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The following is the next installment in the series in which I interview staff members of the Topsham Public Library. 

My main task at the Topsham Public Library is to cover the circulation desk. I welcome patrons as they enter, I help people find items they are looking for, I check in items and I check out items, I answer questions, and if I can’t answer their questions, I find someone who can. I also get to witness the children as the enter the library. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the children are eager to be here. Some enter shyly and quietly, while others make their presence known with an exuberant “Hi!” Invariably they will head for the fish tank, and then on to the train table. While making their way to the children’s section, I can hear the children talking to their parents, and one hundred percent of the time I hear them ask about Mariah hoping she is here.

Mariah is the most loved of our staff members. The children love her, the parents love her, her co-workers love her. If you haven’t figured it out, Mariah is the Children’s Librarian and I am not exaggerating when I say, the Topsham Public Library is blessed to have her.

Mariah is sincere in her concern for children and their development, and she is passionate about the role libraries play in a child’s growth. Mariah, weekly, has three story times geared to three different age groups. She also facilitates a book group for older children in grades 4 and 5; plus, she runs parent-child workshops and organizes other monthly programs for children.

But there is so much more to Mariah than what we witness here at the Topsham Public Library, and that is what I’m interested in!

When Mariah is not here and not in class (she is working on her Masters of Library Science), she might be found playing gigs with her bands. She plays guitar, piano, recorder, bass, mandolin, and doumbek AND she sings! If you are available, her band, Steamboat Gypsy, is playing an event at Fort Andross this Friday, December 18 from 6pm-8pm, and it is open to the public.

Like the rest of us, she loves to read, and her first favorite book she remembers is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Mariah prefers nonfiction to fiction, but will take mystery over romance and drama instead of sci-fi. She would rather hold the book in her hands then read it with an e-reader.

As far as food goes, Mariah enjoys eat-in more than take-out. After much pondering, and perhaps changing her mind a time or two, Mariah would take vanilla over chocolate and cake over pie. Salad instead of soup, scrambled over fried, and mexican food before chinese food.

Mariah picks country over city and ocean over mountains; Apple over android, ukulele instead of accordion, and she prefers antique to new. And she one of her favorite sounds is the sound of rain. Mariah would choose Jason Bourne over James Bond and Superman over Batman. If she had a super power, she would like to read minds instead of being invisible. As well as her musical interests, Mariah also enjoys crafting, cooking, and participating in yoga on her off time. It was only under duress that she chose singing over dancing when I made her choose.

Mariah, usually very calm, friendly, and professional, can be giddy at times. And what would make her lose all sense of decorum, you ask? Mariah loves costumes and dressing up in costumes and Halloween just about sends her over the edge with anticipation and excitement. Mariah plans her costume weeks in advance!

When asked what she would do if she didn’t have to concern herself with cost, she said she would travel first to Ireland and then somewhere tropical. She also prefers Paris to London. When asked who she would invite to dinner if she could invite anyone in the whole world, she asked, “Would it be tacky if I said, my family?”

What I find most surprising in the most pleasantest of ways, is her answer to my question, “What profession would you be if you were not a librarian or a musician?” She said she would own a cake shop. I totally see her doing this! Mariah, whether in the kitchen or while crafting, can take a bunch of ingredients, or odds and ends, or bits and baubles, or notes and chords and make something beautiful.

I must admit, I did not have much luck reading this year. I had a hard time finding titles I wanted to read, and then, once I began a book, I had a difficult time finishing the book. I did come upon a few pleasant surprises (you will hear about them in just a few weeks when we release the staff’s picks of 2015), but mostly came up flat.

Well, I found a list, Reading Challenge 2016, that suggests categories to read in 2016. I like the list because it gives a broad category and lets the reader choose the particular book. The challenge is to finish the list by 2017.

I’m going to try it, and I challenge you to try it with me. I will post my progress periodically, and we will see how it goes! And let me know how you’re doing, too!

(If you don’t like this list, you could make your own challenge. For example, you could challenge yourself to read through award winners, or read books that have been made into movies, or read books written by athletes, or read books written in a certain time period like the 1920s. If you use pinterest, you could follow our book lists board for ideas. The possibilities are endless!)

A few weeks ago, it became unavoidably clear that I need a calendar. After hitting the snooze button umpteen times, I got my body out of bed. As usual, I woke up the kids and started them on their morning routines. Then I took a moment and thought about the day that lay ahead and checked with the kids about their after school plans. Once they were out of the house, I had my breakfast and got ready for work. All of this was very normal and quite mundane.

When I arrived at work, Cyndi looked at me and asked, “What are you doing here?” I can tell you, I was quite confused. Cyndi usually has a pretty good grip on what’s going on, and I couldn’t understand how she could forget that I work Thursday mornings. Really, her forgetfulness worried me a little. Then she said, “You asked for the day off.”  Then her forgetfulness worried me a lot. “I don’t think I did,” was my response, knowing full well I hadn’t asked for that day off. But then it hit me. Cyndi was right. I had asked for the day off, and I had completely forgotten about it. Comforted in the knowledge that Cyndi wasn’t losing it, and a little discomfited knowing I had totally forgotten that I had requested a day off and showed up for work, I realized I might need a calendar.

