The Real Librarians of Chelmsford
What is the best way to get to know a librarian? By getting them to dish about books, of course! Each month, we will introduce you to one of the librarians of Chelmsford Public Library. This month, we talked to Deanna Parsi, Readers Advisory Librarian.
Deanna’s entire career has revolved around her love of books and reading. She has been a bookseller, a book buyer, and a book sales rep. She went back to school and earned her Library Science degree in 2019. She worked on projects in several local archives before finding her way to Readers Advisory at the Chelmsford Public Library, where she is approaching her one-year anniversary. When she is not at work, Deanna enjoys reading, knitting, cooking, taking pictures of her cats (they are very cute), and traveling to new places.
We asked Deanna:
What was your first library?
“My first library was the Hills Memorial Library in Hudson, NH. My favorite part of the library was actually their bookmobile, which stopped at the end of our street during the summers. I was always waiting when the bookmobile rolled up, and the librarian who ran it always remembered to bring me more of my favorite authors. This might be why I love to go out with Chelmsford’s Pop-Up Library!”
What is on your nightstand right now?
Billy Summers by Stephen King
Down Range by Taylor Moore
The Cellist by Daniel Silva
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
What book(s) do you love to suggest to patron?
“While I always try to tailor my suggestions to what patrons like to read, I do often recommend The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan to mystery readers, How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior to those looking for a feel-good read, and H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald for those looking for a memoir.”
What are your top three “desert island” books?
“I always cheat on this question! I would bring:
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen,
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.”
Who are your top five favorite authors?
What is your favorite line from a book?
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
“I am always writing down great lines from books, but this one simple line comes to mind, because it reminds me of the first time I read Tolkien and got swept away by Middle Earth.”
What book would you most like to read again for the first time?
“There are so many books I would like to read again, but here I will say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Not for the story, which I have now read (and listened to!) many times, but for the singular feeling of knowing that as I sat down to read it for the first time, millions of other people around the world were reading it at the exact same time. I have never felt so connected to the reading universe!”
Why do you love being a librarian?
“Well, libraries are magic, aren’t they? As a reader, I can still be amazed at the concept of a library – you can take books home to read, all on the promise that you will bring them back so that other people can read them too. To be part of that experience for people, and to help them choose what to read next, makes me happy.”