Meet Your New Teen Librarian

With the new school year, comes a new Teen Librarian at our library! Meet Jess Hardin, she was born and grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and attended school in Carbondale. ​

My love of books started early. I went to the library everyday after school, it was my second home. I cherished the guidance of the librarians, loved participating in the Summer Reading Program, and devoured every book I lay my hands on. I was 16 years old when I read Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It changed my life and made me want to write historical fiction and nonfiction. 

In high school, I was an actress, honor student, regional champion on the speech and debate team, reporter and copy editor for my high school newspaper, and had articles published in The Sopris Sun. I took classes at Colorado Mountain College. I also volunteered at KDNK, the Family Resource Center, Thunder River Theatre Company, Colorado Animal Rescue, and the Carbondale Historical Society.

I graduated from high school in three years and moved to Boston in 2014 to pursue two undergraduate degrees in History and Literature. I started working in libraries in 2015 and loved it so much, I earned my Masters in Library Science from Simmons University in 2020. I have worked for the Moakley Archive, the Boston Library Consortium, and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society.

I moved back to the valley in 2020 and worked for the Garfield County Public Libraries for over a year. I am a KDNK DJ, a metalhead, an avid reader and writer, an artist, and spend most of my free time with my dog, Muddy. 

I enjoy working with patrons of all ages, but I am most empathetic to the lives and struggles of teens and pre-teens. I want to be a part of empowering young adults to reach their personal and academic goals. I have planned some fun upcoming programs and I am working on refreshing our teen space and YA collection. 

If you would like to suggest a program for 5th-12th graders, or recommend books you want to be added to the YA collection, please email me at jhardin@basaltlibrary.org. I look forward to meeting you!

- Jess Hardin