New Director of Library and Information Services Lee De Groft is excited to be part of the Trinity family. Originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, De Groft obtained degrees in Archives and Library Information at the University of South Carolina. She has a unique passion for helping people in a library environment, as evidenced by her 22 years working as a librarian.
“I think I was born a librarian,” De Groft said.
At a young age, she turned her walk-in closet into a library for color-coding all of her books. Unfortunately, a major obstacle restrained her path to her desired career.
“I have what’s called dyscalculia,” De Groft said. “It’s a problem with numbers.”
In order to keep her job as a librarian, she needed to obtain a teaching license by taking the Florida Teacher Certification Exam. While one component of the test was specific to libraries, the rest tested general subjects such as math, which she struggled on. However, she was determined to overcome her challenge.
“I forced myself to do sudoku…on my phone, or on an iPad,” De Groft said. “I needed to do intense studying in small blocks [for the math portion].”
De Groft moved to Florida after her husband received a call offering him a position as the director of the Orlando Museum of Art. He has worked at several Florida museums before, such as the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville and the Muscarelle Museum in Virginia.
Along with her husband, De Groft is an avid tourist, visiting many different countries with her family. Her most recent travel was to Paris, France, but she has also been to Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, and Florence, Italy.
“Some of the best experiences I’ve had [while] traveling were never mentioned in guidebooks but because locals told me about them,” De Groft said.
Despite having visited many places, she really hopes to travel to New Zealand.
“It just looks absolutely gorgeous,” De Groft said. “Sometimes…I would actually just kill time by daydreaming library jobs in New Zealand…how cool would that be?”
Working as the librarian at Trinity provides a wonderful experience for De Groft. Not only is Florida a comfort place for her, but she also loves the beautiful campus, small school size, and the feeling that everyone is engaged. She hopes to bring her experience and technique into the library, while also fostering connections with others.
“I’d like to get to know everybody, the kids…and the faculty and see what the library can offer them,” De Groft said. “I promise you it’s more than just books.”
