MOULTRIE — Kevin Ellis has been the director of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library for about two and a half years now, and he’s loved every minute of it.

He said the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System was the third library system that he’s worked in over his 12-year career.

“But this particular system, so far, has been one of the better ones. Simply because you can tell when going to the commission meeting and talking to them about the library, they actually are library users. They actually care about the library. They actually want the library to succeed,” Ellis said and added that he has worked in systems where that wasn’t the case or at least it wasn’t obvious.

He said there was a huge amount of community support for the library and the major renovation on the library is one of the indicators.

Ellis said that he’d only had the opportunity twice to see what the library looked like before the renovation and when he walked in for his interview, he was astounded.

“It’s a huge difference. It is colorful, it is welcoming. … It’s very inviting. I absolutely love the kids’ area. It’s my favorite. I cannot get over the tree with the lighting. It is my favorite part of the building,” he said.

When asked how Ellis got interested in pursuing a career in library science, he said, “It was a bit of an accident.”

He had moved back home to Cuthbert, from Carrolton, where he was going to college pursuing a degree in history. He had decided to continue his classes online and it was his ultimate goal to become a history teacher.

At that time, he was also driving back and forth from Cuthbert to Albany looking for a job and he saw where a huge building was being constructed on Hwy. 82.

“I couldn’t figure out what it was and I started doing research to figure out what the building was. I figured that whatever it is, they’re building it and they’re probably going to need staff,” he said.

He found out that it was the new Oakland Branch of the Lee County Library so he applied and was hired.

“And that pretty much is what solidified it,” he said.

Ellis said that he worked there two years before he officially decided that this was what he wanted his career to be.

“I love libraries. I’ve always been a reader. I just loved the atmosphere of it and I loved working with the patrons. I found out that I really loved working the front desk,” he said and added that he knew he wouldn’t get the same type of feeling if he continued with the teaching idea.

“I kind of fell into it and, as soon as I finished with my history degree, I applied to Valdosta Sate for the master’s program in library sciences. … I’ve loved every minute of it,” Ellis said.

After working in Lee County for about eight years, he applied for the assistant director position at the Pine Mountain Region Library System in Manchester, Georgia, and was there for about two and a half years.

He knew that he wanted to get back down to the South Georgia area, so when the opportunity came up in Moultrie, he applied.

“And I guess the rest is history,” he said.