A new 5 questions with interview is here! For this instalment, we had the pleasure of interviewing Breanne Muise, Library Technician at Nova Scotia’s St. Mary's Bay Academy.

St. Mary's Bay Academy (SMBA) is a secondary school located in Weymouth, Nova Scotia. SMBA is part of the Tri-County Regional School Board. It is the only English high school in the municipality of Clare. It was formerly known as Clare District High.

Read Breanne’s answers to our questionnaire below.

1. Which myth about libraries or library staff do you most want to bust?
That you have to whisper or be super quiet in libraries. I know in the past libraries were very quiet and people often got told “shh!” if they were caught talking, but I feel that treating patrons like this can be a turn-off and give them a negative library experience. Of course we prefer people to not be loud and yelling, but you can talk at your regular volume!

2. What compelled or inspired you to pursue library work?
Since I was a child I’ve always been an avid reader and English was my best subject. After dropping out of university I knew I wanted to go back to school eventually and after hearing about NSCC’s Library and Information Technology program I thought it sounded interesting so I applied and got accepted. I graduated last summer and have thoroughly enjoyed working in libraries!

3. What has been your favourite library event?
I currently work at a school library and my favourite experience has been welcoming the grade 7 class into the library for the first time and explaining how the library works and helping them find books. Their elementary school didn’t have an official library so their excitement and awe about using our library made me happy.

4. What is the most pressing issue facing libraries today?
There are a multitude of issues facing different aspects of libraries but personally, I would say the fact that a lot of people in communities don’t use them! It seems like people tend to forget they exist but they’re free and provide great resources! So many people I know buy all the books they read and I’m always the first to point out that they could be saving a bunch of money by just borrowing from the library.

5. What forthcoming book are you most excited about?
It hasn’t been announced yet but TikTok has gotten me pumped for the third book in the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas. House of Sky and Breath left on a HUGE cliff-hanger and I’m eager to find out what happens.

BONUS: Printer jams! What is the most surprising thing in your day to day that you spend more time on than you were prepared for?
I came from a public library setting so working in a school library what’s surprised me is how much time I spend keeping track of overdue books. Working in a public library either the system or someone in the HQ keeps track of overdues and after a period of time in the front end we contact the patron. But in a school library I run the reports on what is overdue and have to personally track down the student who has it which can be difficult depending on the kid (sometimes I feel like a bounty hunter, ha ha).

Thank you Breanne for taking the time to answer our questionnaire! Read more instalments of our 5 questions with series here.

Are you a library staffer, Canadian independent bookseller, or small publisher interested in being featured in our 5 questions with blog series? Get in touch!