New Middleboro library director welcomes new chapter

MIDDLEBORO -- She likes small towns and big dogs.

Beth Paine, the new head librarian at Middleboro Public Library, shared her enthusiasm for both and her plans for the library during a meet and greet held July 16.

“I like the small town feel here,’’ she said as she greeted residents at the library. Although the town is sprawling, she said she appreciates how the center of the community maintains the character of a classic small town.

She even lives just off the town center, she said, a short distance from the library.

One of her first personal goals is to get involved with a local animal shelter. She has done that in every community where she has worked.

She has always loved dogs and, in her experience, the bigger, the better.

“I’m the big dog walker,’’ she said with a laugh.

She once owned a St. Bernard named Vader that weighed 250 pounds. “He was a big boy,’’ she said.

He was also a sweet guy, she said. But when he saw a squirrel during one of their walks, “I got two black eyes’’ trying to control him.

At one time, she had five dogs and nine cats.

In addition to her love for animals, she has had a fondness for Massachusetts since childhood.  

She regularly visited Cape Cod during her childhood summers. “I absolutely loved Massachusetts,’’ she said. “We would stop at different places along the way.’’

She wanted to go to college in the Bay State and even toured a college in Lowell. But her mother intervened, she remembered with a smile, and told her “I’m sorry, you have to stay in New York.’’ 

Following her mother’s wishes, she attended State University of New York at Oswego.

She then received a master’s degree in library and information science from Drexel University and a master’s degree in education, school library and information technology at Commonwealth University in Mansfield.

She spent much of her life in upstate New York. She has worked as library director in the New York communities of Batavia, Sidney and Watkins Glen.

Now in Massachusetts, she hopes to boost library programming in two diverse areas: Young adult and senior citizens.

Getting young adults into libraries “tends to be hard,’’ she said.

Senior programming is a “very big soft spot for me.’’ She plans to meet with Middleboro Council on Aging Executive Director Holly Begley to discuss ideas.

These include providing one-on-one tech time with people looking to develop or expand their knowledge of technology. She hopes to secure grants to purchase laptops or Chrome books to use to help older patrons.

As she settles into her new position, she has already been impressed with her team.

“The staff here is very, very competent,’’ she said. “Each one of our staff members has something they’re good at and knowledgeable about.’’

A learning curve accompanies any move but one Middleboro mainstay will not surprise.

Growing up not far from Buffalo, she is no stranger to snow.

“When I hear you complain about snow, I laugh,’’ she said. In her previous communities, “we can get a foot in an hour.’’

Undaunted by New England snow, she plans to stay awhile. “This is my last move until retirement.’’