Meet the Mascot : Phineas Phoenix

Now that we've introduced all of the librarians, it's time to introduce our mascot, Phineas Phoenix. Phineas stars in all of our promotional materials and is the "face" of the Vise Library's Facebook account.

Phineas has two looks. First, is his "fun" look :

Next is his "fancy" look, complete with our library's name :

 

Both of these images were created by former CU professor, Margie Monde, in order to help the Vise Library with marketing efforts. 

In Phineas' spare time (when the library is closed), he enjoys reading (obviously) and rising from the ashes. He doesn't need much to entertain himself, which is good for the librarians since none of them know how to care for a phoenix. 

Meet the Librarian : Ashli Wells

Our final Meet the Librarian post is about Ashli Wells, who is responsible for all things budget-related (I don't envy that job at all!), ordering and cataloging items, and interlibrary loan.

Here are a few questions for Ashli :

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

I would be really boring and responsible and pay off my school loans and my car.  Then, I would probably do something fun like a vacation to Greece.

If you could be any fictional character (from a TV show, movie, or book), who would you choose?

At first when I read this my immediate answer was Wonder Woman, but I think I would rather meet her than be her.  If I could be any fictional character I would want to be Veronica Mars (from the show Veronica Mars).  She had some really close friends, she was super sassy, she always spoke up when she felt like she needed to, and she got to take her dog around with her while she solved mysteries.

What grown-up job did you want to have when you were a child?

I always wanted to be a veterinarian.  I grew up showing dogs and thought I always wanted to do something with animals.  However, that quickly changed in college when I volunteered at an emergency vet clinic.  That made me decide that I could love dogs and animals as pets from afar, and help them in some other way.  So, now I just love on my rescue pugs, Scooter and Happy!

What do you have an irrational fear of?

I don't know if it's necessarily a fear, but I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hate for my neck to be touched.  I don't know why, but turtlenecks are definitely out and don't even think about tickling me on my neck.

What word do you have trouble saying?

Long story (that involves me being really overworked and tired), but rotator (Hey! It was just one time Amber, so you can stop laughing!)

What was the last book you read?

I haven't been reading as much this year due to school, but I did get to read a book over the weekend.  It was Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch.  It is about a girl that goes on a road trip with her brother (who she can't stand at the moment) and one of his friends.  It was a really good YA story and helped me decompress after a big test I had this weekend.  It comes out later this year and (shameless library plug) you should check out our copy from the library when it releases in July!!!

What book can you read over and over again?

This is a seriously unfair question.  I can't pick just one, but I will do my best to try!  Persuasion by Jane Austen is a book that I will always be happy to reread (with Pride and Prejudice right behind it!).  Anything by Mariana Zapata I can always reread (and have).  The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani is one of my favorite books ever.  Harry Potter (of course!).  I also love, love, love anything by Beatriz Williams (she always hits me in the feels!).  Books by Jennifer E. Smith are some of my favorites to reread too.  I love to reread certain passages from certain books, too (but that would make this way too long!). 

 

   

What is the thing you like best about your work?

I really enjoy the round-about way I get to help people.  I really do a lot of things behind the scenes (budgeting, ordering, interlibrary loan, etc.) and I really love those aspects of my job.  I love being able to get creative and find new ways to improve the services that we provide to the Cumberland University community.  Those services (and their improvements) end up helping our students, faculty, and staff.  A lot of times I get to bounce ideas around with my co-workers and that is always fun too!

What do you do when you cannot sleep?

I usually go lay on the couch and watch 1 of 2 movies: Lord of the Rings : the Fellowship of the Ring or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  These have been on my DVR for 3+ years and I have unfortunately (probably) started these movies thousands of times (no lie, I probably know the order of the commercials at this point).  Since I have seen them so much, I don't feel like I need to stay up to follow along and it usually helps me fall asleep!  I am usually back asleep by the time Frodo reaches Rivendale or by the time Harry is back at Hogwarts.

What are you always late for?

Nothing...I am annoyingly punctual (just ask my co-workers) and usually arrive to anything ridiculously early.

