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Hello!

My name is Carly (she/her), and I am a Librarian Trainee at the Free Library of Philadelphia. As a Trainee, I learn from active librarians and work on completing my MLIS degree, while also doing basically all the same job duties as librarian. I am rotated to different branches every 9 months or so to learn more about serving different populations and providing different kinds of service. Right now I am at the Teen Center in the main Central branch, which means I’m learning a lot about YA lit, manga, and teen programming. When I graduate in December, I’ll be promoted to a Librarian 1! My LIS interests lie firmly in public librarianship, and if all goes well, I hope to stay in the Philadelphia system for a long, long time.

I took this class for a few reasons. First among them is probably that I took 200 with Prof. Stephens in my very first SJSU semester, way back in Spring 2023. I really enjoyed that class, and it remains one that I learned the most from in the program, so I wanted to take another class with Prof. Stephens before graduating. Additionally, as a public librarian, I am often grappling with how to balance incorporating cutting edge technology with small budgets and layers of city bureaucracy. I also find that interconnectedness and community are two of the most important functions of a modern public library. For example, teens typically don’t come to the Teen Center because they need help doing online research; they come because we do crafts every afternoon, because we offer positive regard and conversation from a trusted adult, and (most importantly…) because they can read a LOT of manga, not on their screens, for free. I’m excited to delve more into these ideas, and figure out how they intersect with emerging technologies and theories of librarianship.

In my free time, I read a lot (obviously), sew, embroider, and bum around South Philly* with my friends. I keep track of all my reading in a very detailed Google sheet, which tracks reading time, pages, author demographics, book content, etc. — if anyone wants to steal my formulas, let me know and I’ll gladly share you on it! I also play a lot of board games; my favorite is Terraforming Mars, but I also love Eclipse, Dune Imperium, Settlers of Catan, and lots of other crazy complicated and nerdy games. I was married last summer, and in April I took my honeymoon to Costa Rica. We had a blast! I also have two cats, Smudge and Marmalade.

*If you know South Philly, you might recognize my header image. Many older South Philly rowhomes have vintage Tofani doors. These are just two of the designs you can see around the neighborhood.

P.S. — ALA is in Philly this summer, so I will absolutely be there! If you are planning to come, please reach out so we can meet up! I’d love to connect with some SJSU colleagues down here in my neck of the woods. 🙂

Pic from my wedding!

My cat, Marmalade, laying in his favorite position

Me repping Philly on my honeymoon in CR!