Librarian Spotlight: Young Adult Librarian Candice Mack
Librarian Spotlight is a recurring feature that highlights fun and interesting youth services librarians. If you know someone who should be featured, please send me their contact information.
Today’s featured librarian is Candice Mack, a Young Adult Librarian at the Encino-Tarzana Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A LIBRARIAN?
1 year & 5 months (But I’ve worked in libraries since 1995 as a student worker and then a library clerk)
WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE A TEEN LIBRARIAN?
Teens have so much energy and creativity! Unfortunately, I think their needs have largely been ignored or read by adults as negative. It’s definitely getting better now and I wanted to help address this lack. My undergraduate degree was in Psychology with a focus on Youth and Adolescent Development, so I’ve always wanted to work with kids and teens. Young adult librarianship has just tied together two of my passions — helping teens and sharing my love of information.
WHAT STEPS LED YOU TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
I had worked in academic and medical libraries before attending library school, so at first I thought I was going to go into medical librarianship. I was working full-time at the same time I was attending library school, though, so my schedule was limited. Because of my tight schedule, I decided to take Storytelling one quarter because it was the only night class being offered. I ended up LOVING the class and meeting some really great folks in the program who helped me reexamine my interest in working with teens and public librarianship.
After that, I did some informational interviews with awesome teen librarians like Brigid Fennell (Glendale Public Library) and Georgette Todd (Los Angeles Public Library). Through Brigid and Georgette’s encouragement, I was able to do an internship in the Children’s Room at the Glendale Public Library – Main Library and then an internship at Teen’Scape, the teen department at Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library. My internships were wonderful experiences and really sold me on the idea of becoming a youth services librarian.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE TEEN PROGRAM?
A toss-up between Holiday Candy Making, where 30 odd teens and tweens and I made mass amounts of chocolate candies, Books with Bite for Teen Read Week, where guest speakers Dean Lorey (author of the “Nightmare Academy” series) and Del Howison (author, editor and owner of the horror bookstore “Dark Delicacies”) discussed the writing process with about 30 teens and tweens, and our Free Comic Book Day comics workshop featuring Kenny Keil (author and illustrator of “Tales to Suffice.”) Kenny went through the steps of how to create a comic and all of the teens who attended the Free Comic Book Day workshop created mini-comics. Some of the comics made that day are up online.
ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING PROGRAMS OR EVENTS YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO?
I’m really looking forward to the Teen Summer Reading Program! Last year, we had a great comics discussion club and this year, we’re going to have a general book discussion club. The theme this year is “Teen LA” and I’m looking forward to hearing what the teens and tweens think is the best and brightest in our community.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART ABOUT YOUR JOB?
I really enjoy helping patrons of all ages, but I have to admit that I like helping teens and tweens best. It’s a volatile time for them and they’ve got a lot going on so I’m glad that the library can offer them an escape as well as assistance with everything that is going on with their lives.
ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH ANY LOCAL OR NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS?
I am active in the American Library Association (ALA), California Library Association (CLA), Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Currently, I’m a member of CLA’s Edna Yelland Scholarship Committee, APALA’s Asian Pacific Award for Literature Committee, the ALA’s Spectrum Student Interest Group, YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee and YALSA’s Division and Membership Promotion Committee.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE ONLINE RESOURCES?
I heart listservs! My favorites are YALSA-BK and GN-LIB. I also make use of the YALSA website and subscribe to a lot of Twitter feeds by librarians and book publishers. That way, I have interesting library and book news delivered right to my inbox and Twitter feed. My Twitter feed is at: http://twitter.com/tinylibrarian.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS, SERIES, AUTHORS OR GENRES?
My favorite author (and who I discovered as a teen) is Neil Gaiman! I was so happy that he won the Newbery Award this year for the Graveyard Book!
I’m also a big fan of Sarah Dessen, Maureen Johnson, Brian Michael Bendis, Barry Lyga, and Cecil Castellucci.
In terms of series, I’ve really enjoyed the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz, the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, the Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison. I also like fantasy like the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, the Harry Potter series by Rowling, Lord of the Rings by Tolkien and the Dark Angel series by Meredith Ann Pierce. Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of manga series like Naruto, Death Note, Kitchen Princess, Mixed Vegetables, High School Debut, Bizenghast, Me & My Brothers and Otomen.
ANY OTHER FAVORITE POP CULTURE STUFF (MOVIES, TV, MUSIC, GAMES)?
My new favorite video game is “Cooking Mama,” which you can now play on the iPhone! You use the touch screen and movement sensors in the phone to chop vegetables, melt butter and knead dough! I also recently got hooked on the Korean live action version of the Japanese manga “Boys Over Flowers.” A band that I love seeing live is Gogol Bordello! Almost all of the band members are immigrants or children of immigrants so they have a strong commitment to musical diversity and fuse punk, gypsy, ska, rap, and salsa rhythms in their songs.
VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, OR ZOMBIES?
Vampires, definitely! I started reading Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles when I was a teen and am thrilled at the resurgence of vampire lit.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
This is just my first year and a half as a teen librarian and I can’t wait for what adventures the future may bring.
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