Meet Muhlenberg's Staff: Ashley Curran by Lindsy SerranoMarch 18, 2011

We've gotten to know a lot of wonderful patrons that come to Muhlenberg and thought that we would return the favor. 

Ashley Curran has been the site manager of Muhlenberg since September 2010 and has already made big changes in the branch. 

How did you get started working in libraries?
 
Whilst finishing my bachelors in history at Hunter College I took a part time job as a bibliographic assistant at The New York Society Library and was mentored by a number of the librarians there. Since I knew I wanted a masters in something I decided to enroll at Queens College to get my MLS.
 
What is the average day for a site manager like?
 
Trying to ensure that everything runs smoothly and everyone is happy :) Much of my day is taken up with solving problems, since I'm the last word on some issues, but I also like to make sure I take the information desk so that I can ensure that the Chelsea community is being served by their branch and that what we're offering is the best for our patrons.
 
What is something that you wish everyone knew about NYPL?
 
I wish more people knew about Mango, which can be accessed through the databases page on our website. It's an interactive database that provides step by step lesson plans for nine different languages. Its a lot of fun, though I'll be honest and admit that my Spanish is still very poor :) I'm also having a lot of fun with Freegal right now too, also accessible from our website, which is a music download service which allows Library cardholders to download three songs a week from the entire catalog of Sony Music.
 
What future events or changes can MU patrons look forward to?
 
Our laughter yoga is in its infancy here at Muhlenberg yet the numbers are starting to climb each session and I'm planning on joining a session soon, I think we all need something to laugh about. I'm also in the process of setting up a movie series which I think will run twice a month and would love title recommendations.
 
Any book/movie/music recomendations for our patrons?
 
Now I suppose I'm supposed to give some nice high brow titles, but I'd have to go with my most recent passion, which is vampire romance. J.R Ward is my favorite author in the genre, but be warned her books are quite violent. Along those lines in movies I'd have to recommend Let The Right One In which is a truly visionary take on the vampire genre. I'm right now finishing up George R.R Martin's A Feast For Crows which is the 4th in his series "A Song of Ice & Fire." It's a brilliant fantasy series along the lines of The Lord of The Rings, which is being made into a miniseries by HBO.
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GENERAL COMMENTS.

Submitted by Cornelius Sewell (not verified) on August 13, 2012 - 9:09pm

I attended last week's coffee & donuts and enjoyed meeting and talking to you (I was the fat old man with the mustache). I happen to think that things go wonderfully at your branch (you must be doing a great job!)and I love having online book reserves. I was glad to learn about all the other things going on at Muhlenberg. I learned some interesting that you might or might not be aware of. The best and quickest way to get reviews of a book (of all that I have looked for so far)is to look up the book on AMAZON! They have a bunch of reviews on every(?)book they sell. Regards, CORNIE SEWELL I can't figure out out to send this so am using snail mail!

As a "Staff Pick", Chrystal

Submitted by Guest (not verified) on July 7, 2016 - 1:03pm

As a "Staff Pick", Chrystal Chen recommended "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee. I have had a hold on this book since August 4, 2015. Even though several copies show "Available" in the catalog, I have never received notification that my request was being held for me. What's wrong with this catalog?