Jill O’Connor is the Youth Services Librarian at MML.
Hello, everyone! I couldn’t be more delighted to be working at Merrill Memorial Library as the Youth Services Librarian. I have been a librarian for almost 20 years and adore my chosen profession. Before going to Simmons University in Boston for my MLIS, I was a high school English teacher, book publishing editorial assistant, and a public relations writer. I chose library school because it seemed like the perfect intersection of literacy, teaching, research, and innovation; I was right!
I love running programming centered on science, engineering, and art, as well as hosting a Book Group for readers in grades 8 & up. I enjoy working with the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to bring some fun events to MML. If you are a student in 6th grade or up and would like to join the YAB, please stop in and talk with me or email me.
Five fun facts about me
- I’m a former rugby player. People are often surprised by this because I’m pretty short, but my mantra of “if they can’t catch you, they can’t tackle you” served me well. I played for 3.5 years in college and then coached boys high school rugby for a year (with a “no-tackle-coach” rule, of course). I love watching it though it can be hard to find in the US; luckily, I also love baseball and there is plenty of that around here.
- I read somewhere between 200-300 books a year.
- Potato chips are my kryptonite, particularly Lay’s Original.
- The first graphic novel that I remember reading, and the one that made me fall in love with books, was Elfquest: Fire & Flight by Richard and Wendi Pini. I went on to read all of the other books in the story and still think that I might be part-elf. I also still adore graphic novels and comics.
- I am terrified of heights, but only when I’m outdoors. I have been to the top of the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the second largest building in the world, and loved it, but I turn to mush when trying to scale a short cliff in Acadia or attempting to ride an outdoor gondola to the top of a ski mountain. That didn’t stop me from climbing the Great Wall of China or peering over the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, but I definitely prefer to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground and my nose in a book!
