Editor’s note: The Orcas Island Library is hoping to embark on an expansion of its facility. In the next year, there will be public meetings, design work and fundraising. The Sounder is running a series on the library’s staff in the coming months.

Librarian Holly King enjoys the quirks of small-town life. When people stop her at the grocery store to return overdue library books, King happily accepts.

“I love it,” King says with a laugh.

Some people come to the island planning to spend their lives here, others come for a summer and end up never leaving.

King is one of the latter group of people. Not only did she not ever “get off the rock,” but she has planted deep roots by creating a family and finding a career as a librarian.

For King, the public services librarian at the library, getting to Orcas was a long journey. She was born in Amarillo, Texas and went to college in Massachusetts. As part of her studies, she spent a year in Florence, Italy. One of the highlights of the trip, she recalls, was visiting the Berlin wall right after it came down. Her interest in library studies grew while living in Seattle. She would spend her days looking for jobs at the Seattle Public Library. It was there she started thinking, “Maybe I can make a career working at a library.”

She attended the University of Washington and earned a masters in library science. She came to the islands in 1996 to “just stay for the summer.” Now 18 years later she has a job she loves, a husband and two boys, ages nine and six.

She originally wanted to work in an academic or corporate library, but after sending numerous resumes across the country with no reply, she started to open her horizons. When there was a job opening at the Orcas library for support staff, King thought it wouldn’t hurt to have her foot in the door. Soon after that there was an opening for a full-time position.

“I have been here ever since,” said King.

She describes the staff at the library as doing a little bit of everything. Her primary responsibilities are the young adult, music, large print and reference sections and manning the front desk.

Over the years, King says technology has changed her job at the library in subtle ways.

“There are more questions about computers and technology driven questions,” she said. “People come with their Kindles, E-books and audio books.”

Her favorite aspect of working at the library is the community support and the freedom to explore her own interests. King’s brainchild last year was the Health and Wellness Week, which involved classes, demonstrations and free mammograms.

King also does an outreach program for seniors once a month.

“When someone asks me a question, I think how I want someone to treat my mother,” she said.

According to fellow librarian Nita Couchman, King’s talent of working with diverse ages of people is what makes her a great asset to the library.

“Holly is good with all kinds of people with older people and teens,” she said.