Welcome back to Behind the Stacks! Have you ever heard of the Village Improvement Association?
The Village Improvement Association, or VIA, are the governing body of the library. It was established in 1906, even before the City of West Haven was established! The original reference room was the entire Main Library, which was also built thanks to a Carnegie grant. The goal of the VIA is to help the library provide people of all ages with free public access, and quality direction and guidance to books, media, and cultural events in a comfortable, user-friendly environment that meets the informational, educational, and life-long learning interests of the entire community.
This year the VIA provided scholarships to six graduating West Haven students who plan to further their education. Each selected applicant received a $750 scholarship to put towards their continuing educational journey! Five out of the six scholarships are named in honor of people with affiliation with the VIA; Una Burns, Gert Beckwith, Pam Gardner, Charlie Gunning, and Connie Sacco.
We are excited to announce that West Haven Library will be adding a new, state-of-the-art Bookmobile to our library services in September. This 40-foot vehicle will have a browsing collection of books to check out, Wi-Fi, and space for patrons to use internet access and get on location reference help! Stay tuned to see where the Bookmobile will be all over town.
Finally, we will be once again collecting non-perishable food donations for WHEAT until Aug. 31. We accept any non-perishable items including but not limited to mac & cheese, pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, jelly, and pop-top canned items such as soup, broth, tuna, veggies, and fruit. Anyone interested in donating food items can bring them to the front desk of either the Main Library on 300 Elm Street or the Ora Mason Library on 260 Benham Hill Road any time during operating hours.
It’s time once again to get acquainted with another library worker, Tatiana Franklin. Tatiana (affectionately known as Tots or Tati around these parts) is our Children’s Librarian for our Ora Mason branch. Take it away, Tots.
How did you get into library work? Interestingly, I wanted to be a librarian when I was a kid because I’ve always loved books. As I got older, though, I never really knew what the path to becoming one looked like, so I ended up studying psychology instead. I enjoyed my classes, but I quickly realized I wasn’t interested in the statistics side of things—it humbled me, honestly. While working towards my bachelor’s degree, I became a library assistant at the West Haven Public Library, where I got to see how everything operates behind the scenes. I ended up enjoying the environment far more than I expected. What really surprised me was how much the field was evolving and expanding. As I learned more about librarianship, I also began seeing people from a wider range of backgrounds represented in the profession. Seeing librarians who looked like me helped me picture myself in the role and made me feel even more connected to the field. Before working in a library, I mostly associated librarianship with books, but I quickly learned it also involves programming, community outreach, technology, creativity, and connecting people with resources. The more I learned, the more I realized it was the right fit for me. I also discovered I could become a librarian with a master’s degree, and since I didn’t want to spend years going through additional schooling, I found a program I could complete in a year. In a way, I ended up right where I was supposed to be. It definitely feels like something my younger self would be really happy about.
Do you have any pets? My family has a senior dog named Bentley—he’s 16 and still has some spunk left. We got him when he was 3 from a Craigslist ad for free, which I always tell people like it’s a fun fact. He’s been with us ever since and definitely runs the household.
Any hobbies? One of my hobbies is painting and sketching cartoon characters. I also like fishing and spending time relaxing at the beach. It’s a nice way for me to unwind and reset.
Any fun/unusual facts about yourself? A fun fact about me is that I can almost make it through an entire box of frozen taquitos in one sitting. It’s a skill I didn’t plan on having.
Do you have any hidden (or not so hidden) talents? One of my hidden talents is being able to put together a PowerPoint in one night—usually when I’m trying to persuade someone of my point.
Favorite TV shows/films? My movie taste is very 2000s-coded—I’ll always have a soft spot for the movies I grew up with. As for TV shows, SpongeBob SquarePants and Regular Show are two of my all-time favorites, and I’m also a big fan of reality TV.
Favorite thing to cook or eat? My favorite meal is pork chops, mashed potatoes, and corn. A few years ago, I made it for dinner and stepped away for a minute. When I came back, Bentley had helped himself to part of my plate. Let’s just say I briefly considered putting him back on Craigslist.