Mary Steele Thompson
Public Services Librarian
John R. Dover Memorial Library
P.O. Box 836
Boiling Springs, NC 28017
Office: 704-406-4294
Mary S. Thompson is the Public Services Librarian of the John R. Dover Memorial Library and serves as the library liaison to the School of Divinity, the School of Psychology and Counseling, and the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy. She is also a style reader for Gardner-Webb Doctor of Ministry projects.
Mary came to Gardner-Webb University in 1998 from Anson Community College (now South Piedmont Community College) in Polkton, North Carolina, where she was the Librarian, the Chief GED Examiner, and the advisor to Phi Theta Kappa, the national academic honor society of the two-year college. In her 13 years as the Chief GED Examiner, Mary tested and held individual consultation sessions, not only for students on the college campus, but also for inmates at the Anson Correctional Center and the Brown Creek Correctional Institution.
Mary completed her Associate of Arts degree from Brevard College in Brevard, NC, her Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Education from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC, her Master of Church and Community degree from Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, TN, and her Master of Library Science degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Library and Information Sciences in Durham, NC. During her 24 years of working full-time in academic librarianship for Anson and Gardner-Webb, Mary has served in the capacities of Assistant Librarian, Librarian, Acting Director, and Public Services Librarian. She was appointed by Governor James B. Hunt to serve on the Community Resource Council for Anson Correctional Center, an appointment she served for many years before coming to Gardner-Webb. In 1996 Mary was nominated and selected for recognition at the first North Carolina Library Association Leadership Institute.
Prior to becoming a librarian, Mary served as the Director of Christian Education at First United Methodist Church in Wellington, KS, at Central United Methodist Church in Mooresville, NC, and at First United Methodist Church in Wadesboro, NC. In addition to serving as accompanist, she has also directed children, youth and adult choirs, as well as, organizing and directing handbell choirs for youth and adults. Mary frequently sings with Gardner-Webb’s Choral Union, plays with the University’s handbell choir, and has sung with the award-winning Carolina Style Chorus of Sweet Adelines International. Mary is currently the pianist at Cliffside United Methodist Church in Cliffside, NC. She has one daughter who is a student at Pfeiffer University.