Each month we invite patrons to Meet the Staff. This month, we shine the spotlight on our vivacious page, Jessica . She’s always happy to lend a hand and step in at the last minute if necessary. Always fun and funny, Jessica puts her heart into serving others.
This last May marks my first year working at the O’Fallon Public Library, though I’ve been coming here since I was a tiny tot. I very clearly remember the fake cat that sat on the counter at the original checkout desk (before we had self-checkout – I know, it’s a terrifying thought). My parents both encouraged me to read and learn, so I suppose that that’s what led me to end up here for now!
I am a little addicted to makeup and skincare, though I’m kind of terrible at it. I’m extremely picky about what I buy, so that means I have a very small collection of higher-end and mid-priced items. If someone could tell me some dupes for a good eye-shadow primer or contouring kit, I’d be eternally grateful. I also love to listen to any type of music barring heavy metal and screamo.
I’m currently the youngest person on staff and am going into my second year of college at SIUE where I’m majoring in nursing and minoring in French. Medicine and medical studies have always been in my life; my mother hopped around the medical supply field and many of my extended relatives would tell me stories about their time in the ER or NICU or in California as a travel nurse during Christmas and family reunions, so I guess I got bitten with the nursing bug.
I get razzed all the time for being a “librarian,” whenever one of my friends find out what I do, though I don’t work the desk. You can find me in the far back checking in books and sorting them or hidden behind some shelves throughout the library putting them away again. I can promise you that it’s not done by some kind of library elf, though myself and Kim (another page, go check out her Meet the Staff!) might be short enough to pass for one.
The books I could pick up again and again to get me out of any sort of reading slump are The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; the prose in both is absolutely lovely and creative, with a story that’s easy to follow and profound. Pride and Prejudice reminds me that first impressions don’t define a person, which is something that I need to be told sometimes, while The Book Thief allows me to remember that there will always goodness in places that seem to be filled with nothing but hate and darkness.
Click on the links to request Jessica’s book pics, or check out the movie versions below.
The Book Thief – A young girl (Sophie Nelisse) living with foster parents (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) in Nazi Germany begins collecting forbidden books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee hiding in her home in this war drama adapted from Markus Zusak’s book by screenwriter Michael Petroni (The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) and director Brian Percival.
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen’s perennially popular story of the game of love among the British upper classes returns to the screen in this polished film adaptation. The Bennets (Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland) are the parents of five daughters near the close of the 18th century. Comfortable within their means but well short of rich, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are looking for suitable husbands for their girls, and they are encouraged to learn that an eligible young bachelor from a wealthy family, Charles Bingley (Simon Woods), has moved into a nearby estate. Eager to see if a match can be made, the Bennets bring their daughters Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Jane (Rosamund Pike) to a ball thrown by their new neighbor to see if sparks will fly. Jane seems to like Charles, and he appears to feel the same, but Elizabeth takes an immediate dislike to Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), Charles’ egocentric best friend. While Elizabeth is infatuated with military man Lt. Wickham (Rupert Friend) and finds herself courted by William Collins (Tom Hollander), a well-meaning but drab man of the cloth, fate causes Elizabeth and Darcy to frequently cross paths, and while they don’t care for one another, they can’t stop thinking about each other, either. Pride & Prejudice also stars Jena Malone, Judi Dench, and Penelope Wilton.
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