Your name, current work place and position (for students, please tell us what school you’re attending and if you have chosen a specialization)
My name is Susie Lee, and I work at the Queens Public Library as a general librarian.
Where did you attend school for your MLIS degree?
I attended Queens College for my Master’s degree, which is located in Flushing, Queens.
How long have you been an APALA member? Why did you first join? Are you currently involved as an officer/committee member/other volunteer?
I’ve been a member since August of 2018. I first joined because of the mentoring program. I didn’t feel like I was getting any guidance with my career and wanted to see if a mentor could help me. I am not involved as a volunteer as of now.
We’re very interested in the diversity of ethnic/cultural heritage within APALA. Please share your ethnic/cultural heritage with us and any other background information, as desired.
I am Korean-American. I was born and raised in New York City though. I’ve only been to South Korea twice in my life: once as a 5th grader and the other time was the summer before college.
What aspects of librarianship are key to your personal satisfaction at work. Please share some of your professional goals and interests.
This is going to sound so cheesy, but helping people greatly satisfies me in my professional life. I really like connecting people with the information or book they need and then seeing their face light up with joy. It’s priceless especially if it’s an overly enthusiastic kid. I remember handing a kid one of the Lunch Lady series books and he yelled out loud, “YES!!!!” That was a great moment.
As far as my professional life, I am not sure if I will ever work my way up the library ladder to become a director or someone super important at my organization. I would like to publish some children’s books and learn Spanish to the point where I can converse with patrons at the library. I am already taking steps in both directions. I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (SCBWI) and I am currently taking my third Spanish class. Both goals are difficult and will require a lot of work, but I am up for the challenge!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I am thankful that I am librarian. I feel grateful that I am surrounded by a lot of smart, creative, well-read people, which is, in my opinion, difficult to find outside of the book profession. I also think that librarianship gives you a lot of flexibility with your life so that you can have a life outside of work and wear what you would like to wear to work within reason. I have coworkers who model for magazines in their downtime, are musicians, artists, and a whole host of other things. Librarians are much more than the stereotype of a conservative, frumpy woman in a cardigan and glasses.