Library Limelight is intended to be a quick read to help FCPL patrons get to know our librarians, staff, and volunteers. We hope you enjoy learning about the people who make our libraries great!
Ella Brooke
RoseInformation Services Supervisor
Hampton Park
Library
Where is your hometown?
I
consider Cherokee County my hometown. We moved around a bit but mostly lived in
Holly Springs and Waleska. I also spent a lot of time in Alderson, West
Virginia because my mom lived there when I was growing up.
How long have you been at FCPL?
Just
over 3 years.
What other jobs have you had at FCPL?
This
is my first. I worked for 10 years as a Youth Coordinator in another library
system.
Why did you choose to work in a library?
Growing
up I was always an avid reader but did not use the library. After my first grad
school adventure, I was a disenchanted anthropology student who had decided
anthropology was not the career I wanted to pursue. I had a “duh” moment when
my aunt said, “I always pictured you working in a library.”
Describe your job in five words or less.
Creative
problem-solving: patrons, programming, schedules
What is unique about your job?
I remember
a specific day that illustrates what makes my job unique. A man whom I had
assisted filling out a job application on the computer came in to thank me
because he had gotten the job. Later that day a woman who had been attending my
knitting class came in to show me the dishcloth she had just finished. She was
in tears (of happiness) because she felt that learning to knit was honoring her
mother who had passed away a couple of years earlier. I get to do a little bit
of everything, and these are the moments that make me love my job!
What is your favorite part of your job?
Working
with the public is an adventure every day. You never know what interesting
people you’ll meet, situations you’ll experience, or problems you’ll help
solve. I love solving little mysteries, and we never run short of them in a
library!
What’s the most interesting place you’ve lived or
traveled?
In
college I went to do field research in Santa Cruz la Laguna, Guatemala on Lake
Atitlán and ended up staying. The town was unique because you had to take a
boat and climb a mountain to get there. There were no roads or cars, but I’ve
seen recent pictures of little taxi scooters that will take people up the
mountain now.
What are your hobbies?
Reading,
knitting, taking pictures, yoga, hiking, chasing waterfalls, swimming, boating,
water skiing, fishing, kayaking, scouting for loons – anything water-related!
What are you reading right now?
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by
Alix E. Harrow – I just started it, so I don’t know whether I would recommend
it or not yet, but it was recommended to me for people who love The Night Circus by Erin
Morgenstern….which I do!
Paper books, eBooks, or audiobooks?
Paper books are my ultimate
favorite, but eBooks are convenient when you unexpectedly get stuck in a
waiting room and only have your phone. I forced myself to learn how to listen
to audiobooks in the car and while I’m knitting.
