LAPLACE — It’s OK to tell Trina Smith to shush in the library.

Even though Smith has worked in libraries for the better part of 25 years and recently was named the director of the John the Baptist Parish Public Libraries, Smith sometimes forgets herself.

“I do tend to get loud,” she said. “My voice does carry.”

What do you expect of a trained opera singer?

Yes, Smith not only can tiptoe and whisper around library patrons, she also can belt out an aria. She is a trained opera singer with a degree in vocal performance from Xavier University.

“Yes, it’s a stretch,” she said.

Born in Baltimore, Smith and her family moved to LaPlace when she was a teenager. After years of performing at weddings and in local theater, in a New York showcase and auditioning for The Met, Smith married and moved to Mississippi. That’s where she got her start as a periodicals clerk at the Biloxi library.

Years later, she moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she continued to work in library services and got a graduate degree. Now Smith has returned to her hometown to become the Administrative Librarian/public library system director in St. John.

“It was the perfect time,” said Smith, who is the single-parent of a 21-year-old daughter.

“I was looking to make a move. I had been keeping tabs on the community and, one day, I just happened to look on the library website and saw they were looking for a director.”

Smith has been back for roughly eight weeks, trying to get reacquainted with her hometown and adjusting from a library system with 28 branches and 500 employees to one with four branches and 40 employees.

“I’m back home,” she said. “My roots are here. I missed my family, but I also missed the food.”

Now Smith faces the daunting task of calming a system that has seen some turbulence in recent years.

Longtime director Randy A. De Soto stepped down after 27 years in June of 2014 and was replaced by Roberta Zeno. Zeno resigned after a year and was replaced by Natalie D. Beam.

Beam resigned in December, at the end of what she termed a “challenging year.”

Smith said she has heard only bits and pieces of what transpired throughout the changes. She is more focused on moving forward.

“I come in kind of picking up some pieces,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into. But I have to say the staff has been very helpful and receptive. They’ve been through a lot. (I’m) really just setting some goals, trying to get some positive feedback. I’m here to provide some consistency and to bring some new ideas.”

Throughout her career, Smith has been particularly drawn to children’s services. When she went back to school to earn her graduate degree, thanks to a scholarship awarded from an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, Smith concentrated on children’s and youth services.

“That’s really my passion,” she said. “It’s story time, the activities, encouraging them to read. Early literacy. Finding that niche for the fourth and fifth graders who are starting to lose a little interest, or they’re not quite sure and finding that one thing that they really like. Thank goodness for graphic novels.”

Smith would like to see such new programs as a volunteer program for the National Honor Society students, programs for special needs residents, the Spanish-speaking population in the area and some employee assistance programs.

Her favorite part, though, is helping people find what they’re looking for.

“If I don’t know it, I will find it,” she said. “I do not give up. I really hate for somebody to walk out the door and not be happy with either the service we provide or just walking out empty-handed. I’m persistent.”