Joanne Brangman has always loved books and they are a large part of her life as she is Head Librarian of the Bermuda National Library.

She is very cheerful, knowledgeable and the kind of helpful person whose kindness puts you at instant ease.

Her duties include the Adult Library in Par-la-Ville, the Youth Library on Church Street and the Mobile Library. The day-to-day supervision of each section is delegated to the librarians responsible for each section.

“I spend time trying to keep abreast of the latest developments in the library field and the community. A significant amount of time is taken up with budgetary control,” she said.

Ms Brangman believes in the power of setting goals and achieving them.

“I have been very fortunate in life and in my career. I returned to Bermuda in 1982 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. My goal at that time was to save money to return to college and become a child psychologist. Fortunately, the only job I could get was the Youth Library. That was it for me! I fell in love,” she said.

As an avid reader all of her life, she even read the Children’s Encyclopaedias that her grandfather brought home. Even though she had assisted in the library at the Berkeley Institute during high school she never considered librarianship as a career. When she went to work at the Youth Library with Florenz Maxwell her goal shifted.

“Mrs. Maxwell’s love of the profession was contagious and within weeks of working at the Youth Library, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In 1984 went to college at Atlanta University and within a year I earned my Master’s Degree. I am fortunate to have Mrs. Maxwell and my partner and best friend, Clyde, as mentors.”

As a result of her education and career accomplishments she obtained the job of her dreams and bought a house.

As a woman of achievement, Ms Brangman recalls some of the best advice that she has received was from the Rev. Joseph Manchester, her physics teacher, at Berkeley Institute:

“Reach for the sky and you might get over the top of the trees.”

Her mother also gave her some memorable advice: “It is not how much money you make, but how much you save.”

She admires her mother very much and said although doctors did not know why her mother had problems with her hip when she was 13 years old, she spent several years in a cast from the waist down. She had to learn to walk again at the age of 21, yet she never let any of this hold her back.

“My mother was a single parent with two children who worked two jobs to ensure that we had everything we needed and some of what we wanted. Through it all, she always has a smile on her face and says that she is blessed,” said Ms Brangman.

Ms Brangman admits that it is challenging for her to rise mornings as she has always been a night owl — not a morning person. She describes herself as brains, beauty, wonderful personality and — very modest about it.

One day it is her dream to have a building combining the Adult and Youth Libraries and to get the branch libraries back in Somerset and St. George’s. She feels that the Bermuda National Library should become the information centre for the community.

A degree in library science is a door to many areas according to Ms Brangman. Working in a public library is one type of library profession. In Bermuda you have school librarians or media specialist who work in middle or high school; law librarians in at least three law firms; a health science librarian at King Edward Memorial Hospital; science librarians at Botanical Gardens, and corporate librarians at the Aquarium and the Biological Station.

“I recently read an article called, `Where have all the public librarians gone? To the dot-coms’?, and this talked about how many librarians are working with companies providing information via the Internet.

“Loving books and reading is only a small first step to being a public librarian. You must have a desire to help people, a desire to learn and be naturally curious,’’ said Ms Brangman cheerfully.

Additionally she emphasised that working in a library is working in a service industry and you must be willing to serve your customer to the best of your ability.

In her spare time Ms Brangman loves sitting in her home chair, reading by the fire, with a glass of wine and a good book. Every year she spends at least two weeks in Paris.

“Paris is a city you either love or hate; I love everything about it.”