Gaston County's New Library Director Brings Experience, Passion to the Job

Christina Martin remembers distinctly where she was when she first knew she wanted to work in libraries.

"February 13, 1993," she said. "I was a sophomore in high school. I walked into a library and started shelving books, and never left."

Gaston County Public Library's newest director has worked for four different library systems through her career, including a previous stint with GCPL. She was a supervisor by age 21, and spent the last 15 years at the Mauney Memorial Library in Kings Mountain — much of that time as its director.

Her passion is evident when she talks about what a library is for its community.

"Books and literacy is definitely our foundation, but we stack on top of that with technology, some health & wellness programming as well as lifelong learning," Martin said. "There's something for everybody. We have our seed library here, and a 3-D printer ... with staff that are super-talented and can assist you on how to use it."

A direct example of a library's meaningfulness to the community -- albeit in a slightly unexpected fashion — came in the wake of Hurricane Helene, when Kings Mountain and the surrounding area was without power for four days. The library had just finished a project using American Rescue Plan Act funding to install solar-powered benches, which came complete with power plugs and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

That was a lifeline for many residents, Martin said. But it's an example of how libraries can be more for the communities they serve.

Martin wants to continue to build upon the work being done at GCPL's 10 locations by introducing RFID tagging to the library's collection. That could allow the library to be even more responsive to the community, potentially setting up kiosks in locations where it is too far to reasonably walk to a branch location.

A resident of Gaston County for two decades, Martin said she sees the library as more than just a place.

"I love looking at how libraries now can go out into the community and help solve issues," she said. "The majority of librarians I know have a heart to serve. It's a big component of what we do."

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.