These blog posts give our community a chance to better know their friendly Willoughby-Eastlake Library employees. Meet Sarah Vargo, Children’s Services Manager.
Why do you love libraries? What is your earliest library memory?
One of my earliest library memories was going to storytime with Mrs. Ferguson at the Willowick Library. We entered through a secret door, and I distinctly remember her reading Tikki Tikki Tembo. Imagine my joy when I started my library career at Willowick and had Mrs. Ferguson as a mentor!
I practically grew up in the Willoughby-Eastlake Libraries. My mother is a voracious reader, and we went to the library all the time. I remember picking out those old yellow paperback beginning readers when I got my first library card in the basement at Willoughby Library way before the renovations. I can’t imagine my life without libraries.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Read. I read about 5 books a week on average not including all the kids books I read as a Children’s Librarian. I’ve read over 150 books so far this year. The biggest question I get asked when people learn how much I read is, “how can you afford that?!” With the library, obviously! I never thought I would be an eBook reader but using Libby to get just about any book I want is magical.
What is a library “hidden treasure” that you want patrons to know about or know more about?
Our kids Vox and Wonderbooks! They are all-in-one audio books that read the story out loud. They have excellent production value and are awesome for classrooms (they have headphone ports) and families. VOX recently released a collection of amazing diverse books read by native speakers. Listening to an indigenous voice read a story of their culture is an important experience that every child (and adult!) should have!
What are you currently reading?
I just finished The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro. It’s a story in the Percy Jackson world that follows Nico and Will on a quest back to Tartarus. It is action-packed and exciting, but also has an important message about overcoming trauma. I loved getting to see Will and Nico’s relationship from both of their perspectives. We even named one of our new kittens Nico! (The others are Dipper and Mabel).
