Denise Medeiros has the perfect voice for a librarian: soft and calm, you cannot help but lower own voice, thereby eliminating the need for the admonishing "SHH!" that we unfairly associate with librarians.

But while she may not speak loudly, she has big plans as she takes over the reins as the director at the Wareham Free Library.

"It would be really good to increase access," Medeiros said.  "We've made a big investment in this building, but we have the minimum access allowed for certification.  It will only do people good if they can get into the building."

For Medeiros, a library is a not just a place where people gather information from books.  it is also, in a reflection of the changing role of libraries in a digital age, increasingly a place where people gather information from other sources: the internet, the government, and each other.

"I'd like to bring back the community programming, and bring back groups to use the library," Medeiros said.

She said that the library in her home town was the first place where she could go on her own.   She thinks that the Wareham library, especially because it is near to the high school and middle school, is also that kind of place.

"I like the whole idea of the library as a community center" where issues such as politics and culture are discussed in addition to literature.

And this role of libraries is what has continually appealed to her about the profession.  Of course, she loves books, particularly best-selling fiction, she said.   But Medeiros likes that libraries have changed since she got her first library card (which she still keeps) growing up in Central Falls, R.I., and through her progression from a library page shelving books in Fall River, to the reference desk, and then, most recently, to overseeing three branch libraries as the Library Director in Dartmouth.

Technology has of course had a major impact.

"My career has grown along with the technology," Medeiros said.  "I can't believe I know so much about computers as I know today...but I don't miss having to do the card catalog by hand!"

And citizens can also benefit from the library's embrace of technology.

And this library as community informational center is "a big role for public libraries," Medeiros said.  "As more and more information and services are available online, libraries can be the place where all citizens can be provided with internet access," Medeiros explained.

She particularly advocated libraries' roles in educating the citizenry about government, which has largely moved to the web.  "Does anybody do their taxes on paper, anymore?" Medeiros asked.  Yet a large segment of the population does not have regular access to the internet.  And while her immigrant parents strongly advocated the importance of voting, she said that "it is equally important to know who and what you're voting for."

And although some might cringe at the idea of a change that encourages associating the Wareham Free Library and politics, Medeiros said she was unfazed by the turmoil in the organization's past.

"We're really focusing on starting fresh and moving forward, and having been at libraries in several towns... every town has its quirks," Medeiros said, softly.