HAMPTON -- “It’s a great job and a great opportunity,” is how Marybeth Varney describes her new position as Children’s Librarian at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton.

Currently the school librarian at the Opal Myrick Elementary School in East Millinocket, Maine, Varney will start managing the Lane’s downstairs circulation desk on Monday, March 27.

“We’re excited to finally get somebody,” said Library Director Catherine Redden, who introduced Varney to library staffers when she came to Hampton on Tuesday to officially “sign up at town hall.”

Varney is primed to fill the red cowboy boots of her predecessor Cynthia Stosse, who accepted the director’s position at the Pembroke Town Library back in early January.

“I’m very excited to start,” says Varney. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

It appears she comes to Hampton well-qualified to accept that challenge. Redden says that Varney “gave really good answers to questions about working with kids” during her interview for the job. “She’s very dedicated and very committed to kids.”

Varney’s was one of 10 applications the Lane Library had received during the hiring process.

“We whittled it down,” says Redden. Noting that the handful of applicants they ended up speaking to were “all good,” Redden says Varney “seemed to stand out among the ones we interviewed. We just clicked.”

And because Varney is “a big Red Sox and Patriots fan” and is known to be “a very good cook,” Redden told her “you’ll fit right in here.”

Varney, who earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Library/ Information Technology at the University of Maine at Augusta, has “always been a children’s librarian.” Beginning her college education as an English Arts major, she took graduate courses in her quest to teach reading and become a literacy specialist.

“I’ve worked with children for 18 years in one capacity or another,” she says.

Varney is no stranger to the Seacoast; she grew up in the southern Maine area, where several of her family members still reside. Her husband Mark — a seasonal park ranger — previously worked full time at the Seabrook power plant and still returns to work there during regularly scheduled shut-downs. In fact, says Redden, he utilized the Lane Library whenever he was in town.

“It’s a wonderful area,” Varney says.

While she admits that it will be “very hard to leave the children at school” when she relocates from Maine to Hampton, Varney is very optimistic about her future and the satisfaction she anticipates while “working with kids in a different way” as the head of Children’s Services.

Marybeth Varney is looking forward to joining Library Assistant Joanne Mulready and Teen Services Librarian Cheryl French later this month. The community is invited to welcome her by stopping by or calling the Children’s Room at (603) 926-4729.