Lin Look is celebrating her 25th year of service at the Orinda Library as Youth Services Librarian II. She commutes from Alameda to Orinda to do a job she loves so much.
“I love being able to share such a good story that squirmy kids are caught up in and listen to.”
After a quarter of a century at the Orinda Library, Lin Look’s enthusiasm for her job hasn’t waned, and she absolutely loves her work.
“I love finding the right book for someone – whether it is what they were looking for or something I can suggest for them,” said Look, who is officially the Youth Services Librarian II, but is known to most as the Children’s Services Librarian.
Look runs the storytimes for the 1½ to 2-year-olds, whose “attention span is really short, but I always get a book in there,” she said.
She also co-started the popular Paws to Read program in 2006 with Ginger Wadsworth, a local author and huge library advocate and dog lover, where children read to therapy dogs in Contra Costa County and at the Orinda Library.
Now, more than ever, Look believes reading is critical.
“Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, who teaches about children’s literature at Ohio State University, has said that ‘books are mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors.’ They reflect a child’s experience and feelings, can show them other worlds and let them step through into new and different thoughts and feelings,” Look said. “That is true for adult books as well, and it is why reading is so important, especially in these times.”
When it comes to convincing people to read, Look said Orindans are an easy sell.
“We’re lucky in Orinda, because this is a reading community,” she said. “The internet has certainly changed things, because people are reading fewer books, but they [Orindans] are still interested in reading.”
When she’s not working Monday through Thursday and alternating Fridays and Saturdays, she enjoys hiking, traveling and helping dogs and cats.
“I volunteer at my local shelter on Fridays at the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter and hope to foster animals when I retire,” Look said, and who commutes from Alameda to Orinda.
An avid reader, about 20 to 25 books a year, surprisingly, Look doesn’t have one favorite. Instead, she has a lot of comfort reads, books she picks up like old friends.
“Two favorites are ‘The Anything Box’ by Zenna Henderson and ‘Emily of Deep Valley’ by Maud Hart Lovelace,” said Look. “I will read anything by Michael Lewis because he has a great way of making complex topics understandable. He’s also an author who is an excellent narrator. I also read J. D. Robb, who writes futuristic police procedurals with snappy dialogue. As an English major, I should probably be reading more literary authors, but oh well.”
Even for the prolific reader, there’s always room for improvement.
“Like everyone else, if I wasn’t on the internet so much, I would probably read more,” she said.
While this spotlight is on Look, she wants to share the limelight with the Friends of the Orinda Library.
“I need to give a shout-out to our Friends of the Orinda Library. They are a huge reason the library is a great space,” said Look. “They give us the funds to buy replacement copies of well-worn and well-loved titles. With their help, we are able to buy prizes for our Summer Reading finishers and the new StoryWalk in Wilder Ranch was paid for by the Friends.”
She also said the Friends are responsible for the beautiful mural on the side of the library, and on a more personal level, they bought her Costco blankets for the Paws to Read program and they reupholstered the furniture.
“Everybody join, so the library can keep doing what we do,” Look said.
Born and raised in Hawai’i, Look earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and her Master’s in Library and Information Science from UC Berkeley.
She’s happy she ultimately settled in the Bay Area and especially at the Orinda Library.
“I feel lucky to have landed in Orinda,” said Look. “It is a lovely supportive little city and it’s why I’ve stayed here so long.”
