Angela Davis
Instruction & Web Services Librarian
Pitt Community College Library
1. What was the first library job you had that made the little voice in your head go, “Yes—I have found the profession for me!”
Without a doubt, I came to the realization that a library career was the way to go while working full-time as the Circulation Supervisor in the Music Library at East Carolina University. This was back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At that time, the Internet still seemed very new and exciting and I just craved the thrill of using it to discover and access all types of resources. I still do!
2. What part of your job keeps you going to work every day? How do you continue to find inspiration and passion in the library field?
First of all, I absolutely love working at a community college library where I get to explore and experience so many different aspects of library service – and usually all in one day’s work. But I suppose that if I had to pinpoint the one thing that makes this career so rewarding, it would be getting to witness those “aha” moments - faces physically lighting up when they find the thing they are looking for or when they find a piece of information that is a game-changer for them. I think everything I do is rooted in trying to bring that experience to students, library patrons, co-workers, and fellow librarians.
3. Who are your library heroes in North Carolina and beyond?
Having worked in libraries consistently and in various capacities for over 24 years now, I know so many people that I could classify as a personal “library hero” of mine, Batgirl included. However, if it were not for Michael Banks, who was a staff member at the ECU Music Library when I was a freshmen piano major, I never in a million years would have considered working in a library part-time, much less pursuing it as a career. He plucked this overly shy farm girl from the masses and offered me a job as a student library assistant, and I’ve been in a library ever since. Sadly, Michael died just a couple of years after that, but his encouraging words, work ethic, and incredible sense of humor have stayed with me ever since. If it weren’t for him offering me that first library job, I would probably be a starving musician right about now.
4. Tell us a little about your interests and hobbies outside of the library.
When I’m not at the library, I research the books I want to read, make lists of books I want to read, purchase books I want to read, then admire the piles of books that I don’t have time to read. When I’m not doing that, I am a wife to an equally enthusiastic book lover who has his own piles of books but somehow finds time to read them, a mother to a beautiful and talented young lady, a part-time pianist for church services and community theater productions, and a student working on a web design certificate which has provided conclusive evidence that I should just stick to being a librarian, wife, and mother. On the occasions when I decide to pretend that I have spare time, I enjoy going to great lengths to get a fantastic cup of coffee, sitting on the beach, kayaking, watching TV with our three dogs piled in my lap, and crocheting.