Role: Legislative librarian for the North Carolina General Assembly.
Years of legislative service: Eight plus
Why did you choose to work at the legislature?
After eight years with the NC Department of Justice in a non-librarian position, I was eager to get back into library work. Moreover, I was intrigued by the idea of providing research services to legislators, a group that does some of the most important work in our state.
What do you find most enjoyable and/or rewarding about your job?
Engaging with citizens who want to be informed and, therefore, empowered.
What has been your greatest challenge or frustration?
Enduring citizens who simply want to complain about things not under my control.
What work are you proud of?
A major redesign of our library website, which should be finished in early 2020.
When you are not working, what might we find you doing?
Attending comic book conventions in my steampunk outfit.
Any insights for your peers? Any shout outs to colleagues or legislators you’ve worked with?
Politics can be a crazy-making profession. I avoid this trap by assuming that the worst actors are not evil, just misguided.
Anything else you think your legislative staff peers might find interesting or want to know about you, your agency or your legislature?
Before I went into librarianship, I spent nine years as a McDonald’s restaurant manager. Yes, I still like the food. No, Big Mac sauce is not Thousand Island dressing. No, I don’t personally know Ronald McDonald. Yes, he is a creepy as he looks.
For its “Staff Snapshots” series, State Legislatures News is asking legislative staff about their role in the legislature. To suggest a staffer for this series, please use the email icon above to contact Holly South.