Even regular visitors to the Austin Public Library might not know about its latest addition.

No, it's not new books or even a new computer, but Ann Hokanson, the new head librarian.

A native of Reedsburg, Wis., she comes via the public library of Prescott, a small town just across the Minnesota border from the Twin Cities.

While Austin is about seven times bigger than Prescott, the transition should be a smooth one, given her credentials.

Hokanson earned both her bachelor's degree in history and international relations and her master's in library and information systems from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Although she has only been at work for a few days, she is already impressed with her new digs.

"This library is a great asset to the community that everyone should be very proud of," she said.

Aside from the building itself, she also praised the library staff, both for their professional expertise and for the kind welcome they've given her. Her few days on the job have been spent taking stock of the facilities and getting to know her new co-workers.

While she's still trying to familiarize herself with the intricacies of the job, Hokanson feels that her mandate from the library board is clear.

"They (the board) are quite committed to upholding the library's mission of community service," she said. "And what they've asked me to do in that respect is to lead the library into the future, while at the same time preserving its tradition of excellence."

This requires the ability to balance and adapt to changing community needs and budgets in the future, a challenge Hokanson hopes to meet.

She hasn't come to Austin alone, however. Her husband, Peter Jacobs, is a self-employed environmental consultant who specializes in geochemistry and hydrogeology. They also have a two-year-old son, Ben.

The library is a member of the SELCO regional system, which encompasses most of southeastern Minnesota. The benefit of this is that visitors to the Austin branch essentially have access to the holdings of every library from Winona to Red Wing, thanks to SELCO's cooperative borrowing policy. If, for some reason, these resources aren't vast enough, one can also use the Austin library to order materials from libraries outside of Minnesota as well.

Hokanson said she encourages all Austin residents to come and visit her in the library to discover all it has to offer.