Director of the Hoboken Public Library since 2021, Pu has cultivated a community hub in the Mile Square City that’s helping to provide resources and foster ties. It’s also drawn attention not just to Hudson County, but to libraries throughout New Jersey. That raised profile and platform is crucial, as libraries and literature face challenges throughout the country. In Hoboken, Pu’s leadership ushered in pop-up libraries at local schools and the state’s first remote 24/7 library book locker. Reimagining the physicality of the library, Pu oversaw the incorporation of Hoboken’s first makerspace in the building. Part of a $7 million restoration and rehabilitation of the 130-year-old structure, the project preserved history while also repurposing spaces for the future. Pu’s other achievements include eliminating library fines and hiring the city’s first full-time Library Social Worker. She has secured substantial grants from the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Pu’s particularly passionate about – and celebrated for – championing intellectual freedom. According to the American Library Association, a record number of unique book titles (a 65% increase) were targeted for censorship in 2023. That same year, under Pu’s leadership, Hoboken Public Library along with the city declared themselves New Jersey’s first book sanctuary city. Since, 33 libraries and four municipalities across the state have followed suit. Co-chair of the New Jersey Library Association Public Policy Committee, Pu has been a leading advocate for the statewide Freedom to Read bill. In 2024, she was named the New Jersey Librarian Association’s Librarian of the Year. Pu was also the only N.J. resident to receive Library Journal’s 2024 Mover and Shaker award. And in September, she received the Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Innovation and Service to Community and Profession.

Editor’s note: This profile was updated to note that Jennie Pu helped usher in the state’s first remote 24/7 library book locker.