My name is Abby Ryan.
I'm a Youth Services Librarian at Madison Public Library Central Library.
When I was
maybe in second grade,
someone interrupted me
while I was reading a book
to ask me what I wanted
to be when I grew up.
And because I was so anxious
to get back to my book,
I said, "Oh, I'll
just be a librarian."
True story, but it took
a while for that to
actually happen.
When did you realize this was your passion?
I think it was
when I was an assistant librarian
that I had that moment
that I thought, "Okay, yep."
This is my vocation,
this is my career,
this is where I'm meant to be.
It made sense finally
that my job is to learn
about everything every day.
Be a librarian.
My favorite part is actually easy.
It's learning something new every day.
Close second is being
able to help people with
the information that
they're looking for.
That's important to them,
and then close third is
baby story time.
Always makes your week better.
What’s your favorite memory at the library?
One of my favorite
library memories is from
when we reopened
the Central Library in 2013
here in Madison.
We had one of the Wild Things there
from Maurice Sendak's book.
It's in all the official pictures
with the mayor
and the city council.
We have this giant Wild Thing,
and that is just...
a moment of library joy
for me and a memory of joy.
For my particular work
as a children's
librarian, it's really
supporting kids and families.
If I had a teeny tiny
two-second elevator speech
I would say, "Questions welcome."