Taking on the job of librarian for Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor CSD would be a big task for anybody. That’s the way it goes when your predecessor spent nearly three decades in the job among 33 years overall in the school system.

But when Jo Haney retired earlier this year, her successor, Kerrin Erhard, didn’t have to make a big move. She was already with the library as an educational technician, and she had the blessing of the woman she was replacing.

And to hear Erhard tell it, she already possessed the essential attributes for school library work.

“I love teenagers, and I love books,” she said during a rare break in the frenetic first weeks of school. “Now, it’s evolved with technology. The four walls have come down. I view the job as curating information. There’s so much of it. I don’t care who you are, you’ll get overwhelmed.”

Erhard’s love of reading was fostered early, in the pages of books by such authors as Walter Farley (The Black Stallion) and Marguerite Henry (the Misty books, among many others). Those early exposures to books about horses play out in her life today. She’s an avid rider who has three horses.

“You remember your love of reading and how it started,” said Erhard, who has two sons — Blake, 17, and Mason, 15 — with her husband, Lincoln.

A sense of being exposed to the wonders of the larger world drives Erhard’s plans for the library. She wants to start a book club, work with a wellness team at the schools, and connect with the community through library programming.

First, though, is getting her arms around the job — and more schooling. To be a certified librarian in Maine, she’s working on her master’s degree online through Plymouth State University.

“Working, raising kids, going to school — it’s a lot,” she said.

Her principal, Dan Welch, believes she can handle it. She’s been a substitute teacher, a college access counselor, an ed tech — and, now, a librarian.

“Kerrin has been with the school in several roles and done a wonderful job,” he said. “She has developed strong relationships with her colleagues and our students.”

One of the first things Erhard did was to make the library space more inviting, by ditching some tables in favor of more comfortable chairs. It’s a start. There’s more to come.

“I have big shoes to fill,” she said. “One day at a time.”