Who I Am

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

My name is Ryan Deery and I live in Montpelier, Vermont. My wife Lyndsay and I have lived in the nation’s smallest capital for the past two years and we love it here. Lyndsay is the webmaster, social media master, and an all around marketing handy-woman at the Community College of Vermont headquarters here in town while I currently work at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier’s public library.

Just last week, I celebrated my one-year anniversary as a children’s librarian and it has been a year of great learning and great fun. At the KHL as we call it, I am in charge of the children’s programming which means that I get to organize and frequently participate in everything from story time, to after school programming like the comics club, to special events like gaming tournaments, author visits, and even a Harry Potter lock-in (such a blast)! I also spend a large portion of my time at the children’s circulation desk performing circulation and reference duties. Altogether, this means that I am quickly becoming very familiar with toddlers, children, tweens, young adults, parents and the lit they all love. 

Prior to this year, I spent a year as an Americorps VISTA volunteer also at the KHL. As a VISTA, I did a little bit of everything but mostly, my duties focused on library outreach, helping organize and facilitate adult programming, and helping organize and facilitate fundraising. My year as an Americorps service member was a rewarding and difficult experience in many ways but in the end, it landed me my current job and prepared me well for it.

Before Lyndsay and I moved to Vermont, we lived in Logan, Utah. In Utah, Lyndsay managed the business end of a pediatric dentist office and I attended Utah State University. At USU I earned a masters in English and primarily focused on composition pedagogy and broad literary studies. I also worked as a graduate instructor fully teaching “Introduction to Composition” and “Introduction to Argument.” At USU, after the first semester of successful teaching, graduate instructors are given the freedom to design their own classes so long as they meet the overarching goals set forth by the department. This was a daunting task but one I undertook for the whole of my second year of instruction.

Working back in time, our move to Utah was preceded by a stint in Valdez Alaska as ocean kayak guides on the stunning Prince William Sound and subsequent to that, we both taught English as a second Language in Santiago Chile. All of which followed my days as a plant care specialist at the Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Rockford Illinois.

Why Wayne State you might be asking at this point. In the beginning, for both Lyndsay and I, was Petoskey Michigan. Both Lyndsay and I were born and raised there and it was in high school there that we met. I then attended the University of Michigan for my BA in English and therein lies my link to Michigan and Detroit.

There is a lot I hope to gain from this class. First is awareness and empathy. Having not faced any physiological challenges in my life and until recently, having little experience with those that have, I am woefully unaware of the challenges that are present in our society, the attitudes that pervade our society concerning those that face these challenges, the issues of legality that surround it, and the support structures that do or do not exist to work for or against those that need them.

Second, I want tools. As I come to understand the challenges, attitudes, legal issues, and support structures, I want to gain the tools to make a difference. As I look with fresh eyes at the library I work within and all libraries and public spaces, at the patrons I serve and anyone that is in need of service, I want to know how to make a difference. I want to pull from my mental tool belt that which is needed when it is needed and I hope this class prepares me to do it.