Donna Lolos has only been the director at the Stonington Free Library for a few weeks, but she said she’s already coming back to her roots.

Even though Lolos grew up in Massachusetts, her family summered at Crescent Point in Niantic, and she knew she would be happy coming back to the area.

Lolos said her library “habit” started in first-grade because she loved going to the library and checking out books. This led to an undergraduate degree in elementary education, a position as a reference assistant, and a lifelong involvement with literacy programming.

Before coming to Stonington, Lolos worked in Hudson, N.H., and served as director at the James Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford and the West Haven Public Library. She also served as deputy director for 26 library branches in Houston.

Lolos said she is committed to listening to what the community, patrons and staff want to see from the library, and she is glad that the board of trustees also wants to grow the library’s offerings because it has a lot of potential. Currently, the library hosts a lecture series, and Lolos wants to introduce music and drama programs.

She also plans to embrace the growing digital culture by strengthening the library’s technology options, including social media presence and a mobile app for the library in the future.

The Stonington Free Library will be holding a reception for the public to meet Lolos on Dec. 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Twitter: @ahutch411