Meet MLC Monday: Megan Sills

Meet Megan Sills, Collection Management Librarian at the Mississippi Library Commission! Megan spends her days adding monographs and state-published documents to our collection. Sound dull? She also gets to add all sorts of things that you might not normally think of libraries owning, like board games, puppets, Lego sets, and book club kits. Add to those duties the creation of an index of cataloged documents, the removal of items that are too worn or damaged for use from the catalog, and acting as a backup for the Reference Desk, and you can see that this lady stays pretty busy. She's been at it since February of 2015 and we love having her here.

Sills has an Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from Long Island University and is almost done with her Master's Degree in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies from New York University. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Webster University in Religious Studies. Megan is a past recipient of the Laura Bush 21st Century Library Stipend.

When asked her favorite part of her job, Sills jokingly replied, "Getting first dibs on all the new books!" Laughing, she points out that she was only kidding, but that she really does enjoy looking through all the new materials she adds to the collection. "I like the challenge of writing accurate and concise cataloging. I like the structure and complexity of classification systems. I like the process of building call numbers and applying subject headings." Of the Mississippi Library Commission itself, she says, "Everyone here is so dedicated to their jobs. It's a beautiful thing, seeing such care being given to every task. The people who work here genuinely love their jobs and care about the services they provide."

On the subject of libraries, this lifelong library lover said, "Libraries have a certain ambience to them that I find very appealing. They are peaceful. They are book havens and refuges for book lovers and information seekers. Plus, libraries offer materials and services to everyone free of charge. They provide access to so many things that are not readily available elsewhere to the general public" Megan loves to read, so much so that she usually has at least three books going at the same time. She  has no idea what her favorite book is and she doesn't think she would ever be able to choose, but her favorite genre is fantasy. The last book she read and enjoyed was The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.

Megan spends most of her spare time reading and collecting books. She also likes traveling, making lists, petting cats, finding and watching cute animal videos, and dancing. She, her husband, and their cat Charles live in Simpson County, Mississippi.