Past Featured Library Employee Archives

Meet this issue’s Featured Library Employee for the Missouri Library Association, Taki Richards!  

What is your name, your library, and your role at the library?

My name is Taki Richards and I am the Digital Services Resource Specialist with St. Louis Public Library.

What originally got you interested in working at a library?

I actually was visiting the Walnut Park St. Louis Public location to use their wifi to fill out job applications and they just so happened to be hiring for Homework Helper at the time. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to work at the time, but when I got the call for an interview, I was really excited! I am really into graphic novels and at the time was more introverted than I am now (thank you SLPL for helping me with my social skills, HAHA!), so being able to work in a quiet place where I had access to graphic novels and manga at anytime made this the ideal job! It was also easy to work with kids because I had so many younger family members, so that, plus some creative skills I used for Youth Services displays, really helped me excel! 

What keeps you coming back every day?

I work with an amazing manager and an extraordinary group of co-workers in my department! My colleagues are the bestest friends I've ever had and being able to work with some of the most incredible and extremely talented staff has made being at St. Louis Public Library the best place to work!

What's challenging about your work?

One of my main responsibilities is to provide technology assistance to all who come to the library. This includes teaching technology classes, such as Computer Basics or learning how to use Google Docs and Google Sheets or even how to use our online resources like Libby or Gale Courses. The most challenging thing about teaching those classes is that everyone is at a different technology skill level. Some may be able to navigate a computer with ease and want more advanced learning while others, especially the older generation that didn't grow up with or never had to use a computer before now, need to know how to use a mouse and keyboard. By doing "Intro" and "Basics" classes and also getting feedback from the patrons who attend my classes, it's helped me figure out how to present each lesson and what supplementary materials to create so that participants are less intimidated by technology and are excited that they learned something!

Has your work made you either curious, or passionate, or awestruck about something?

I think it's very amazing and wholesome when some library patrons are extremely grateful after I’ve helped them with something they've struggled to get through, whether it's learning how to use their devices or computer or getting assistance with an application. A lot of people will have businesses or even family tell them to come to the library and when they do, they really appreciate the work we do and our patience when working with them because they often have no one else to turn to. I think libraries and the staff in them really keep the world turning!

Who is one of your mentors? Tell us about them.

In the eight years that I've been with St. Louis Public Library, I've had so many of the lovely staff here teach me so much and I've even had a few really cool co-workers at the Ferguson Municipal Library as well! I am extremely grateful for each and every one, so it's hard to pick, HAHA! But, if I have to choose, it would be Ana Gomez, a former Creative Experience Specialist with St. Louis Public Library! Back when I was a Creative Experience Assistant, I got to work with Ana a ton. 

She was one of those who gave 120% and everything she did! It was inspiring to see her in action, from always being willing to give refresher training to staff as many times as needed to coming up with really fun creative programs to just being a happy presence in the room. I've adopted her spirit for all of our new staff that have come in after her time here! I want to be able to create an environment where staff are able to enjoy working in the Digital Services department as much as I did when Ana worked with us! Thank you so much, Ana!

What have you read or watched lately that you enjoyed?

I am a big big anime and animation nerd and a couple of things I have been really into right now are Dandadan and Arcane. Dandadan is a super weird and hilarious anime focusing on two highschoolers; one that believes in aliens and one that believes in Youkai (supernatural spirits). Neither believes the other person's interest exists, so they dare each other to go to spots where both have been spotted and are in for a wild ride!

Arcane is based on a handful of characters from a popular video game, League of Legends, and the origin stories and relationship between all of them. There are many main characters in Arcane, but the big stars of the show are two sisters, Vi and Jinx (Jinx is my favorite!).

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

I have a three year old cat named Juju and I adore her so much! I am also an artist and I like to draw in my spare time. I'm really into Character Design and anime style art because of how fun and dramatic you can be when creating characters!