amy Boynton oversaw significant changes and improvements, including remodeling and expanding to add a Children’s Room, work and meeting areas and an auditorium. She was a regular speaker and active participant in many local and county civic organizations and was a delegate to the Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth in Washington, D.C. in 1950. She chaired Lodi’s efforts in the national Send Your Books to War Campaign, which sought donated books “that will tend to relieve the minds of fighting men of such serious matters as warfare…” She also headed the Gasoline Panel of the Lodi War Price and Rationing Board in 1943.Amy Boynton retired from the library in 1963 and lived her final ten years still engaged in the Lodi community. Since 1958, she has been listed in Who’s Who of American Women and was named Citizen of the Year in 1961 by the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce.