Q + A: Librarian Susan Perry
Librarian Susan Perry scans a book.
May 8, 2014
Susan Perry has been a librarian since her, now 28 and 23, children were in middle school. She started off locally at Tom Hawkins Elementary School for several years, and now alternates everyday between West and Tracy High. She enjoys being a librarian because she loves books and likes helping students.
What is your favorite book and book genre? “I don’t think I could pick. I read a lot of young adult fiction, obviously, I work in a school. I never thought I would like it, but I do. I never thought I would like ‘Twilight’ at all, but do I dare admit I like it. Not for the vampire part of it, but it is a wonderful love story. Then again I like ‘Hunger Games’. The genre I like is Dystopian fiction; it’s like the ‘Hunger Games’ where it talks about the future. I really enjoy that, its border line science fiction. Then I would have to say my favorite book in that genre is called Memory Boy by Will Weaver. It’s a two book series and it’s one of the earliest stories I have ever read in that genre that pulled me into it and it’s not quite as violent as ‘Hunger Games’.”
What is a book that you think everyone should read? “It all just depends on what you like. I’m not a big science fiction fan, but I have read some science fiction. I used to read a lot of historical fiction. People should just read what appeals to them.”
Did you always want to be a librarian? “No I didn’t. I started out life as a corporate accountant. I worked for a real estate developer in Oregon, and then I worked for a company in Sacramento.”
Did you always know what you wanted to be? “I did not know. When my family moved here to Tracy, I started volunteering in my children’s school library, and I loved it. I wondered why I didn’t do this from the very start. That’s what got me into it.”
What do you love most about being a librarian? “I like the books. I like helping students.”
What is the most difficult part of your job? “The textbooks, partly handling them, and mostly at the end of the year when they all come back because it’s a lot in a really short period of time. It’s really physically demanding.”
Did you have any prior experience with being a librarian before Tracy High? “, I was a librarian for Tom Hawkins School for four years when they opened up.”
Where did you attend high school and college? “Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica. I also went to Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon. I got my teaching credentials online, and also got my library credential from Azusa Pacific.”
If you could change something about education, what would it be? “I would like to see students have more electives, and, for students that don’t go to college, I would like to see a career path towards a trade.”
Where have you traveled to? “I have been in over half the United States. I have also been to Victoria, Canada. I like the United States and want to visit Alaska.”
What is your idea of a perfect day? “I like it to be warm enough to wear shorts. I like to spend time outside in my yard. I like to read and barbeque, I never am the one barbequing, I just like to eat it.”
What is your fondest childhood memory? “I grew up in southern California; my parents lived half a mile away from the beach. I spent many, many, many days at the beach with girlfriends, looking at boys, listening to the radio, eating chips, and drinking soda. Lots of fun times at the beach.”
What do you plan to do after you retire? “’Read, I like gardening, and canning.”