What are you grateful for today?

THAT MY COMPS ARE OVER FOR THE MSP PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Editor's note - Ashli found out on that she passed them! Congratulations!!!!!)

What are the perks of your job? 
Having access to books and movies before anyone else does!  I also have pretty great co-workers that are fun to be around too!

Meet the Librarian : Bettina Warkentin

Our National Library Week posts continue with a profile of librarian Bettina Warkentin.

Bettina is best known for being the nicest librarian on staff. She is also ridiculously good at remembering names and details from conversations. That gift serves her well in her role when providing assistance at the Information Desk and as the lead Instruction Librarian. She is also the Coordinator of the Stockton Archives.

If you have a moment, be sure to thank Bettina for all of her hard work!

Meet the Librarian : Emily Parks

Today's Meet the Librarian profile features Emily Parks, who is responsible for assisting with cataloging and Interlibrary Loan duties, as well as kicking butt at whatever random tasks she's asked to do.

Here are a few questions for Emily :

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
Buy everyone in my family their own farm with their choice of house to go with it. Mine would be a house like the one in the Notebook!

If you could be any fictional character (from a TV show, movie, or book), who would you choose?
Denarius Targaryen from GOT. I think being the Mother of Dragons would be pretty legit.

What grown-up job did you want to have when you were a child?
I wanted to be a cosmetologist, but that was before I learned you had to cut people's toenails to do that job....ew.

What do you have an irrational fear of?
Being covered in centipedes

What word do you have trouble saying?
Parenthesis

What was the last book you read?
Chosen by Ted Dekker

What book can you read over and over again?
The Hunger Games series. I know it's cheesy, but I just really enjoy those books!

What is the thing you like best about your work?
My co-workers!

What do you do when you cannot sleep?
Try to mentally play through one of my pieces of piano music.

What are you always late for?
I'm generally never late. I hate being late to anything!

What are you grateful for today?
I'm grateful that graduation is almost here!

What are the perks of your job?
First dibs and unlimited access to books and movies!

Meet the Librarian : Amber McKee

As part of our National Library Week celebration, we are going to feature profiles on our librarians - Amber, Emily, Bettina, and Ashli.

Today's profile is about Amber McKee who is responsible for maintaining access to the library's electronic resources, such as the library's website and databases.

Here are a few questions for Amber :

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
Pay off all of our debt and our home...okay, that would probably be the second thing. The first thing I would do is go to Target and buy one of everything they sell! Ha!

 

If you could be any fictional character (from a TV show, movie, or book), who would you choose?
My initial thought was Claudia from The Babysitter's Club books, but then I realized I'm 34 and it's sad to want to be a 13-year-old...or is it?

What grown-up job did you want to have when you were a child?
Writer! I still do some freelance writing but not nearly as much as I'd like to do.

What do you have an irrational fear of?
Crickets!! Yuck!!! I know they're harmless, but there's something about the way they jump towards you that just freaks me out!!

This cricket freaks me out too...

What word do you have trouble saying?
Rural - it's not one that I have to say that often, but it trips me up every time!

What was the last book you read?
Crooked House by Agatha Christie. I'm participating in a reading challenge, and one of the prompts was reading a book with house or home in the title, so that was my selection after I saw it on the new shelf at the library!

What book can you read over and over again?
I'm not sure. I don't tend to like to reread books, so I guess the answer to this is nothing!

What is the thing you like best about your work?

The variety! I have a pretty short attention span, so I would get really bored if I had to do the same things every single day.

What do you do when you cannot sleep?
We have a toddler who currently doesn't want to go to sleep in her own bed, so I pretty much fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow after battling with her!

What are you always late for?
Everything! I can't remember the last time I've been on time or early to something. That's sad, isn't it?

What are you grateful for today?
My family! I would be so lost without them!

What are the perks of your job?
Not having to pay fines on books. I'm a bit of a book hoarder when I check things out, so I would basically own a section of the library by now if I had to pay fines!

Come back tomorrow to learn about Emily Parks!