With her thirst for knowledge and insatiable curiosity, Ingrid Mattson has had an unusual career path.

Mattson, who was first a lawyer before switching to library science, became director of the Orcas Island Library in 2022.

Both professionally and personally, it’s exactly where she wants to be.

“I’ve never worked in a place where everyone comes in and says, ‘You have the best staff.’ I wish everyone on the island would come in,” she said.

The route to Orcas took Mattson back and forth across the country several times. She grew up in north Florida and met her future husband, Kip, as an undergrad at the University of Florida.

It was love at first sight, and the two married and moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she went to the Seattle University School of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

“When you are a smart, hyper-achieving kid and you graduate college, but you don’t want to be a doctor or a dentist, law is the default,” she said. “I thought it would be a way to help people and be challenged and creative. Turns out, it can be fairly boring.”

Mattson specialized in intellectual property and worked for a firm in Seattle with four primary clients: Microsoft, T-Mobile, Amazon and Expedia. She was there for six years, putting in long hours and not deriving much enjoyment from it.

During this time, Mattson volunteered with Washington Lawyers for the Arts and taught media law to film students. She often thought about a career change, knowing she wanted a professional identity and a standard schedule.

Mattson was hanging out at the Seattle University library when a librarian said, “Why don’t you become a law librarian?”

Mattson had no idea what that meant, but upon researching it, decided it would be perfect for her. Law librarians can work in firms, schools, courts and legal departments, performing such tasks as researching, analyzing, and evaluating the quality, accuracy, and validity of sources; teaching and training; writing; managing staff and data; and procuring and classifying library materials.

“You can teach, publish, and research. It’s creative; you help people; you problem solve — it’s everything I thought a law career would be,” she explained. “With a library degree, there are a million things you can do.”

Mattson quit her job and earned a master’s in library science from the University of Washington. She applied to positions nationwide and landed at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she was a reference librarian, faculty liaison and adjunct professor. The job took her to China, where she taught legal writing.

While living in Ohio, Mattson gave birth: first to Freya and then to Soren. Raising kids was not at the top of her priority list, but conversations with Kip changed her mind.

“Raising a family with Kip was another new adventure in our marriage. And the kids tricked me — I love them so much, it’s been amazing,” she said.

In 2019, with two small children, the family moved to New York City for Mattson to be the assistant director of the law library at Cardozo School of Law.

By the end of the year, she was the interim director — just in time for COVID to shut down most of the city.

The law school’s library, however, remained open. Although she later interviewed for and accepted the director position, Mattson yearned for a new opportunity.

“I just didn’t love what I was doing,” she said. “I hadn’t been looking at jobs in a public library because I didn’t want to stop using my law degree, which was a big investment. And some libraries are in communities without social services support, so the library becomes that to the exclusion of providing traditional library services.”

However, when the position at the Orcas Library popped up in her search, Mattson submitted her application anyway. After several Zoom interviews and a site visit, she and her family were ready to leave New York.

“I knew instantly — it was like dating my husband; I knew it was right. I wanted to move here whether I got the job or not,” Mattson remembered.

She was “blown away” by the staff and wondered why the library needed her since they all excelled at their work. Ultimately, she figured it out.

“I provide the connectivity,” Mattson said. “I promote programs in the community and make connections.”

In addition to an extensive collection of books and digital resources, the library’s regular offerings include diverse programming for adults, teens and kids, Monday Game Nights, Tech Tuesday, a genealogy group, knit night and more. The library also collaborates with other nonprofits for special projects and presentations. For a complete calendar and list of services, visit www.orcaslibrary.org.

Mattson says she still loves the research side and studying library-related data. She has an “open door policy” and invites any interested community member to chat with her.

Kip is a carpenter for Dowbuilt, Freya is now 9 and Soren is 6. The family — with their dog Roxy and cat Teddy — live in Olga.

Mattson says she reads “lots and lots and lots” of mystery novels, and she’s a member of The Bookies — the oldest literary club on the island.

“I also listen to audiobooks when I go on long runs,” she said.

Mattson volunteers with the Dementia Friendly Orcas Workgroup, regularly attends lunch at the Orcas Senior Center and is a board member of the Orcas Community Resource Center.

Her greatest surprise about life on Orcas is that “it is exactly what it seems.”

“I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she laughed.