By Christina M. Wright, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON, Ind. — When a child hits those dreaded teenage years, teen services librarian Staci Terrell is a confidante and information-provider. Terrell provides programming and outreach for local teenagers in addition to picking out the books that will be available to them at the Anderson Public Library. If the program calls for an on-site representative, it’s Terrell who visits the schools.
Q. How long have you been at your job?
Terrell: Two years and eight months. So almost three years.
Q. What do you like best about your job?
Terrell: The best thing is just being able to get to know the teens — to provide them with an outlet outside of school, offer programs for them to do that are not only educational but fun as well.
Q. What do you like least?
Terrell: I guess I could say not having enough hours in the day to get everything done.
Q. What’s the funniest thing that has happened on the job?
Terrell: Wow. Well, when you work with teenagers ... Pretty much anytime you get to work with the teens, it’s just always funny. They’re just so fun and they get excited about everything. If you want one specific time, there was this one time I went to do one of the book talks at the school, and there was this zombie book. I was telling them about the book and we just delve into the whole subject of zombies. That was funny.
Q. What’s the most serious thing that has happened on the job?
Terrell: Just as a general example, I feel good about the fact the teens know they can come to me to ask me for a book about something that might be affecting their lives. Just that they feel comfortable to come and ask me for the information.
Q. What kind of jobs does Madison County need?
Terrell: Any kind. I would say any type of job that would help the citizens of Madison County provide for their families, including health care, competitive wages — that kind of stuff.
Q. What other jobs have you had?
Terrell: Before this, I worked for the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library and was the Children’s Services librarian there.
Q. What would be your idea of the perfect job?
Terrell: It’s pretty close to what I have now. I would just wish that public libraries, in general, wouldn’t have to fight for funding. I’m pretty happy to have found a job that not only allows me to work with the teens but I have great co-workers as well.
Q. If you didn’t have to work for a living, what would you do?
Terrell: I would be out there traveling. I would love to do more backpacking through the various state parks. It’s also been a dream of mine to visit all the continents.
Q. How do you like to spend your hard-earned money?
Terrell: I try to do a little bit of traveling when I can. Basically, going out to restaurants, seeing some upcoming movies ... bills.
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Contact Christina M. Wright, 640-4883, christina.wright@heraldbulletin.com.
About this series
In this weekly Monday series, The Herald Bulletin engages local workers in a question-and-answer format.
Would you like to have your job profiled? If so, contact Associate Editor Stephen Dick at 640-4863 or steve.dick@heraldbulletin.com.
