Michael Hall has always been a big fan of libraries.
“There was a library very close to my house when I was growing up and I was always there, getting stacks and stacks of books to read,” she said. “I don't think I've stopped reading since then, actually.”
So when she started her undergraduate degree at Berry College, she figured it made sense to work at the school library. For three years, the English major served as circulation assistant and reserves specialist. She also spent one summer as inter-library loan assistant.
“What better way to write good papers than to learn how to research really well?” she said.
After earning her B.A. in English from Berry in May 2010, she decided to pursue her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama.
“I discovered how much more there is to being a librarian than the stereotype of a lady sitting behind a desk, disapproving of everything,” she joked. “I learned that it’s the patron that matters – the man, woman, child or teen. The library and the librarian have to be whatever the patron needs it to be, or else it’s pointless.”
While in Alabama, she worked as a library page at The Hoover Public Library in Birmingham, Ala. She also became a member of the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Hall said she looks forward to working with Melinda Holmes, Darlington’s director of library services, at the Upper School’s McCallie-Kennedy Library this fall.
“I think that it is Melinda's hope and certainly mine, that we can push the conventional boundaries of the library into some really exciting and innovative projects,” she said. “A lot of the new technologies and ideas are things that I had been researching and learning about when I was at school, and I think I bring that fresh perspective to the table. Also, being a ‘child of the library’ makes me understand the nature of libraries really well – that they are always changing, much like anything will when technology is involved.”
When she’s not reading – or re-reading – a book, Hall said she likes to sing and cook. She will have plenty of opportunity to do all three as a resident faculty member.
“When I interviewed the first time, I was at Darlington the whole day,” she said. “I remember looking around and feeling happy I was there and hoping I could stay. It’s a lovely campus; everyone I met was wonderfully nice to me; and I really can’t wait to work in the McCallie-Kennedy Library.”