I’ve never really used calendars. I have kept track of my schedule in my head. Oh – I begin the year off with a calendar, I especially like the Word A Day calendars, but it ends up under a pile of clutter sometime in February, and I don’t look at it again until maybe June, and then I forget about it entirely as it’s summer and I don’t like thinking about time in summer. I do have a monthly calendar in my purse, but I forget it’s there. My refrigerator is plastered with the kids’ sports schedules and upcoming doctors’ appointments, and that’s how I operate.

After thinking about my own calendar oddities, I wanted to see how my co-workers operate.

As we can see below, Emma would be absolutely lost without her calendar:

Julie, on the other hand, likes pretty calendars:

And Lynne, well Lynne can only take one day at a time:

I’m not sure what system I will go with, but I’ll find something…soon…maybe….

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. I haven’t always appreciated the idea of thankfulness, but I have learned a few things along the way and have tried to develop an attitude of gratitude.

The Topsham Public Library is thankful, too, and here is a list of some of the many things we are thankful for:

• The Community. Topsham is a great place to live, and the support from the community has grown, and we do not take that for granted. Thank you!
• The Volunteers. Every week dozens of individuals take time out of their day and assist us in our daily tasks. Thank you!
• Friends of the Topsham Public Library. This organization, comprised of volunteers, supports our library, and without them our programming would suffer. Thank you!
• The Garden is another project not possible without our volunteers. It is delightful working at a place where I can go outside for my breaks and stroll through a peaceful garden. Thank you!
• The Crooker Gallery. Not only do I have a garden to stroll through on my breaks, but I have an art gallery to wander around as well. Thank you!
• The Telescope. Through Mariah’s vision and the generosity of a grant, the Topsham Public Library has a telescope that can be borrowed by our patrons. Thank you!
• The Book Groups. From elementary school aged children to adults, we have book groups for everyone. Thank you!
• The Computers. Prior to working here, I was not aware of the need to have computer access available to the public. I have since learned of the need and am glad we can offer internet access to the public. Thank you!
• Your Donations. It is through your generosity and donating your books, music, and movies that we can host the Friends’ Annual Book Sale. Thank you!
• The Business Roundtable and our Business Sponsors – We have a great network of local businesses that care about the town they operate in. Thank you!

The list could go on. Who have I missed? Who are you thankful for?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and let someone know you are thankful for them!

The following is the fourth in a series in which I interview each staff member of the Topsham Public Library. 

On your next visit to the Topsham Public Library, if you are quiet, you might hear someone singing out back. That would be Julie – she is usually singing or humming a little ditty to herself. It might be a hit single by her current favorite singer, Taylor Swift, or it could be an oldie but goodie by the likes of Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Carole King, or Cyndi Lauper just to name a few.

Like the rest of us, Julie devours books in her spare time. Her first favorite book was a Johnny Quest graphic novel (she still has one).  Even to this day, Julie prefers a good graphic novel over fiction, but she will not choose between sci-fi and fantasy as she does love a steamy, bodice-ripping romance whether set in space or in fairy land. And you can find her reading them all on her e-reader as she is one of a few staff members who appreciate the devices.

Julie also gardens (but it might not be her favorite thing to do…), enjoys walking some of the lovely trails we have in Maine (and I’m sure in Vermont, too, as that is where she is originally from), and takes care of her cat.

Given the choice of being hairy all over or bald, Julie chooses to be bald, and that just proves how smart she is. Not only is she smart, and detailed oriented, but she is SUPER organized. Of all the staff members, Julie’s desk is always the neatest. The magnets on her bulletin board are all lined up in a nice row; the papers she has pinned up are not crooked and they are spaced evenly. Everything has its place.

Julie prefers the ocean to the mountains, summer over winter, take-out over eating-in, Mexican food over Chinese food, mustard over ketchup, chocolate before vanilla, pie instead of cake, and eggs over-easy. She is firm in her preference of Batman over Superman – there is no doubt! And she would rather be invisible than be able to read minds.

When asked what she would do if money was no object, Julie said she would travel beginning in Italy then making her way through the rest of Europe. Wherever she goes, rest assured, she will have the most organized suitcase of all.

Saturday is Halloween! Are your costumes ready? (Miss Mariah has been planning her costume for weeks now!) Are you going to be a ghost or goblin or a favorite character from a favorite book? Make sure you dress warm under those costumes so you don’t get cold and carry a flashlight or glow sticks with you so you are visible as you walk along from house to house. And remember – you don’t have to eat all those treats in one night! (When I was little, I used to come home on Halloween night and dump my bag of candy on the floor and just look at all the yumminess. I sorted them into piles and then resorted them into different piles.)

Don’t forget – we are open 9am-4pm Saturday, so swing by the Topsham Public Library and show us your costume!

Those who are driving – please drive carefully and be a little extra cautious Saturday night.

(It’s also Daylight Savings this weekend, so don’t forget to set your clocks back Saturday night, too!)