As modern-day reference desks go, the one at the DeLand library is still more focused on books than some, and that’s OK by Sean Hurley.
He loves books and the people who read them.
Most reference librarians in the Volusia (FL) County library system spend a fair amount of time assisting people on the patron computers that sit near the reference desk, but in DeLand the two departments are on separate floors.
That doesn’t mean Hurley, 50, and the other reference librarians don’t stay busy at their upstairs desk. On any given day, the desk is a hive of activity with a steady stream of patrons looking for assistance as they navigate the tall shelves of the library’s nonfiction and reference sections.
“I love it,” Hurley says. “It’s the best job I ever had.”
Patrons who don’t ask for help are likely to get an offer of assistance from Hurley.
“I enjoy helping people,” he says. Yes, even the ones who show up at 6 p.m. researching a report due the next morning.
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