life by candlelight

I received a pleasant surprise today. My friend Gary nominated me for Employee of the Quarter. Although I didn't win, I was so thrilled that someone took the time to nominate me. It really lifted my spirits. So, not to bore you, but here is the nomination:

Dear Members of the Denver Public Library Employee Council,

Some people were born to work at the library. These are people with unusual energy, flexibility, and knowledge. These are the people who push the rest of us to expand our interests well beyond those we naturally gravitate toward. These are the people who immerse themselves in everything from children’s to adult books, from the classics to pop culture. These are the people who show us that library staff must be culturally literate if public libraries are going to survive the social and technological pressures they are under. [Malady] is one of those people.

[Malady's] breadth of knowledge is nothing less than staggering. Her interests have few boundaries and she devours the library’s reading, viewing, and listening material at an amazing rate. One can regularly find her reading and talking about the latest bestsellers, popular music, and Hollywood releases, but also equally engaged in discussions about Peruvian authors, ballet performances, and current events.

Not only does [Malady] know an amazing amount of important material, she has a wonderful ability to share patrons’ enthusiasm about what they’re checking out at the library. She always says things like, “Oh, if you’re interested in this author, then you should look at these other titles written by this other author,” and proceeds to talk about why she thinks so in a fiercely intelligent way. [Malady] also understands how important it is that the library tries to “sell” its materials and she heads the effort at Hampden to better display its materials.

[Malady] also leads a truly dynamic story time on Thursday afternoons. She puts a great deal of thought into what she is going to read and how she is going to present it. She’ll even go so far as to plan her wardrobe around the stories she is going to read. And the kids have so much fun with her! [Malady] has a natural affinity for children and can have them singing and dancing in no time. One parent recently told me that she and her children look forward to Thursday story times at Hampden because “[Malady] is incredible.”

[Malady] is the kind of cheerleader public libraries need. She’s knowledgeable, smart, hip, and fun. She’s the person deserving of DPL’s next Employee of the Quarter.