Staff Spotlight: Juli Morneweck

If you have stopped in at the library in the last several years, you probably have talked to our Circulation Supervisor, Juli Morneweck. (Her desk is located right inside the front door, so she is hard to miss!) Juli volunteered at the library before being recruited as an official staff member, and she has never looked back. “I was asked three times to join the staff before I accepted, but I am so glad that I said yes,” says Juli.  Recently, Juli decided to take her commitment to the library to the next level and is pursuing a Master of Library Information Sciences online at Clarion University.

We sat down with Juli to find out more about her.

When did you move to South Fayette?   

Summer of 1996 

When did you start working at the library?   

I started as a volunteer at the beginning of 2006 with the Children’s Librarian, Mariellen.  My youngest, Tommy, was 6 months old. I would come in two hours every Monday to help plan a program called Children Around the World. Then, once a month, I’d help out during the program, where we’d explore different countries and customs.   

We started a much more popular program the following year: Magic Tree House Book Club. In that program, we’d read the first few chapters of one of the Magic Tree House books then do some activities based on the theme of the book.   

I finally applied for a part time position at the end of 2014. Truly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! 

What do you love most about the library?   

I love getting to interact with patrons and help them search for items that fit their needs at the library.  Sometimes it’s a real struggle to find what the patron wants, but I really enjoy the challenge of making them happy.  

I worked as a corporate paralegal before my kids were born.  Although I really loved the intensity of paralegal work, I missed the social interactions I used to get when working at a grocery store during college.  Now, I have the best of both worlds! 

What do you think is the most important thing the library does?  

I hope all SFTL patrons find our library to be an inviting space, where they feel free to ask questions to help them get the books and information they want and need.  

Any favorite events or memories?  

Some of my favorite memories are as a patron, bringing my young sons to the library for Miss Dotty’s story times. They loved going to the program and then choosing tons of books to take home afterwards. 

What is your favorite book?  

Wow, that’s a hard one!  I think I have a new favorite book just about every year!  For an all-time favorite, I guess I’d have to go with a tie: Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. (I totally nerded out over the secret code on the bottom of the pages!)  However, my most recent favorite book was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (who also wrote The Midnight Library, our recent One Book, One Community book). 

Be sure to say hi to Juli the next time you stop in at the library!