Meet Our Staff: Youth Services

Ryan and Dani are both newer additions to the Youth Services team, beginning in the last year. 

As Teen Services Librarian at Clemens Mill, Ryan primarily serves the school community at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in a unique partnership with the Waterloo Region Catholic School Board

Dani considers her position as Youth Services Librarian in Cambridge a dream come true and it gives her the chance to inspire youth at all our locations. 

They are both passionate about making the library an accessible and engaging space.

What current project of yours are you most excited about?

Dani: I’m really excited to be bringing back the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) this fall! I think teens are so full of exciting ideas,
and this type of program gives teens some leadership experience, volunteer hours, and helps encourage community involvement. We are lucky to have some great programs for teens already, from Nerf Nights to Video Game programs, I think that the YAC will open even more doors for exciting programs and collections.

Ryan: It’s hard to pick just one! I love that this job combines school library information services like reference help and research skills workshops with super-awesome public library programs for teens, like Retro Gaming, trivia, and more. There are not too many jobs where you can spend the morning doing classroom teaching and the afternoon playing Dungeons and Dragons. I’m most excited thinking about upcoming Warhammer and Magic: The Gathering programs (in development!).

What are your hidden talents or hobbies?

Dani: I am a ‘retired’ birthday party princess. It was a great way to get paid to do all of the things I love. I got to work
with amazing families, sing and dance, and I even made a number of my princess costumes. I’m pretty creative, so it
was an awesome outlet and prepared me for Storytime chaos.

 Just like a princess, I also love bird watching, singing, and sewing.

Ryan: I spend a lot of time obsessing over sports, especially soccer (go Reds!). When I’m not watching sports, I’m usually playing video games and/or listening to music. I’m always hunting for new music, and love getting recommendations from teens! I also enjoy playing music, although my gigging days are over. 

Before coming to libraries, I worked as an historian, where I helped teach a course on Game of Thrones and researched Jack the Ripper.

What is your favourite book to re-read or movie to re-watch?

Dani: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have been two of my favourite books since childhood.
I’m generally not a re-reader but I think the nostalgia of my mom reading these to me as a kid has stuck with me. I have a small
collection of different editions of these two books, including one that was gifted to my mom by her grandparents.

Ryan: A bit unoriginal, but The Lord of the Rings for both. My partner and I re-watch the movies every year, and I re-read the books every few years. As childhood favourites, they’re such a comfort, but I still get something new out of the story every time I read the books or watch the films.