NAHANT — Emma Monahan is the new children’s librarian at the Nahant Public Library, and she is currently drafting programs for children and parents to enjoy its services to their full ability.
“I am responsible for hosting programs such as game time, craft time — which I call ‘crafternoons’ — and storytime,” Monahan said. “I have them all picked out already, such as Scrabble for teens or Boggle Jr. for some of our younger kids.”
The programs are a part of the library’s outreach program to encourage more children to visit and participate in activities. The programs will be available as part of the “Children’s Corner” section of the library and run from Tuesday through Saturday.
Nahant Public Library Director Sharon Hawkes said there has been a marginal increase in children coming to the library and it is almost nearing pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels. She credited Monahan’s efforts as the reason for this increase and said she has done a good job in getting children interested in reading.
“She’s phenomenal in helping us with what we are trying to accomplish,” Hawkes said. “She has hit the ground running.”
Monahan, 25, has been working as the children’s librarian for three weeks now. She has a bachelor’s degree in English communications from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is working on her master’s in library science from Simmons University.
Monahan said she pursued library science as a degree and career because of her positive experiences working with children as a nanny. She said taking the children to the library were some of the best moments of her day. These moments made her change careers from a journalist to a librarian.
“I think this job will help me gain a better understanding of what I need to learn,” Monahan said. “I also help with cataloging books and help Sharon whenever I can.”
Some of Monahan’s favorite books to read to younger children include the “If you give a…” series and books written by Eric Carle. She is also passionate about encouraging older children to become passionate about reading.
“I recommend to them the ‘Geronimo Stilton’ books,” she said. “Those were some of my favorite books to read when I was their age.”
