Julie Adam’s job means she has easy access to an endless supply of books. 70118 Picture: Kim Cartmell
By Sally Zou
JULIE Adam will be 50 this year but the lover of young adult fiction is likely just as in touch with today’s youth culture as the average teenager.
An exciting mystery or any novel about witches or vampires is a good one, according to the mother of two children aged 17 and 20, perhaps why the role of Youth Services Officer at Pakenham Library is just so fitting for her.
Julie has spent all of her working life, since 1977, in libraries. She started as a shelver in tenth grade and has never looked back.
Since then she been a librarian and has also driven mobile libraries around Pakenham.
She is now in charge of running children’s programs, storytime, book clubs, book groups for teenagers and school holiday programs at the library.
“I love what I do, so why should I change?” Julie said.
“I love the satisfaction of finding the right book for a particular child, especially if they are a reluctant reader, and the expression on kids’ faces when I’m doing storytime is wonderful.”
Julie also loves to garden, cook, watch DVDs, and spend time with her children and friends.
Surprisingly, her personal collection of books at home only consists of three shelves, mostly filled with gardening and cooking books.
In her bedroom, however, she has created her own Great Wall of China of young adult books that she has borrowed from work.
Currently she is reading Richelle Mead’s vampire series, Bloodline.
“The kids think it’s really novel that I know what young people are reading and what music they listen to,” said Julie.
“I’ve recently just put a subwoofer in my car and been clubbing.”
Julie believes she wouldn’t have as good a rapport with young people if it hadn’t been for her love of reading. In fact, she is a constant reader and doesn’t know what she would do without books.
“I always like to be reading something, even if it’s the back of a Wheaties packet,” Julie said. “My kids will often ask ‘How did you know that?’ when I know the answer to a quiz on television or when I know who the killer is on a crime show before it’s over.”
“Reading has definitely expanded my world view and general knowledge. I can usually be found with a spanner in one hand and a book in the other.”
One book that has always stuck with Julie has been Being Happy!: A Handbook to Greater Confidence and Security by Andrew Matthews.
“It made you understand that what you’re going through isn’t so bad, and to learn to see what you have achieved rather than what you don’t have,” Julie said.
Her must-reads for children are the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen and the Tomorrow series by John Marsden.
