Chris Meech replaces Jill Grenfell, who retired last year after a career at the library which spanned almost 48 years.
Mr Meech (39) previously worked part-time in the reference department at the University of Otago library and completed his master of library and information studies while working there.
He was enjoying the move north - "a nice change of pace" - and a job as a reference librarian which was very interesting.
He is responsible for the non-fiction collection.
The library, which had an "excellent" non-fiction collection, was an outstanding facility for a town the size of Oamaru, he said.
An avid reader, Mr Meech said his reading tastes were quite eclectic.
He read much non-fiction, including art, poetry and computer science books.
He was familiar with being surrounded by female librarians, saying that seemed to be "pretty much the way the profession is".
"I feel as a man I bring a valuable perspective to things. I enjoy working with my female colleagues and I think they enjoy working with me. It makes a nice dynamic," he said.
It was difficult not to take books home to read, and he did tend to take a book a day, but he never had overdue books, he said, laughing.
