Friday, March 29, 2024

Meet World Class Employee Maria Cameron

Although the Southlake Public Library is stocked with several books, one of the greatest stories lies within the heart of World Class Employee Maria Cameron.

Cameron has worked for the City of Southlake Public Library since 2003, but her journey initially started when she took a position on the first library board in 1999.

“Prior to the opening of our own Southlake Public Library in September 2001, the City of Southlake paid the non-resident fee that allowed our citizens to use the Grapevine Public Library,” Cameron said.

She now serves as the Adult Services Librarian which involves helping customers and managing volunteers.

“One of the things I love about my job is that there is no typical day,” Cameron said, “I may be helping someone select a book for a reluctant reader or assisting a mother with finding something for her child who has read everything.”

When it comes to the library’s volunteers, Cameron has it all covered.

“The biggest portion of my work is managing the volunteers who are so essential to our library; we absolutely could not provide our current level of service without them,” Cameron said.

Within this calendar year, approximately 450 volunteers have served a combined 4500 hours.

“That is a lot of labor for us and some ‘real-life’ experience for our volunteers,” Cameron said.

Cameron’s work and resourcefulness were recognized this year at the 2022 Employee Appreciation Awards Ceremony.  She took home the Values Award for her Commitment to Excellence.

When asked what she enjoys most about her job at the City of Southlake, here’s what Cameron had to say, “I enjoy helping people access resources and learn skills, which I hope, enhance their lives. In part, I was drawn to this field because of the variety, the exposure to new ideas, and the opportunity for lifelong learning.”

Cameron has worked for the City of Southlake for 19 years.