CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston County Public Library's new St. Paul's Hollywood branch is open for business and Branch Manager Rebecca Wright is excited to welcome the community through the doors. Wright is a lifelong library patron and visited Charleston County library branches as a child.
"Every day after school I would run to the Dart Library, when I used to live off of King Street. And as a little kid growing up, we would go to the Dart Library for storytime," she said.
After graduating college, Rebecca's mom suggested she get a job as a Library Page. From there, she was promoted to a Library Assistant and was inspired to go to library school for her Master's degree.
"Full time, working two jobs. I was working at the library and at the Citadel library as well. I finally graduated in 2008 with some fellow coworkers of mine and became a full-fledged librarian," Wright said. "My mom passed away in 2013 and I found out from my dad that she always wanted to move to California. So, I figured I would live out her dream and in 2014 I left and moved to California. Being here at CCPL, everyone became my family. Everyone helped me during my schooling, everyone helped me when my mom passed, and they were more than happy to welcome me back. In 2018 I came back home."
When she returned to Charleston County, Wright worked at the Cooper River Memorial Library and then became the branch manager of St. Paul's Hollywood.
"Honestly I never thought I would be a branch manager in a million years. But when it happened and we had our opening day, I invited my father out. He was super proud and said, 'Your mom's happy now. I know she's proud of you,'" she said.
Rebecca is a self-proclaimed "dork" who loves video games, anime, and attending ComicCon.
"I went as Guinan one year, from Star Trek, the Whoopi Goldberg character. She had the big, funky hats and was the unofficial counselor of the ship. A lot of people think I'm a counselor because I sit back, I listen, I talk to anybody," Wright said.
Rebecca says she looks forward to becoming a part of the Hollywood community through her service at the library.
"I love the community feel, the small-town feel. It's also growing, so I love to be a part of a growing community and to help bring some programs. I know that we're a food desert and a digital desert right now and we're having programs to rectify that. It means a lot to help and give back," she said.
Rebecca says she wants to meet everyone in the St. Paul's Hollywood community, so whether you see her at the library or the grocery store she hopes you'll take a moment to say hi.
To see the St. Paul's Hollywood branch operating hours and contact information, click here.