The Coffee County Manchester Public Library has announced Leslie Warren as its new children’s librarian. Warren was officially hired in June and will be all set and ready to welcome the community’s children and teens when the library officially reopens Monday, July 6.

Library Director Pauline Vaughn said she previously worked with Warren during her time as assistant director of the Lannom Memorial Library in Tullahoma several years ago.

“I have worked with Leslie before, she has a long history with the library system here in Coffee County, she also has a very long history with Centerstone,” Vaughn said. “Leslie is dedicated to children’s education and the care of children in general and I think she will be a really good fit.”

Warren, who has a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and Family Studies, said she is excited to get back to her library roots.

“I started out in childcare and evolved from there into being a lead teacher at Manchester Head Start,” she said.

It was during her time at Head Start that Warren began working part-time at the Lannom Memorial Library in Tullahoma.

Some of Warren’s first children’s programming is Sippy Cups and Storytimes every Thursday at 10 a.m. that is geared towards children ages three and younger as well as a traditional library Storytime for children over the age of three.

Warren said when it comes to children’s books, some of her favorites include the Jan Brett’s winter-themed books and the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book series by Laura Numeroff.

“It shows cause and effect,” Warren said of the beloved Numeroff books. “I try to bring in that learning aspect to the stories, so it is not just a story and you are having fun, but kids are kind of getting a bit of learning aspect to them too.”

Warren said returning to the Coffee County Public Library system feels like a full circle moment for her.

“I am really just excited to be back and working with children and the team at Manchester to foster that love of reading and early literacy for our youngest citizens,” she said.