Meet Children's Librarian Elizabeth Hoens

Meet Elizabeth Hoens - she's been working at the Maplewood library for a year.

Patch sat down with her to ask her five questions. Here they are:

How do you like working for Maplewood Library?

“I really love it and I really love the town – It’s really great. The people who come to the library always keep this place alive and busy. There is a really strong sense of community here, everybody knows each other, they’re not just strangers who live in the same area. They’re all neighbors who know each other and I think that’s really great.”

What made you want to become a librarian?

“I wanted to be a librarian since I was in first grade. I really loved books. It was either a librarian or a bookshop owner. I love to read but I also love to help people find the information that they need, whether it’s for a paper or if they just want to know about hermit crabs. Whatever it may be, I just love helping people.”

Has the nook/kindle taken away business from the library?

“No, I wouldn’t say it has. If anything it kind of enhances the experience of reading just because you’re able to have a different format. I took my kindle to the beach last weekend and it was so nice to have access to multiple books in a really lightweight format. But I don’t think it’s making people stop coming to the library. It’s actually just letting people know books a lot more. People are hearing more about different books and telling their friends about them which then make those friends come in and check those books out at the library. It’s definitely something positive.”

If you had to choose, which section would you have preferred to work in at the library?

“Children’s has always been my favorite. They only had one opening and that was in the children’s department but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I really like working with teenagers but I didn’t realize how much I really love working with children until I started working with them. But now that I’ve been working here I love being in this area of the library.”

What is the worst part about your job?

“I have enough work for five librarians! There has just been a lot of budget cuts. Before I worked here they had two of me and now there’s only one of me. There’s a lot more work now .”

What are some of your favorite authors?

“I really love Jodi Picoult – I just love how dramatic she is. John Green is also one of my favorites, he writes a lot of books that are just so funny. Basically I just like to laugh, I love funny books and funny memoirs like those by Augusten Borroughs.”