Get to know Haddonfield Public Library’s new director
Smiling from ear to ear, Haddonfield Public Library’s new director Eric Zino was still excited and amazed at the realization that a dream has become reality for him.
Having been in the library world since 2002 and being the acting director for the HPL for the past seven months, Zino was officially named the library’s director on July 5.
“To cross that one finish line, because we’re always setting new ones in front of ourselves, was huge. I’m still a little in disbelief. The realization I’ve achieved the dream and accomplished that goal is amazing,” Zino said.
Zino hopes to accomplish much as the HPL director. He hopes to make the library a mechanism for education and a place the community wants to participate in. For the staff, he wants to create a library where new ideas are explored.
“I want to be a part of a very forward thinking library that is very responsive to the community,” Zino said. “I think we already have (a lot of those) dynamics here and I’d like to continue it.”
Zino believes the renovation changes and additions will help to facilitate a lot of the ideas he has planned.
Zino didn’t start in the library world. He originally wanted to work in law enforcement, having a criminal law justice degree from Rowan University. Straight out of college, he got a job running a department for a consumer protection agency doing criminal background checks and did that for a few years. But after Sept. 11, 2001, the job became extremely difficult and stressful.
Wanting to find a new avenue, Zino thought about what he could do that still involved research, but less stress. His wife Bridget, a teacher at the time, was going for a master’s of library and information science degree at Rutgers, and he thought that seemed like something he might want to do, so he joined the program as well.
Thus began his career in libraries. His first job was at Burlington County College, now Rowan at Burlington County College, where he met previous HPL Director Susan Briant from Haddonfield. He then transitioned into a non-profit consulting company for libraries, did that for about nine years, and decided he wanted to get back into a library itself.
“I had no idea that (being a librarian) would be up my alley … Seeing a community every single day and providing customer service, and talking to people, was a really cool gig,” Zino said.
After hearing of an opening at the HLP and meeting the staff, Zino knew Haddonfield was a place he wanted to work in. Zino got the job as the circulation manager in 2014 and continued in that job until Briant’s retirement. He then took the reins as acting director and was a little nervous with the transition. However, Briant left Zino a very detailed transition plan, and with the help from library staff and the Board of Trustees, Zino was successful in the job.
When Zino isn’t in Haddonfield, he is either back at home in Riverton with his wife and pets or traveling the world.
At his home, Zino enjoys his pets, coffee and jazz music. Having not grown up with pets, Zino realized he was missing out on something amazing. Though he said they can get frustrating, as he has two cats and two dogs, he thinks they’re truly great and fun to have.
Each morning his cats wake him up, and he, a coffee aficionado, mixes and grinds coffee beans to create one cup to drink each morning. Though he does occasionally buy his coffee in Haddonfield, there is something about creating his own blend Zino really loves.
He also has recently picked up the jazz guitar as his hobby, studying it and playing along with different jazz mixes. According to Zino, his wife appreciates it some of the time and he hopes one day she’ll pick up the drums to play along with him.
Zino loves being outdoors and traveling. He enjoys camping, backpacking and cycling locally. When he’s traveling afar, Zino goes to places such as Costa Rica, Thailand, Egypt and Jordan.
No matter where he is or what he does, however, Zino finds his librarian background sometimes makes its way into his life even outside of work.
“Librarians are instructors. At the library, I’m informing someone about something or trying to give him or her a piece of advice. And (outside of the library) talking to someone about coffee and him or her asking me a question, it’s like a reference question to me. My daily interactions and my work life are seamless in that respect,” Zino said.
