Timothy M. Ryan, MLS, MSJ: Timothy has been the Director of the East Rochester Public Library since 2020. Prior to ER, he worked at the Seymour Library in Brockport, and the Lincoln and Sully branches of the Rochester Public Library. He is a recipient of the American Library Association’s 2017 I Love My Librarian award. Timothy grew up in Brockport, but currently resides in Greece with his wife Ty, sons Preston, Hayden, and Lawson, step-daughter Ellie, and step-son Romeo.
What character or author would be the librarian in your personal literary paradise?
Dennis Williams. Author of Tree People & Parker’s Problem
What was the first book you read by yourself as a child?
The Twits by Roald Dahl – It may not actually be the first book I read by myself, but it’s the first that I can remember. I must have read it over and over at least 10 times in 2nd grade.
Is there a book you’ve read that you wish you didn’t?
Just about every book the school system ever assigned me to read, but The Indian in the Cupboard and The Scarlet Letter are two that I wish I could have the time back from reading.
What book marks a major milestone in your life?
God, Art, and Other Random Thoughts by Timothy Ryan because it was the first book I had ever published. (Available for purchase on Amazon or to borrow in the MCLS catalog at https://libraryweb.org).
Do you have a favorite picture book? What and why?
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble – This is my favorite picture book because it’s the first book that I can remember being read aloud to me as a child by both my mother & father. It’s also the first book that evoked an emotional response from me that I still can remember to this day.
What was the last book you read that challenged your world view?
Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
Is there an author or a book that you think is highly overrated? Why?
Anything by James Patterson……. predictable.
What is a favorite quote from a book?
“We are but shadows and dust (Pulvis et umbra sumus)” – (Horace, The Odes)
If you had a Narnia closet, what literary world would it lead to and what’s the first thing you would do there?
Middle Earth……smoke a pipe with Gandalf.
You’re on a dating app and all your matches are literacy characters. Who do you select?
Saeko Busujima – High School of the Dead
It's All About the Book 