Elizabeth Taber Library hires new director

MARION — The Elizabeth Taber Library will soon be operating under a new Elizabeth — Elizabeth Sherry, who takes over for Elizabeth O’Neill as library director on Jan. 14.

The Elizabeth Taber Board of Library Trustees appointed Sherry to the position after O’Neill resigned from the Spring Street library following more than five years of service. 

Sherry has served as the Reference and Adult Services Librarian at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library since 2010. 

“It’s incredibly exciting,” Sherry, a Mattapoisett resident, said of her appointment at the library. “I’m over the moon and can’t wait to get started.”

Sherry said she applied for the Elizabeth Taber Library director job becasue she wanted to stay in the tri-town and continue her work with the libraries. “It was very important for me to stay local and contribute to my community,” she said. 

“I grew up in Florida, and Florida has a great library system — so I pretty much grew up in a library,” Sherry joked.

Completing an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst inspired Sherry to become a librarian. 

“I got the opportunity to work at the W.E.B. Dubois Library while I was at Amherst, so that kind of struck something for me,” she said. 

While she went on to earn her Master’s degree in Library Science from Simmons University, she worked at Borders and gained a wider knowledge of books — which prepared her for her work at the Mattapoisett library.

Sherry said that while the already library offers many different programs, she is excited to improve them and add more. 

Her current position has given Sherry the opportunity to function in a variety of ways. For example, she has taught patrons about new technology, trained staff members, and aided with local history and genealogical research. Sherry also expressed excitement about bringing her 3-D printing expertise to Marion. 

While at the Mattapoisett Library, Sherry had a goal — to provide students and the community as a whole with access to many of the emerging technologies that are available at the library.

Sherry hopes to bring the same approach to her work in Marion, and also aims to focus on what she considers to be some important programs at the Elizabeth Taber Library.

“Social assistance is going to be a priority of mine. Whether its tech assistance or job training or student research,” Sherry said. “I know that there are a lot of people who don’t realize they can use the library for the sort of help we offer. Some people have been reluctant to do that because they don’t know where to go for help.”

Sherry said that she is thrilled to work with members of the community and to ask what them what they are looking for out of their library. “It’s a fresh start for me and the library, and it’s going to be very exciting,” she said.

“I’m excited to get started and excited to see the library,” she said. I hope people will come down to the library and get to know me as somebody who is super enthusiastic about literature and technology.”