ALSC Member of the Month — Constance Keremes

Each month, an ALSC member is profiled and we learn a little about their professional life and a bit about their not-so-serious side. Using just a few questions, we try to keep the profiles fun while highlighting the variety of members in our organization. So, without further ado, welcome to our ALSC profile, ten questions (plus one) with ALSC member, Constance Keremes.

1.  What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?

I am the Youth Services Librarian at the Patrick Heath Public Library in Boerne, Texas. I have been a librarian for over twenty years. As such, I am responsible for conceptualizing and orchestrating storytimes, afterschool programs, and special events. I also oversee the youth department collection development, maintain the youth department budget, provide reader’s advisory, conduct library tours, visit schools and nursery schools, and go out into the community to promote the library through out-of-house programs/presentations. I also work to promote the library by writing a newspaper column and use of social media including e-newsletters and a Facebook page.

I have an undergraduate degree in Education and History from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, and a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the C. W. Post University in Brookville, New York. I have worked in libraries in New York, Arizona, and now Texas. I also have over thirty years of experience as an in- and out-of-house editor and writer of educational materials, and several children’s books published, along with numerous poems appearing in anthologies.

2.  Why did you join ALSC? Do you belong to any other ALA divisions or Roundtables?

I joined ALSC because as a Youth Librarian, I wanted to be kept continually knowledgeable of the latest trends in the field of youth services, learning from documented research as well as the outpouring of shared knowledge from fellow librarians. I am also a member of the YALSA division.

3.  What are you proudest of having accomplished in your professional career?

I have had several children’s books published, along with numerous poems appearing in anthologies. Having a book published is a very great honor, but deeply meaningful to me is the experiences I have had here at the Patrick Heath Public Library with the many families who utilize our library. It is so very gratifying to establish a rapport with children through the bond of literature, and have a child return to the library to tell me he liked the book I suggested, hungry for more to read.

4.  What book are you currently reading?

I am reading the WEREWORLD series by Curtis Jobling. This series was suggested to me by one of my young patrons. I researched it and was delighted to find it described as a good series for fans of John Flanagan’s RANGER’S APPRENTICE series–my great favorite. The Jobling series is a liberally splashed with blood and gore, but very well written with compelling characters and suspenseful plotting.

5.  What’s the best book you’ve read this year?

On the adult end, it was the LIBERATION TRILOGY by Rick Atkinson, a brilliant account of World War II with deeply stirring you-are-there accounts of the action. On the youth end, how hard to narrow down to just one! Here are three: RANGER’S APPRENTICE by John Flanagan, GHOST HAWK by Susan Cooper and UNDER A WAR-TORN SKY by Laura Elliot, both of which are historical fiction.

6.  Do you dress up for Halloween?

I love dressing up for Halloween. Children take great delight in seeing adults show a playful side. I don’t only dress up at Halloween–I’ve loads of costumes that I use throughout the year at library programs.

7.  When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ah, what a little dreamer I was as a child, forever pretending to be all manner of people. Books fueled my imagination, as I fancied myself everything from a ballerina to astronaut. I often played at being a librarian, enjoying the process of making my dolls little library cards and putting pockets in my books for stamping. Little did I know that I would one day become a librarian!

8.  What’s the best thing you’ve learned this year?

At the encouragement of my library director, I learned how to use apps via an iPad in my storytimes. As one of the older generation, this was a big leap for me into the digital world. I enjoyed so much the process of learning and sharing stories through this new medium.

9.  Would you rather explore outer space or deep, deep in the ocean?

As a member of the Space Race generation, I would love to rocket off to outer space and explore the galaxies on a starship similar to the old STAR TREK programs. Our library’s summer reading theme this year will be outer space, so my galactic dreams will be close to coming true.

10.  Favorite part of being a children’s librarian?

Definitely it is the opportunity to work with children and share my love of literature with them.

11.  What do you think libraries will look like fifty years from now?

Technology will have a greater impact on libraries in the coming decades, with more electronic resources available. However, I do believe that the printed word will always be an integral part of libraries. Naysayers have for years been lamenting a future world devoid of books, but throughout the decades the plucky printed word has endured, continually enriching young and old alike.

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Born and raised in New York, Constance has resided in Boerne for nearly eight years. She especially enjoys dance, music, and reading. Her published works include I Wanted to Go to the Circus (Harbinger House, 1989), Erni Cabat’s Wonderful World of the Carousel,  (Harbinger House, 1990), Hootenanny Night, (State House Press, 1991), as well as poems in anthologies edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Julie Andrews.

Thanks, Constance! What a fun continuation to our monthly profile feature!

Do you know someone who would be a good candidate for our ALSC Monthly Profile? Are YOU brave enough to answer our ten questions? Send your name and email address to alscblog@gmail.com; we’ll see what we can do.