Anna Maria Watkin
Title: Director
Department:
Parkland Library
Education
MLS, Illinois State University
MFA, Illinois State University
MLS, University of Illinois
So, what does a college library director read? For Anna Maria Watkin,
director of the Parkland Library since 1999, these days it’s the crime
fiction novel
Fingersmith by
Sarah Waters. Other interests of the Shrewsbury, England, native would
include cooking international dishes, knitting, and gardening. In fact,
art or landscape gardening would likely be her career, did she not so
enjoy library work. “I’m inspired by Nature and all she has to offer if
we take care of her.”
Visit the University of Illinois' woods in Urbana, and you might find
Anna Maria there enjoying its lovely quietness, perhaps listening to
Bob Marley, Black Uhuru, Nina Simone, or Billy Holiday. She prefers
“‘staycations’ and discovering "all the wonderful things there are to
do within a 150 mile radius of C-U." She's also an avid movie fan. Her
favorite advice? “Be true to your heart.”