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The Whitman Public Library has a new adult services librarian and she is thrilled to be in her new position. Jessi Finnie decided to change directions in her career, and after being an editor of a magazine, wanted to continue to work with words. She felt becoming a librarian was what she ultimately wanted to do.
How did you decide to become a librarian? I was working as an editor for a trade magazine until 2002 and I didn’t see a big future in it. I really liked working with words; I was an English major. I felt becoming a librarian was perfect, because I would get a chance to work with words and books for the rest of my life. That’s when I decided to get my masters in Library Science from the University of Mississippi. I also worked as a medical librarian at Children’s Hospital. How does the position of a medical librarian differ from an adult services librarian? The adult services position is very different. In the medical librarian position I helped doctors and nurses find information to help with patient care. The adult services position is more community oriented, and I enjoy it because you get to interact with people and get to know people in a different way. I find it more exciting to work in a community where I get to see how I am helping people. What made you decided to come work in Whitman? My husband and I live in Quincy and we want to eventually move further down the South Shore. I’ve wanted to work in a public library setting since I graduated in December 2008. I was looking around for an opportunity and this seemed like a good fit. What does the position of the adult service librarian entail? My responsibilities include doing general referencing for all adults in Whitman and I am in charge of adult and young adult programming. On a day-to-day basis I do various things. I might have someone needing help on a school assignment or asking reference questions such as how to open an e-mail account. As the adult service librarian, I have a chance to answer some of the basic computer questions people have. Sometimes people looking for jobs online or applying online may need some guidance. Another part of the job is working at the front desk where we do a lot of reader advisories. What qualities and skills do you bring to the position? I love people. I’m a friendly person and I like to think I’m approachable. I hope people feel they can come in to the library and come to me with their reference needs. I have experience working with databases and I will be training patrons on the databases we subscribe to. The library offers the use of InfoTrack, which helps gather information for research. What do you like best about your job? I love getting to meet the people in the community and getting to know what they want to see in the library. I have a lot of fun doing programming, and I hope the patrons will find some of the programs exciting. Are there any new programs that will soon be implemented at the library? We’re starting a new book group for mystery readers. We also have another program coming up on community safety. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department will be talking to residents about what they can do to improve their safety. The library now has a sewing group which started up this month. The next meeting will be on Friday, Dec. 4. We also have some programs on the chart for the spring. We will be bringing in speakers. What would you like to see improved upon at the library? I would like people to be using those database resources that we and the state pay for and I’d like to see more programming for adults. Do you enjoy working with the library staff? The staff here is great. They are incredibly friendly. I can’t ask for a better group of people to work with. They are always happy to help one another.
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