Lauren Gommert is the children’s librarian at the Lena Armstrong Public Library in Belton. Gommert, who loves her job, provides story times and, among many things, is a driving force behind the library’s summer reading program.Lauren Gommert, 27, is the Children's Librarian at the Lena Armstrong Public Library, located at 301 East 1st Avenue here in Belton. Her duties there are varied and, in her own expressed opinion, both fulfilling and fun.

"I put together the story times that we have twice a week, and then I plan the summer reading program. I have a lot of fun with all the kids," she states with a smile.

Originally a native of Troy, Texas, Lauren is head over heels in love with Belton. Lauren has been in Belton for 10 years now, and she plans on staying here for the rest of her days.

Lauren came to Belton because she was attending Tarleton State University in Killeen.

"I picked Belton because it worked well with what I needed. I stayed in Belton because I found that it is just the perfect environment. It's big enough that you have everything you need surrounding you, grocery stores, places to eat, etc, but it's small enough you still have that small town feel," explains Gommert.

"I've lived in Troy and Temple - and now Belton. I consider Belton my home. I tell people I am from Belton. There really is no place I'd rather be," Lauren says with a smile.

"The residents of Belton are really nice and friendly and I'm lucky enough to live by the hike and bike trail. I love that I get to hit the trail all the time and I get to go feed the ducks and enjoy the splash pad and get to act like I'm a child again. Belton is perfect, I plan to stay!" she states with a laugh.

Lauren graduated from Tarleton State University in Killeen, with a Bachelors degree in Psychology.

"I went to school for Psychology, and they always say take a job that you love. My two passions are books and children, and I always thought 'what can I do with that? I'm never going to find a job perfect for me,' and then I saw this opening in the paper and literally 5 or 6 people called me and told me I needed to go apply for this job. And so I did, and I was lucky enough to get it! I was really thrilled."

Kids and books are two things Lauren claims she cannot do without.

"I've been at this job for almost two years. When I started, I didn't know much of anything about working at a library. I thought it would be pretty simple - just come in and check out books and tell the kids to have a good day. Turns out there's a lot more to it," Lauren explains.

"You have to go through the books, you must get rid of old books - which is really hard for me personally! I'm one of those people who will go to a flea market and buy a book with no front cover and back cover and take it home and rescue it and love it! To get rid of books is really hard, and it's something I've had to learn to do here. You've got to learn to order books that you might not particularly like, but, because the kids love "Captain Underpants," that's what they want to read, and as long as they're reading, I love it! The most special part of my job is having kiddos come in here saying they hate to read and leave with a book in hand, and they're excited about that book."

Gommert's passions are realized in her library job, and she wants to make a career out of it. She enjoys the rewards that come to her on an almost daily basis with the children she helps find books, reads to, and spends time getting to know.

One of Lauren's more memorable moments from her job, as she described, occurred during a story time.

"The theme was "Acting Silly," and the kids just lit up. They had the best time ever with it. They were smiling and grinning. I have some kids that come to story time every week and have not interacted - not had fun or sung the songs with us, not played the games - but seeing those kids get up and feel like they can interact and come out of their bubble, that is rewarding," said Gommert.

"There is one little girl in particular who has been coming in for almost a year; she doesn't really talk much, and she sits with her dad. She doesn't interact or socialize much, just real shy, and so seeing her jump around and acting silly, that was fun! That is one of the many things I truly love about this job."

Gommert is very passionate about what she does. "It's funny this just sort of fell into my lap. I wasn't really looking; I mean, I was looking for a job, but I got real lucky. There is that whole right time right place thing. I feel real lucky to have this job!"

"It's stressful, it's a lot more stressful than people think." Gommert comments, "worst moment has to be this week!" she says with a laugh. "All this renovation going on, dust covering everything - I came in on Monday and there were literally 3 piles of books on the floor from them moving around everything for the renovation. Kids coming in are so confused because the door was here and now it's not there, and there's a big hole in the wall. It's just total chaos. I'm in the middle of planning our summer reading program, and we're having a book sale on top of that. But you come in and you see those little faces, and they smile at you or say something funny or say something kind or they get so excited and they get so thrilled when they see a book they like ... and that just makes it all okay, makes it all worth it. It's pretty fun!" Gommert says with a laugh.

Lauren's story times at the library take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. each week. Each story time, open to all, is about an hour long. The first fifteen minutes are spent reading and singing together. After the singing, there is usually coloring and other little activities that underscore the parent-child bonding experience.

Library hours are 10am to 5pm Monday and Friday, 11am to 6pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 9am to 2pm on Saturday. The Lena Armstrong library is closed on Sundays.

"I really enjoy Belton. I really enjoy the people here. I like the surroundings. I like how it feels kinda quaint and old fashioned. City of Belton does a great job maintaining everything. I'm just really happy to be here!" states Lauren.