“When she’s here [on Martha’s Vineyard], it’s in the news . . . so there’s an awareness that [the Obamas] are here,” Sherman said in a phone interview Saturday. “You don’t think that they will stop into your organization.”

Edgartown Public Library director Lisa Sherman said that Friday afternoon, after the nearby K-8 school let out, a woman approached her and asked, “Would you like a visit with Mrs. Obama?”

Former first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to a small library on Martha’s Vineyard this week.

Obama soon walked into the library and headed for the children’s room, where she was met by more than a dozen schoolchildren who were excited to see her, Sherman said.


There, she talked about the importance of learning, reading, and supporting one another, Sherman said.

Obama and her Secret Service detail stayed for a half an hour, Sherman said, and the former first lady didn’t leave until she had spoken with all of the children in the room and all the staff at the library.

Children told their parents, “You won’t believe who I saw today!” when they arrived to pick the little ones up, Sherman said.

“She was unbelievably gracious and warm — everything you imagine her to be, that’s what she was yesterday,” Sherman said. “It was incredibly wonderful that she came in.”

Jordan Frias can be reached at jordan.frias@globe.com.