Guest Librarian In the Stacks: Sarah Houghton

We interviewed the Librarian In Black, Sarah Houghton. Here's what she had to say:

The Same 5 Questions We Ask Everyone

1. What’s the best thing about being a Librarian?

The power to say yes to people—to empower staff to try daring things, to empower residents to learn and grow, and to empower the community as a whole to become better, stronger, and smarter.

2. What role(s) you see Libraries taking in the future?

Libraries will continue to be the great equalizer—the one place in any community (be it a town, school, or other grouping) where anyone can learn anything. What that looks like has changed over time and will continue to change, but our equalizing factor will not.

3. What’s your Librarian Superpower?

Pattern recognition. Being able to scan data, situations, people—and see where the problem or irregularity is immediately.

4. In what ways has your job become Digital?

Ha! I started out my librarian life as an electronic resources librarian (now known as Digital Initiatives Managers, or the like). Now, as a Library Director, my job is more analog than it has ever been—more about the people, facilities, the physical and digital materials. I feel like my career has taken the opposite path of the way libraries have gone in the two decades I've worked in libraries. Odd, that.

5. What are your Top 5 favorite books?

Griffin and Sabine, the Sandman series (that counts as one book, right?), The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, Atlas Shrugged, and Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.

Thank you Sarah!