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<\/a>Harris has been with the San Diego County Library for 12 years, starting as a student worker while she attended college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fell in love with the community-building aspect of libraries and decided to see it on through and have been here ever since,\u201d she said. \u201cI get to see people from all walks of life and different experiences get to come together in one place and interact and have conversations and attend programs, but it\u2019s really about the community-building. That\u2019s what I\u2019m really passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris worked at the El Cajon and Encinitas branches, the county library headquarters in the community relations department, and for the last three years as manager at the Ramona Library before taking over La Mesa Library from outgoing managing librarian Heather Pisani-Kristl.<\/p>\n
So far, Harris said, she is enjoying her new job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community is really great and the staff here is amazing so I\u2019m really excited,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As far as changes to library programs, Harris said she is getting a feel for what the community wants and encourages people to come in with suggestions or share what programs they enjoy at other libraries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to encourage people to come in and tell us what they are looking for in their library. We really want to expand services,\u201d she said, adding there will be a few new programs that will be starting up soon. \u201cI know that next year we\u2019re going to launch a new Oasis series, Oasis San Diego in Grossmont Center. We\u2019re going to be bringing some of those classes here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris is already a supporter of expanding the La Mesa Library. She said a library combined with a performing arts center, as some have suggested for La Mesa, could meet some of the library\u2019s needs, but that she would prefer adding quiet study rooms, which are the most requested amenity the La Mesa Library does not offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe very much want to be able to add services for the community and that would require either a community room or study rooms or just more space for everybody,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re the fifth busiest library out of the 33 in our library system but we\u2019re like 16th for size. So we would really like to balance that a little bit and give the community the space that it needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris said she envisions the library as the \u201cthird place\u201d for members of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have home, you have work. What\u2019s that third place that you get to go to where you have different social engagement or just a sort of home away from home that isn\u2019t your job? That\u2019s really what we want the library to be.\u201d<\/p>\n