Monday, May 3, 2021

Library Limelight: Brooke Rose, Information Services Supervisor, Hampton Park Library

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 Rose
Information 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.

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