Meet the Board: Emily Heideman, Director at Large

 

Tell us about yourself.

I celebrated my second anniversary working for the Waupaca Area Public Library as the Teen Services Librarian in July 2015. I also advise our Student Library Advisory Group (SLAG) as they continue to foster a teen library space that is safe, comfortable and welcoming. While I have only been working for Waupaca for the last two years, I have worked with children and teens in an educational setting (swimming lessons counts as educational, right?) for the last 12 years! I have one dog (JJ), three cats (Link, Mo, & Penny), and my husband and I are expecting our first baby (due in early August). We can’t wait! I am in my first few months as one of the YSS Directors-at-Large and am so excited for the work that we are currently doing for children and teens!

What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin, Slacker by Gordon Korman (advance copy), and Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? Have you ever been there?

I would go back to St. Petersburg, Russia. I spent a portion of a 3-week study abroad trip of Eastern Europe in St. Petersburg as an undergrad. It was such an amazing learning experience. I visited almost all of the most famous (historical) tourist spots while there except Peterhof Palace because the bus my student group was on was detained by Russian police, which caused us to miss our scheduled tour. Now, I have to go back.

If you could be any book character for a day or a week, who would you be and why?

This is such a tough question! My first thought was Gregory Maguire’s Elfaba because she is strong and stands up for her beliefs…but I’m not sure I could handle the green skin. I also thought it might be cool to be Sherlock Holmes for a day, since I love a good mystery and to possess his skills of deduction, boxing, swordplay, not to mention his talent for violin (which I play, but not nearly as well), would be amazing! But, he has some pretty undesirable flaws as well. A from Every Day by David Levithan might also be an interesting experience because a week in his/her life--in different bodies everyday--would be so radically different from real life.

Which book that you read as a teen rocked your world?

I must confess, I was not a big reader as a teen (*gasp*). I was a struggling reader, so I often threw myself into sports to fill my time, rather than picking up a book. I was placed in Remedial Reading in 7^th grade and felt like a total failure because I was not in “regular English” with my friends. When my Reading teacher took our whole class to the library to pick out books to read silently in class, I usually picked out the shortest book I could find with a nice-looking cover, or something that looked “smart” to be seen reading. Then, I would just stare at the pages during silent reading time. When I found out that I could test out of the class, I worked really hard at practicing reading and it was Frog and Toad are Friends that eventually got me out of Remedial Reading and into 7^th grade Language Arts. After that, the first book that I actually read and could not put down as a teen was The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain in 7^th grade.  That book really piqued my interest in fairytales, legends, and fables (and their fractured counterparts).