Library Interview with Adriana Vizzari
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library board and staff are exploring the special place books, reading, storytelling and libraries hold in the hearts of community members. This questionnaire prompts introspection and reflection, offering a unique lens through which to examine the bond between readers and their connection to books, storytelling and libraries. Adriana Vizzari is a Niagara-on-the-Lake councillor, library board council representative, and a St. Davids mother of four. She was born and raised in Niagara and after attending the University of Waterloo for Business and Human Resources Management, moved back with her husband, Cory. She is active in the community and is often found at one of the town parks, rinks, pools and, of course, the library. Her passion for the community and reading is why she volunteered to sit on the library board. She is an excellent library ambassador to town council, keeping them informed about what we do and what we need to better serve the community. She is also a voice for youth and is working to bring more services to all NOTL settlement areas. Q. What sparked your love of reading? Definitely in childhood when we spent a lot of time at the library. I grew up in Thorold and we were always walking to the library or going there with my mom. I come from a family of six and am the oldest. The library was a great place to go where everybody could find something to do. One of the things I really loved were magazines. I got an opportunity to see National Geographic Kids or those teenybopper magazines that my mom would never buy for me. I loved looking through all the new magazine issues and thought that was really cool. When movies were added to the collection, it was a real treat. Q. What’s your favourite childhood library memory? Probably just getting lost in there and spending hours. When you walked into the Thorold Public Library they had a YA sign for the young adults section. I remember going there and trying to read the entire YA stack starting with Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew. When the computer catalogue arrived, I could search for books and that felt big. It was just a weekly adventure. Q. How do you encourage your children to read? There’s so much more offered at the library now for kids. There’s the programming, there’s Lego, there’s art, all those things. When the kids were very young, it was our community hub. As a mom at home with young kids, it was a lifeline; it was where you could find other moms. We did the baby and toddler story times and I found library visits were something all four of us could do together. The library is so inclusive; we could all enjoy the same books if there was a story time or they could go do their own thing. It was an easy fit for kids of different ages. Q. Do you read them any of your childhood favourites? Yes! Dr. Seuss is a huge, huge love in our house. We’re big fans of the Grinch. I read Ramona as a kid so I was really excited to get my kids into the Ramona books. The Baby Sitters Club is in graphic novels now and my kids are so into the graphic novels. I read a lot of Robert Munsch in childhood and my kids really love his books. Q. What do you think about e-books? Whatever format gets your kids to read is good. The same with graphic novels; if they’re checking out a graphic novel along with a novel, they’re reading. I think there’s nothing like a real book but when they get older and want to read e-books, I’m very open to that. I actually did have an e-book reader when the kids were babies. When I was nursing, it was easier to flip e-book pages than print pages. An e-reader is my number one gift for new moms because I know they’ll be reading one-handed for a while. Once those years were behind me, I went back to real, paper books. Q. Have you ever been in a book club? Not a formal book club but our little mom group, and the groups that started at the library, would suggest we read a book together. We also have informal book chats at home with my husband and kids. It’s so fun to watch my older ones suggest books to my younger ones. The older sibling will say “Oh, when I was in Grade 3, this is what I loved.” Q. What have you been reading lately? Lots of town council information packages! I just finished the two-book series, It Ends With Us and It Starts With Us by Coleen Hoover. I have a couple books on my nightstand right now: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers ,which was a gift, and Christine Sinclair’s memoir Playing the Long Game that I just read to my older girls. I read a mix of fiction and nonfiction. Q. How do you find time to read with such a busy life? The thing about reading is, it’s a habit. If you make a habit of a half an hour in the evening or with kids, it’s a hard stop at the end of their day. When I was little, it was the weekly trip to the library. Now, in my mom years, I’m driving the kids to soccer and swimming so I have a book buried in my bag to read while I wait. The book lockers in St. Davids and lockers and vending machine at the Virgil arena are very helpful. We can make a quick stop to pick up a hold in St. Davids or browse the books at the arena when one is skating and the rest of us are waiting. I think they’re vital to the community and make the library accessible to all the villages.
