Meet the children’s librarians

Donielle

Location: South Regional Library

In 2006, Donielle started working for Wake County Public Libraries when she was 16 years old. She began her work experience as a page and held that role for 15 years. In order to increase her library knowledge, she attended ECU and received her MLS. Donielle is also proud to say that she’s a certified librarian! While working as a page, she was also a library assistant in Franklin County. Now she’s a children’s librarian, which is the role she always wanted! She feels really grateful for being a part of the Durham family.

Iris

Location: East Regional Library

Iris is a retired Health Educator with the State of North Carolina, serving the public for 34 years. She is an NCSU Emeritus professor and a native of Durham, NC. She is now happily continuing to serve North Carolina citizens in her part-time retirement position as Children’s Library Assistant with the East Regional Library.

Pronouns: she/her

Molly

Location: North Regional Library

Molly enjoys the position of Children’s Librarian at North Regional, especially the opportunity to interact with the young patrons. An avid reader, she strives to help patrons find just what they’re looking for – whether it is a book to have in hand or a digital book at their fingertips. You can also connect with Molly through various programs including Grade School Masterminds, Storytime, and Homeschool Learning Lab. Molly loves Durham as a place to work, live, and play. A native of Virginia, she crossed the state line for undergraduate (Belmont Abbey) and graduate school (NCCU) and is loving North Carolina living! When she is not at work, she can be found spending a lot of time with her rescue English Setter. It’s her best exercise routine!

Pronouns: she/her

Mr. Joel

Location: South Regional Library

Mr. Joel really enjoys working with children. He has been working in Durham County since 2009 and loves the culture of Durham. Music has always been an important part of his life, and he loves to share wonderful songs with children through movement and dance. He plays saxophone with the “One Sound” R&B band and has released 8 original songs with the band “Woodyhill.” Come and check out his Funtime Storytime program to see for yourself.

Pronouns: he/him

Ms. Chelsea

Location: North Regional Library

Ms. Chelsea moved to Chapel Hill, NC after living in Georgia her whole life! She grew up with her 6 younger siblings! With so many people in one house, Ms. Chelsea always loved the quiet trips to the libraries where she could be anyone she wanted to be. She could be a knight who fights dragons or a scientist who does tons of experiments to help make the world a better place. Though Ms. Chelsea got a bachelor's degree in psychology, she realized that her true passion was advocating for literacy and getting as many books into the hands of young minds as she could! Ms. Chelsea worked as a reference librarian while working on her bachelor’s, which is where she truly learned how serving your local community could change the lives of so many and just how rewarding it was. She moved to Chapel Hill in July of 2021 to begin working on her master’s in library science with a focus in children and teens. This is still a work in progress! She has been with North Regional Library since May 2022, and she absolutely loves hanging out with all the children while they do crafts together or play with bubbles at her storytime! You can catch Ms. Chelsea reading books, watching crime shows, listening to K-pop, cuddling with her cats, or playing Fortnite! Ms. Chelsea is always looking for anime recommendations or a cool new place to see in Durham!

Pronouns: she/her

Ms. Diamond

Location: East Regional Library

Diamond is the Children’s Services Manager at East Regional Library. A lover of libraries from the start, she could always be found in the library assisting the librarians as far back as her elementary school days! Since then, she has worked her way up through every level in the public library – starting as a Teen Volunteer, a Library Page, Children’s Services Library Assistant, Children’s Librarian, and now Children’s Services Manager. Though the majority of her work experience has been in the public library, she also has experience working in academic libraries of all levels: as a library assistant in her high school library, a library intern in her college library while pursuing her undergraduate degree, and as a graduate assistant in her university library. Though she enjoyed working in an academic library setting, children’s services in a public library is where her heart lies. She is passionate about placing books into the hands of small children to promote literacy from an early age. When not at work, she enjoys visiting farmers’ markets, taking yoga classes, and spending time reading in local coffee shops.

Ms. Elmera

Location: South Regional Library

Elmera is a Children’s Library Associate at the South Regional Library. She started her career out as an elementary school teacher before she started to work toward her MLIS degree at UNCG. Elmera is an avid reader, mostly enjoying YA fantasy or a good mystery. When she isn’t working, she likes to spend time outdoors hiking with her family, baking, or binge watching (mostly old) TV shows.

Pronouns: she/her

Ms. Laurel

Location: Main Library

Laurel has an M.L.S. in library science from North Carolina Central, which she obtained in 1995. She has worked in two different library systems in NC since then. She has always liked reading, and this profession was a good way to combine a liking for working with children with the above. Laurel’s favorite genres are romance, science fiction, and culinary mysteries. She likes traveling and writing, as well as reading.

Pronouns: she/her

Ms. Natalia

Ms. Natalia comes from the Island of Enchantment, where she lived all her life until Durham welcomed her as her new home. She got her MLIS from the University of Puerto Rico in 2020. She has always loved helping people and learning new things, and she saw the library as a perfect place to combine both things. She loves to bake, travel, dance with her husband and son, and will try to read as much as she can. She loves YA books and picture books like Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte. Her favorite place in Durham County Library is the Multi Sensory Environment at the Main Library. See you at the library! Te veo en la biblioteca!

Pronouns: she/her

Ms. Olivia

Location: North Regional Library

Since the summer of 2014, Ms. Olivia has assisted in Children’s Services. She can’t believe that she gets paid telling stories! She can’t believe that she gets paid to sing and dance with children and adults! She can’t believe how much fun she has at DCo Library — and she gets paid!

Pronouns: she/her

Ms. Patty

Location: Southwest Regional Library

Hola! The library discovered Ms. Patty over 17 years ago, and she’s been “booked” ever since. She is not native to North Caroline but grew up in the second largest state in the United States. Ms. Patty speaks Spanish and English and has been with Durham County for 11 years. She currently works in Youth Services at Southwest Regional, where the kids and she really enjoy singing, dancing, and just being silly. She also enjoys helping kids and parents find the right book and having them come back to tell you, “We really enjoyed the books you recommended!” Besides reading, in her spare time she plays crazy games and has endless hours of discussing Pokémon evolutions with her son. If you’re ever at Southwest, come on over and say, “Hola, Ms. Patty!”

Ms. Teresa

Location: East Regional Library

Teresa grew up in a small mountain town where it usually snows about six months out of the year, and because of this, the local bookstore and library were her happy places. These places taught her at a young age how literature can serve a community and how books can change lives. She has always wanted to be surrounded by books, and she enjoys helping people, so she decided to make librarianship her career. Teresa is the Children’s Librarian for the East Regional Library. She loves picture books, and some of her favorites are The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield; You Matter by Christian Robinson; and Whose Moon is That? by Kim Krans. Teresa’s all-time favorite children’s book character is Ramona Quimby, from the Beverly Cleary books, because of Ramona’s whimsy and creativity. Aside from reading, Teresa enjoys writing, travel, gardening, and making arts and crafts in her spare time.

Pronouns: she/her