by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Gretchen Mitchell’s office is nestled on the third floor of the Main Library, but that’s not where she spends most of her work day. Mitchell is the administrative director of the Main Branch Library and her days consist of perusing the floors of the $95 million, 300,000 square-foot building that houses mores than 900,000 books, tapes and various other literary media.
Mitchell has been working for the Jacksonville Library System for more than 16 years.
She received a degree in English from Rollins College and her master’s from Florida State University in Library Science. She loves reading and researching — and getting paid for it.
Mitchell says she wants people to remember more than just the great building. Her main goal at the library is for the citizens to think “Wow! The people that work there are fabulous,” she said.
“It’s an exciting time for us. The system has expanded to more than a dozen branches. We have a spectacular building and it was all made possible because the people voted for the Better Jacksonville Plan,” said Mitchell. “It’s wonderful to live in a city where people love their library.”