Celebrating 15 years: Jacob D.

Posted by Staff
 
Jacob joined the library staff while he was in high school. He has risen through the ranks and is now the Head of Research and Adult Services. This is not by chance, but rather the result of his dedication to library patrons and services, and his numerous talents. We are so fortunate that Jacob has chosen to make his career at our library.

Jacob is very popular with his co-workers and the patrons. We all rely on him for technical help, for his amazingly wide-ranging knowledge of books and movies, for the entertaining programs he arranges for our community, and his quick wit. For those of us who know Jacob well, we can't imagine the library without him! 

 

How long have you worked at the library? 

Since October 2001.

In what part of the library do you work and what do you do?  

I’m the Head of Research and Adult Services. Some of duties include traditional reference help and hands-on assistance with in-house computers, personal eReaders, and other techy stuff. I also do adult programming.

What has changed the most since you started working here?

The building itself has changed quite a lot in 15 years. There are almost 10 times as many computers in the building. In 2001, we still had the old-fashioned card catalogs—now it’s all computerized. There have been many other changes throughout the adult and children’s libraries. If you haven’t stepped into the library in 15 years, you might be surprised by the way it looks.

What services offered at the library do you wish more people knew about?

Movie Night! We’ve been screening monthly movies in the evenings for over a year (we also have monthly movies on Monday afternoons). We’d love for more people to come to these screenings and share the love of film with the rest of us.

What has kept you working at the library?

In my time as an employee, I finished college and went to graduate school for library science. I’ve moved to the reference department, which we now call Research and Adult Services. During my time here, I have been seeing many of the same faces daily, weekly, or monthly. The library’s patrons and the library’s employees make me look forward to coming into work every day.

If you could have coffee with any author, who would you choose?
I’m assuming this is living or dead—I’ve always thought it would be amazing to meet Kurt Vonnegut.

What’s an underrated book you think everyone should read?

I’ve purchased copies of The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt as gifts for a few different friends. I read it 10 years ago, and I still haven’t met anyone else that’s read it (including the recipients of my gift purchases).

Do you have a favorite book genre?

I’ll give most genres a try, but I really enjoy reading non-fiction. I can be a bit picky with fiction. I tend to be drawn to coming-of-age stories and books about dysfunctional families.

What is your favorite book that you’ve read in the past year?

It was just under a year ago that I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. I was pleasantly surprised, and I definitely need to read Fredrik Backman’s other books.

It was just over a year ago that I read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s very tragic, but also very inspiring to know there are people like Bryan Stevenson out there.