Celebrating Birthdays!

Several of our wonderful staff members have recently celebrated birthdays, and we want to offer them wishes for the best year ever!    This blog introduces the “birthday ladies” and extends much gratitude for all their hard work.   

 Pictured left to right: Angela Ocuto, Vickie Milam, Sarah Spanburgh

Sarah Spanburgh, whose birthday was in January, works in the adult service department as a reference librarian.  She also creates many of the library’s colorful brochures and bookmarkers.  

In my job I get to do a lot of different things: anime/manga club, purchasing manga for the YA section, computer classes, one-on-ones, working with the Ashe Campus of WCC....the list kind of goes on and on and I like it that way....

Sarah moved here from northern New York in 2010.  Although winters here can bring nasty weather, she has experience with shoveling.   

This is my third winter and so far, I have only shoveled twice the entire time, which beats every day!

Of course reading is one of Sarah’s favorite pastimes.  She is a moderator for the library’s online read and review group, The Seasonal Reading Challenge.  When you browse Sarah’s personal reading shelves, you will find titles by her favorite authors: J.D. Robb, John Connolly, and Neil Gaiman.

In February, a birthday shout-out goes to our newest employee, Angela Ocuto, and Vickie Milam who has been here the longest.   

Vickie has recently been promoted to technical services manager and is in charge of processing all the library’s materials.  She says one of the best things about her job is getting to open boxes of new books.

It’s like Christmas every time!

Like all librarians, reading is one thing Vicki loves to do.   Her all-time favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird and at the top of her list, anything by John Hart or Lisa Gardner.  She organized an adult book club in 2005, and still leads the group with many original members.   “Vickie’s Book Club” meets monthly to discuss both fiction and nonfiction.    

It is so interesting to hear how book club members reflect on the books read.  Sometimes viewpoints can be entirely different! 

Born and raised in West Jefferson, Vicki spends her free time riding motorcycles over scenic mountain roads with her husband. 

Angela Ocuto is newly hired as a part-time circulation assistant.  Her response to being asked what she likes best about her job sums up the feelings of all “library lovers.” 

I enjoy being around books all day, I enjoy the feeling that they give. Being surrounded by so many stories, gives one the sense of what is possible in life, and all the information needed to attain it, is in one building.

Choosing a favorite book is predictably a hard choice for Angela, since of course every book is wonderful!  But, Angela does recommend her favorite authors:  Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, and Dean Koontz.

Angela is an avid rock hound … a “nature girl.”  She likes being outdoors where she looks for natural ingredients to collect as supplies for crafts and herbal remedies.