Tara Holl & Angela Vaughn

00:01 My name is Angela Vaughan. I'm 31 years old, and I'm speaking.

00:05 With Tara Holl and I'm also 31 years old.

00:09 We are recording this interview in Salem Public Library in Salem, Ohio. And Today's date is November 21, 2022. All right, first time.

00:21 So you got this.

00:22 All right, first question is, where were you born and in what year?

00:27 I was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, in 1991. Oh, my gosh.

00:31 That's right. We're both 31. Okay. As a child, were you able to go to the library? And if so, what is your favorite? Or what's your first memory? But I also like the question, what's your favorite memory?

00:43 Oh, I'll do both then. So I didn't really go to the public library, but I remember going to the library in school. And I think my first memory of the library, if my memory is serving me and I'm not just romanticizing it, is when we were getting the little kid to. Of all the different places in the school, and we got in the library, and I really wanted to go grab a book, but I wasn't allowed to get out of line because I didn't have library yet. I was none too happy. But, I mean, you want to talk about favorite memory as a kid, like, anytime the scholastic book sale was up, it was just, they need those for adults. That's all I'm saying.

01:20 They really do.

01:21 They really do.

01:22 And I have a story about that, too, but I won't tell it on here. That sounds salacious, but I promise it's not. Okay. Have you always liked to read?

01:31 I have, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much.

01:35 We're both shaking our heads because I'm.

01:36 Just like, wishbone was my boy, you know?

01:41 I love it. All right, so the Wishbone was one of your favorite books. What about another one?

01:47 I mean, the thing with Wishbone, you know, they were all, like, classics and everything. So, like, the first book I remember reading all by myself was Joan of Arc, the Wishbone version.

01:56 Wow.

01:57 Yeah. Favorite. One of my other favorites, though, was definitely are you my mother? Because I used to love the line snort.

02:05 Oh, my God.

02:07 I remember those books. Yes. It was like, oh, my God, I just remembered everybody. Like, are you. You're not my mother. You're a. Snort. I don't know. That's just. I always remember that.

02:18 I love that. What is one thing that you own that you really should throw out?

02:24 My mattress.

02:26 That's a good one.

02:27 Listen, there's, like, a dent in it right now, and mama's hips are Hurting. Okay.

02:33 All right, back to libraries. But do you think that libraries are an important part of a community?

02:40 I don't think they're an important. I think that they are a necessary part of the community. So agreed.

02:48 100%.

02:48 Yeah.

02:49 Has the library or even books in general had an influence on your life?

02:54 I think considering that I work at the library, that's pretty obvious. You know, I'd say so. That's. Yeah, yeah.

03:05 All right. What advice would you give to a younger person who only wants to read social media and not books?

03:12 So okay, this one might be a little bit different but I know a lot of people are super anti social media and like, dude, I get it. All the bull that's on there, I'm so over it. But we do live in the age of social media and we are more connected now than we ever were before. There is nothing wrong with love in social media. And they don't have to quote, unquote, read a book. We have audio books and it's ableist to say that they don't count. And we are not ableist in this household. It is. You can listen to a book, you can have somebody read the book to you. I mean my Matthew sometimes will read me books at night.

03:59 Yes.

03:59 So it's. Don't think about it as you have to sit there with this big, giant, dusty old tome of Greek literature. That's not what reading has to be. That's how it's depicted a lot. And there are options out there, honey. That's what I would say to the kids. There are options out there. Keep your social media. Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise. Behave on there and be kind. But there's so many other ways to read that aren't just sitting there staring at a page.

04:24 Yeah. One other question is what would you say to a kid who is reading misinformation online?

04:33 Do your research. It is not that hard to go type something into Google and I mean, you know, watch what, what you're clicking on. But if it's, if it's something science related and, or government related, that website does not end in a dot gov. Take it with a grain of salt. You know, look at what you're actually getting your information from. Just because grandma said it doesn't mean it's true. Just because your best friend Britney said it doesn't mean it's true. They might have some good advice for you. But when it comes to facts, go do your research.

05:12 Absolutely. 100%. How can you envision libraries of the future?

05:18 Definitely A lot more tech savvy. I see a lot of E readers in the future. I see E readers being available. You know, I believe that there are enough people that love the feel of having a book, even though we are in the age of technology, that they're not going to disappear.

05:35 Yeah, I'm like that too.

05:36 But I can see e readers like you get an E reader with your library card kind of thing. You know, I can actually see that happening. The same way that we're passing out MacBooks for kids in schools now. Your library membership comes with an E reader, you know, and that's awesome. You know, maybe there's theirs, there's E readers like right in the library for people to sit. And that's where you might be reading the newspaper from, as opposed to the newspaper racks and everything. But we're gonna get a lot more tech savvy.

