Anne T. Kent

1988

Environment

Anne T. Kent devoted her life to serving and enriching the Marin community through her enthusiastic interest and energetic participation in a variety of activities. She showed her love of the environment by donating half of Kent Island in Bolinas Lagoon to the Nature Conservancy as a wildlife refuge. A woman who loved being outdoors, she further demonstrated her environmental commitment as a founding member of the Marin Art and Garden Center, the Marin Conservation League and the Marin Garden Club. She also had an active, long-term involvement with the National Audubon Society, California Botanical Society and the Save the Redwoods League.

Anne Kent, who attended librarianship school in 1920, showed her love of reading and learning through her generous and warm-hearted leadership in the establishment of the Marin County Library System in the 1920s. She later initiated and managed an extensive oral history project focusing on Marin’s earlier years, interviewing over 225 “old-time” Marinites with her partner. She was also an active member of the Marin County Historical Society, the California Historical Society and the Friends of the Library. The Civic Center Library Branch houses a special room devoted to California and Marin history, named “The Anne T. Kent Room” in recognition of her many civic contributions.