CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou’s new Librarian Lisa Neal Shaw’s first day on the job was Sept. 2, 2014 and while any first-day jitters are long gone, her excitement about the new career is unwavering.
Neal Shaw, 46, comes to Caribou from the Presque Isle library, where she was the reference librarian, and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Prior to her nearly eight-year library career, Neal Shaw was a career consultant with the Bureau of Employment Services through the Maine Department of Labor. She has a degree in English and is currently working on her master’s degree in library science, but Neal Shaw also formerly worked in radio and has been a longtime copy editor and thinks her diverse background will be of assistance in overseeing the Caribou Public Library.
“This has felt like a good fit, and I think the reason is because it incorporates so many of the other things I’ve done,” she said.
One service her prior experiences may help bring to the Caribou library include having the library designated as a passport application acceptance facility. Having filed the paperwork earlier this month, Neal Shaw thinks that the library’s extended hours and comfortable setting will make it easier to complete the application process should the library be deemed an acceptable location for the servie.
Already, Neal Shaw has worked with the Aroostook Genealogical Society and a volunteer from the group routinely comes to the library to assist those interested in researching family lineage.
Another project Neal Shaw’s worked on is relocating the Teen Scene in the library to the more private space where the periodicals are, and that move is about 75 percent complete.
Though Neal Shaw is looking to bring about some new changes to the Caribou Public Library, there’s much she wants to keep the same — like the excellent availability of electronic books and the overall atmosphere.
“The staff are wonderful, the patrons who come in are great and the building itself is just beautiful,” she said, noting the facility’s charm and character. “It’s location here in town is really convenient for a lot of families, and I really like that there are so many people who really care about the library.”
Neal Shaw lives in Caribou with her husband, Philip, daughter, Marina, and son, Connor. In her freetime, she likes proofreading locked-room mystery novels, watching “Law and Order” or “Dr. Who,” and she can be frequently spotted at the gym with her daughter.