06:07 I like that. I like that envisionment a lot. Okay, this one really relates to you. Which is really better, the book or the movie?

06:17 Book.

06:17 Yep.

06:19 No, movies do not have enough time to do it justice. Now I have seen some really good series when the book is turned into a series when they have actually have the time. But then usually you have a director who thinks that they can do it better than the original author and decides to go off on a whole thing. But no book.

06:36 Book. I like that. That's strong. Did you ever have a teacher or librarian who challenged you to think about.

06:42 The world differently every day? Honestly, I mean, you know, I hate these kind of questions to a certain extent because you think that there. I know what it's getting at. It's looking for a more grand eye opening thing. But I can think of two teachers who maybe didn't make me think about the world differently, but made me think about my place in the world a little bit differently. I remember my second grade teacher telling me she couldn't wait to read my first book.

07:09 Aw.

07:09 You know, and I had.

07:11 That's inspiring.

07:12 It really is. And my sixth grade teacher who we were watching the high school play and she leans over and says, is that going to be you next year? And I looked at her and went, yeah, yeah it is. And I auditioned, you know, so it's. It doesn't have to be mountain moving for somebody to influence your life.

07:28 No, definitely not. I agree with you. What is your favorite smell?

07:33 Well, I mean stereotypical, but I do love the smell of books. Specifically old books. They gotta have a little must to em. But tied with that is actually like the smell of pavement. Hot Pavement right after it rains. Ooh. Yeah.

07:52 I don't think I know what that smells like. I'm gonna have to go smell it.

07:55 I mean, you don't just, like, stick your face on the road, but, right?

07:57 Yeah, it's kind of like a. Just like you walk out and you smell it.

08:01 I am not sniffing roads.

08:02 No. Okay, on the flip side, what's your least favorite smell?

08:08 Okay, so I'll give a library one and another one. My least favorite library one is book glue.

08:13 Oh, that's.

08:15 That stuff starts to, like, just make me dizzy after a while. Regular would be stale cigarette smoke. Like somebody who. When. You know, when somebody has been smoking in their house and in their car and they got the windows up and forgot that it's not 1980 anymore and. No, thank you.

08:36 What kind of books do you read now that you could have never imagined reading as a child?

08:42 I mean, you know, my sarcastic brain wants to go, well, the spicy ones, obviously.

08:46 Obviously.

08:47 But if we're being legitimately legitimate about the answer.

08:51 Yeah.

08:52 Lgbtq. Yeah. You know, the environment that I grew up in, that was a big no, no. And now I, you know, I see two men on the COVID two women on the COVID two non discriminate gendered individuals on the COVID and I'm like, ooh, they in love. I don't care. This is gonna be a good story.

09:08 But, yeah, I really like that answer. Yeah, it's like a sign of the times, too, how much has changed.

09:14 Definitely.

09:15 If you could give advice to your younger self, what would that be?

09:20 Open your mind a lot sooner. Honestly, quit listening to what they're telling you. There's a whole world out there, and if you start enjoying it now, it's gonna be great. It's gonna be great when you get to that point, honey. But you could have it a lot sooner, and it's gonna be okay. That's really good. That's really good.

09:42 I'm choked up. You get to read one book for the rest of your life. What would it be?

09:47 I refuse.

09:49 Same, though.

09:51 Oh, gorgeous. Like, oh, oh, oh. That is horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible. It has to be something that's like a book of short stories. So I get a little bit of a mix here. Like, okay, okay. We know J.K. rowling is not a good person. We know she is not a good person. But it would have to be that. It would have to be the very first Harry Potter book.

10:17 Yeah.

10:18 I'd like to say the whole series, but, man, we were. We grew up with those kids, you know, just quit don't buy her stuff anymore and give her any more money. But we. But that book was bought a long time ago. Okay. Yeah.

10:32 Paid for in the 90s or 2000. I don't know what year came out.

10:36 Good Qu. I read it late. Like, I actually started a little bit late. I got, like, the first three in, and then I was that kid in line at midnight every night waiting for it. I was.

10:48 What do you feel most grateful for in your life?

10:52 Growth, Honestly, being able to come from that kid who would have never even looked at one of those LGBTQ books, who probably thought that they deserved to be pulled from the shelves and actually did at one point complain because she read a book that involved two women and was very offended by it because she was taught to be offended by it. And I am thankful every day that I am not her anymore. She is part of me. I can't erase her. But that she's not my future. She's not my present. And I'm grateful for that.

11:30 That's powerful. That really is. If money were no issue, what would your perfect library look or be like?

11:38 Okay, we set the scene. First of all, it's gotta be inside this spooky Victorian mansion.

11:46 Oh, my gosh. Yes.

