Meet Michael Brown, Workforce Development Reference Librarian in the Community Learning Department! This post is part of our "Behind the Scenes at the BPL" blog series featuring just some of the humans that keep Boston Public Library running.
What do you do in your job day-to-day?
In my job day-to-day I do a wide range of things:
- I plan programming and do workforce training! I am the workforce librarian so any skill that we see a need for or is asked for that deals with entering and starting a job I put it together and help to make sure that people get the training they need for free to feel like they are ready for work.
- I do workforce research and resume reviews! I look over resumes that people submit and help them format and edit them so that they can stand out while they are applying for that new or their first job.
- I work the desk! I get to work the Community Learning desk and answer all of the community's burning information needs! When you ask "Where can I find a nonfiction title'" or "Where is that room I see on Instagram?" I can help point your way.
- I conduct outreach! I go to nonprofits & community events/spaces and share the (Common)Wealth by show and telling people what the library has to offer.
Can you share with our readers some of your favorite books and authors?
When it some to books I have to recommend:
- Fiction - Worm: A Parahuman Story by Wildbow
- Fiction - The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert
- Nonfiction - Sweet Tea by E. Patrick Johnson
- Nonfiction -The Fire in Moonlight
- Favorite Author you need to be reading right now! - Poet Jericho Brown! Start with The Tradition!
What is one of the most surprising things you’ve found working at the Boston Public Library?
I think the most surprising thing about working at the BPL is the people who work here! The BPL has so many different types of people that you never really know the talents of the people who you spend your day-to-day with. From a librarian who can dance with a flaming hula hoop to a library aid who not only runs a business but speaks four languages! If we were to make a book of the talents that are hidden within the stacks of the BPL it may just need its own section!
What is your favorite resource at the Boston Public Library?
This may sound uninteresting! But my favorite resource at the library has to be the Research Guides! I love that I am able to read and find cool information that I know will lead me down a rabbit hole to new information in a way the Wikipedia could never do! It is hard to do research or even just learn about your identity in a real way. But because the research librarians are awesome enough to have already done the work for me, I can spend hours just going through databases, books, and other cool things that help me find myself within the pages of history! If you need a research recommendation I would suggest the Boston's LGBTQ+ History Research Guide and Anti-Slavery Collection Research Guide!
What are you passionate about outside the library?
As a recovering English Teacher 😄, outside of my work at the library I love to write poetry and play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) like "MonsterHearts" and "Dungeons & Dragons." I see both poems and play as ways to connect with not just my community but as ways to connecting with myself. There is something about allowing yourself to view the world through a lens as special as a "turn of phrase" or reconnecting with yourself through a character that you have crafted that allows me to feel uniquely me! As I fully believe that living a life full of whimsy is the only way to live!
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