A long time ago, I thought it would be fun(ny) to create a blog based on the persona of a librarian in a banana suit. Yeah, I still don’t know what I was thinking. On the plus side, it was my laboratory for learning how to write for the web, including book reviews, nerdy library & publishing news, and tidbits from my personal life, and it taught me skills that I still use in my professional life every day.

Now this website is all grown up, but I thought you might still get a kick out of being able to scroll through this rabbit hole of a time capsule to see what was on my mind more than a decade ago…

I’m so excited to tell you that I recently joined the ranks at Book Riot as a contributing writer!  I’ve been eating up Book Riot with a spoon ever since they launched in 2011, and am so honored to now be a part of this awesome online journal.  Keep your eye out for biweekly Book Riot posts from me, maybe more if I’m feeling ambitiously bookish.  And if you like thrillers with badass female characters, you might just like one or two of the books I recommend in today’s Genre Kryptonite post.

Book Riot may be the new home for my sexy librarian, pop-culture and bookish-themed content, but keep checking back in on me over here for periodic updates on life in general and what I’ve got cooking at my library.

Hi guys! I’ve missed you.  After navigating a few big work changes, it’s nice to say “hello” again.

Last month I said goodbye to the fabulous Lawrence Public Library and climbed aboard the web team at Johnson County Library right next door in Overland Park.

What I do now is pretty different from wearing banana suits at block parties, organizing meat tastings, and hanging out with world-famous authors like Daniel Woodrell, but I have to say I’m liking hunkering down in my cubicle to create hilarious (right?) social media and web content.  Writing has always always been up there among my favorite tasks at any job, and now I’m paid to do it 90% of the time.  The other 10% is spent brushing up on fun techie and UX skills.

The other major change? As a brand-new commuter, I have become totally fanatical about audiobooks.  Punk goddess Patti Smith reading her very own memoir?  Brilliant journalist Jon Ronson reciting Insane Clown Posse lyrics in a dry british accent? Yes, please!  If you’re a fan of audiobooks, too, let me know what I should listen to next.

Today I officially started my new job as the Adult Programs Librarian at Lawrence Public Library!

I’ve gotten my feet wet these past few months by planning our Read Across Lawrence initiative and meeting with community partners for Civil War on the Western Frontier, as well as moderating a book talk or two, but today is the first day I’ve really been empowered to think about the future of programs at our library.  I’m excited to develop a long-term strategy and push the envelope of what public library programs can be.

This is a milestone for me in more ways than one — I’ve had my share of professional supervisory positions in another life, but this is my first full-fledged “librarian” job.  I’m feeling an odd swell of kinship with fake movie librarians like Goldie Hawn, Parker Posey, and Bat Girl.  Onward, librarians!