11:47 And I want it to be a little dusty, like, in the corners and stuff. I. No, I do not want this perfectly polished, sterile, gorgeous thing. I want it to look like this is ancient and has been around forever. Like, I want the new books to be given leather binding so they look old.

12:06 Whatever happened to that?

12:07 I know. Like, such a bummer. Gold leaf on the sides and high, like, wing back chairs. That's it. In front of a huge fireplace. Like, I want it to look like you're in this combination of Frankenstein, Dracula. Like what they had in their mansion. I think so, yeah.

12:29 Honestly, I love that idea.

12:31 Right.

12:32 Sign me up. Honestly. That's also my perfect library. Describe your life in five words.

12:38 Hmm. Complex, exciting. This one's hard.

12:49 It is hard.

12:51 Like, you're trying to sum up your entire life in five words. So I'm trying to think of more, like, all encompassing words. So I say I got complex, exciting, joyful.

13:06 Mm.

13:06 You are very joyful, optimistic, and mysterious.

13:17 Ooh, I like that. Okay, so these are some questions for library staff that I'll ask you. Okay. What year did you start working at the library?

13:29 22 this year.

13:32 We're so happy to have you. How long? Well, how long did you work at the library? What month were you hired?

13:39 I was hired June 22. So it's actually going to be five months tomorrow.

13:42 Oh my gosh.

13:43 Right.

13:43 Happy anniversary. Thank you. Do you have any memorable moments you'd like to share?

13:50 I've actually had so many since starting here. One would have to be. And you know, probably where I'm going with this because you. But there is a certain teen who. Their family has become very important to me in this library and knowing that they feel accepted again.

14:09 Yes.

14:10 Makes me feel amazing. And then today I had a couple of preteens, one of which got their first library card and you know, were just hanging out all day in the YA room because they went for a walk and ended up in the library and because somebody was willing to talk to them and help them out.

14:30 That's right.

14:31 They ended up being here all day and are gonna be back.

14:35 That's so good. And you are the perfect person, I think, to be dealing with teens because you really, you really relate to them and you really speak to them, not at them.

14:45 I'm just a big kid. I mean, honestly, I'm just a big kid who has adult. An adult age birthdate on her driver's license.

14:55 That's what I'm gonna say from now on too.

14:56 I'm a big kid who can buy booze and has permanent stickers that she's sticking all over her body, AKA the random tattoos that I have. And that's just so. I think, you know, I. That's why I don't honestly see myself as an adult.

15:11 A lot of times you're fun and it's like lighthearted to be around you. Like, conversation's so easy and it makes my day when I see you. So I can imagine that it makes the teens day.

15:22 I hope so.

15:23 This one. How different does the library look now compared to, I guess when you were here? But we can say when you started.

15:32 I mean, I actually, you know, I didn't come in a lot before I started. Yeah. Which is sad. And I should have. I kind of regret not taking advantage of what was right in front of me, but I had been in a few times for certain things and you know, it just. Every day there's always something new. I feel like, yeah, that's. It's hard to even point out one thing. Regular patrons come in all the time and they're like, wow, it's so different. There's so many changes. But I'm like, you don't see the day to day things that are happening here.

16:09 That's true.

16:09 I really think that it changes every day and that's what it has to do yeah, yeah, 100%.

16:14 I agree with you. Okay, I will put this in the present tense. How do you feel about the time you spend working at the library?

16:22 I feel like, you know, let's face it, job interview, Somebody says, why do you want to work here? Because I want a paycheck. You know, point blank. And then you have to sit there and go, because I really think that this is a good fit for me. And. But I actually was able to say that honestly, when I interviewed at the library, that was the first time I was able to say, I want to work here because I am a book nerd. I am still the girl who would read ahead in class and got in trouble for it. I am still the one who had way too many books in her backpack and the school librarian was getting upset with her. For all of that, I'm still the girl who was waiting in line at midnight for Harry Potter. And I'm. I want to be around the books. And so I being here not only fulfills that for me, but who else gets to say, short of people who are volunteers, that you get to go to work and help people every day?

17:21 Yes.

17:22 It's so cool. Even if it's just, I helped this person print out something, I still helped somebody today, right?

17:29 Yeah.

17:29 And I think that's not to be, like, patting myself on the back, like, oh, you did so good. It's more just a. It feels awesome to say to go home, and it's like, hey, honey, how was your day? Well, I helped this guy print something off the computer, and I grabbed a book for this lady, as opposed to I sat at my computer and typed in an Excel sheet all day.

17:49 True.

17:49 You know what I mean? It's kind of cool.

17:52 Yeah. That is. I really love that. And thank you so much for taking the time with me.

17:56 Of course. It's like just talking.

17:58 Yes, it is. All right.