The Jefferson County Library has a new youth librarian, Scott Bahlmann, who’s set to start producing events for school-aged kids beginning this winter break.

With parents who worked in newspapers, Bahlmann had early connections to literacy, and even became the first male librarian in his small town in Utah.

Bahlmann also connected with theater as a means of sharing stories, and his time in Salt Lake City included both a stint in the children’s theater and three years of working at one of the city’s more affluent libraries.

“In theater, you collaborate with other artists who are focused on the same goals as you,” said Bahlmann, drawing parallels between his theatrical work and the customer service aspects of his librarian duties. “You also develop skills in facing the public and listening to their concerns.”

Bahlmann’s eclectic career has also included stints in the guest services department of Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, teaching in Vietnam and working on an organic farm on Vashon Island.

Although Bahlmann and his husband returned to Salt Lake City to work at one of the city’s more impoverished libraries, as he worked to finish his master’s degree, he nurtured a goal to return to Washington state.

“It was the climate of Washington that drew me, in both senses of the word,” said Bahlmann, who cited the proximity to the ocean and relative receptiveness of the community to partners such as himself and his husband. “The community impressed me with how much it supports its local libraries, including the schools.”

Bahlmann’s arrival in early September coincided roughly with the start of the “Discover Exoplanets” exhibit that’s drawn so many field trips of students to the Jefferson County Library, and he’s enjoyed making contact with members of each school district in the process.

Bahlmann plans to follow this up with monthly meetings with students and school representatives, whose feedback he hopes to use to help determine the direction of his youth programs.

“This is a bit more of a spread-out community than I’m used to, so there have been discussions about whether our events should be hosted more at the library, or taken out to our schools,” Bahlmann said. “When you connect with kids in the schools, those connections can grow from there.”

Bahlmann’s goal is to get children and adults alike to see the library as more than simply a repository of books.

“It’s a place where you can come to learn,” Bahlmann said. “It’s a place where the community comes together, and you can get young people engaged in learning and connected to the community early on, all in a safe, comfortable space.”