Library Staff Reveal Their Reading Goals for 2020

Owing as much perhaps to our accessibility as to the more arcane aspects of our setting, public library staff know that, like the relics we guard, we are objects of some curiosity. For reasons as much our century-old buildings and dewey decimals, as our open doors, free media and ability to meet you where you are, we know we engender some fascination. And, if we’re being honest, we do not mind it.

We’re aware of the stereotypes built up through the years and acknowledge that some hew closer to reality than others. Library staff are bespectacled and tattooed at roughly society-average rates, for your information. But this is all to say that we know where your interests lie when it comes to the private lives of your public library staff. And again: we get it.

In the spirit of both revelation and of paying off your continued interest in the secret lives of librarians, we throw back the curtain to reveal Brooklyn Public Library’s staff reading goals for 2020:

“I recently developed an interest in Ottoman history and culture, and started listening to a podcast called "Women, Gender, and Sex in the Ottoman World. I plan to read Mihri Hatun: Performance, Gender-Bending, and Subversion in Ottoman Intellectual History and other works on women, gender, and poetry in and around the Ottoman Empire.” —Djaz Z

“I always set myself a goal to read at least 100-150 books in the year. (Including audiobooks and graphic novels, so it's not as daunting a number.) Not sure yet which specific books or genres I'm going to resolve to tackle more specifically, but I'm going to try to have fewer than 10 books checked out from the library at any given time. This may not prove possible.” —Elizabeth W, pt. 1

“2020 will mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' "Let It Be" album and the group's breakup. I love reading about popular music and I love listening to The Beatles, so in 2020 I plan to read one biography each about John, Paul, George and Ringo.” —Mark D.

"Also, the whole book resolution thing just took a turn, thanks to a teen patron: I have a voracious reader teen who delights in doing both the PopSugar reading challenge and the BookRiot Read Harder challenge. She and I both printed the lists, and I might make that my project/resolution for the year." —Elizabeth W. pt. 2

“Working at a library, I often compulsively put things on hold and check out books that come across my desk. In 2020, I plan to start the year reading the many books on my bookshelves at home.” —Corina B.

"I have declared 2020 the Year of Edith. I recently visited Edith Wharton’s estate in Massachusetts, The Mount. Since then I have been low-key obsessed. I plan to start with her memoir A Backward Glance before working my way through her available bibliography. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of The Age of Innocence, winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, so it feels like the right time to focus on Edith Wharton." —Karen K.

"As a volunteer with Court Watch NYC , which is stepping up activity as bail reforms take effect throughout the state, I am looking forward to reading Danielle Sered’s Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair along with other works on justice and prison abolition.” —Melissa M.

“My cousin and I are having a long-distance two-person book club in 2020 to read some of the classics we've never read or haven't read as adults. It was inspired by my recent re-reading of Little Women, which was far better than I remembered. We're starting with Jane Eyre, which neither of us have read. We'll see if it lives up to the hype!” —Lisa L.

“The more I stay in the States, the more I find I'm losing my Spanish. One of my reading goals for 2020 is to read more books written in Spanish, not translations, so that I can get reacquainted with the nuances of the written language from different Spanish-speaking countries.“ —Raquel P.

“I usually have a certain number of books I want to read in a year, which I use to generally 'just keep reading' when I’m starting to head into a slump. This year, I’m adding an additional goal to read one book a month outside of my usual genre to widen the pool of authors I enjoy.” —Jenn P.

So there you have it, library staff are just like you! Most of us are just trying to return our books on time. Some of us manage to read a book every 2.4 days. All of this is for you to know and never to repeat, so though we are largely done with shushing here, we respectfully ask you to take this revelation and 'shhhh' about it. Happy new year of reading to all. Feel free to share your own 2020 reading goals in the comments below!