Beyond the Books: Meet the People Behind Unique Library’s Services
At Unique Library, we’re more than just a service—we’re a team of book lovers, podcast junkies, music aficionados, and lifehack enthusiasts who genuinely care about libraries. We recently asked our team a few fun questions to get to know each other better, and now we’re sharing the results with you!
Get involved, we’d love to hear from you! What makes you tick? What’s something from your daily life that could help others hack their way to an easier routine? What are you reading right now? Click on our survey link at the bottom to join in!
What We’re Reading Right Now 📚
Just like the library staff we work with every day, we’re passionate about books. Our reading list is a mix of history, thrillers, literary fiction, and everything in between.
📖 Historical Deep Dives:
- Henry V – The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King – Dan Jones (Cary)
- D-Day – Stephen Ambrose (Kevin)
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – Frederick Douglass (Danner)
🔮 Fiction Favorites:
- Morning Star – Pierce Brown (Will)
- The Haunting of Maddy Clare – Simone St. James (Tori)
- Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman (Rachel)
- Wind and Truth – Brandon Sanderson (Haleigh)
💡 Self-Improvement & Nonfiction:
- Atomic Habits – James Clear (Teri Lynn)
- How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie (Nicole)
- The Art of War – Sun Tzu (Andrew)
We’d love to hear what you’re reading—share your current book with us for a chance to be featured in our next newsletter!
Team Preferences: Books, Podcasts, and Listening Habits 🎧
We all love a good story, but how we consume it varies:
📚 Team Physical Book – Nicole, Tori, Melissa
📱 Team E-Reader – Erik, Andy, Katey
🎙️ Team Audiobook – Cary, Will, Kevin
🎙️ Podcast Highlights
From history to finance, true crime to comedy, here’s what keeps us entertained between calls:
- AI for Humans (Cary)
- Ones and Tooze (Rob)
- Darknet Diaries (Will)
- Crime Junkie (Haleigh)
- Talking Pictures from TCM (Jen)
Most of us stream on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, but some venture onto YouTube, Downcast, and Podcast Addict.
Got a favorite library or book-related podcast? Let us know!
Lifehacks We Swear By 💡
We love a good trick to make life easier, and some of these are too good not to share:
🍪 “Put a slice of bread in with fresh-baked cookies to keep them soft.” (Tori)
✂️ “Break the clips off store pants hangers—instant, free chip clips!” (Kelsy)
🔪 “Flip your knife over and use the blunt side to scrape food off cutting boards—keeps blades sharper.” (Haleigh)
🛒 “Use a rolling cart for cleaning supplies so everything moves with you.” (Kathie)
💨 “Listen to audiobooks and podcasts at 2x speed!” (Cary)
📝 “Physically writing things down helps me remember better than typing on my phone!” (Heather)
What tips do you have to make life just a little bit easier?
The Unique Library Team Playlist 🎵
Music is a must for our team, whether we’re working, exercising, or just unwinding. Here’s some of the tracks and bands we are listening to!
🎶 Team Favorites:
- Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan (Heather, Danner, Jen)
- Althea – Grateful Dead (Rob)
- Heavy is the Crown – Linkin Park (Will)
- The Firebird, K010 – Igor Stravinsky (Rachel)
- Tree of Life – Small Fools (Sarah)
- Hooked on a Feeling – B.J. Thomas (Andrew)
🎸 All-Time Favorite Artists:
- The Beatles
- Paramore
- Linkin Park
- Madonna
- Fall Out Boy
- AC/DC
Share a little piece of yourself! Fill out our survey here and share your answers with the rest of the library community in future Material Matters.
Explore All Services
Solutions designed to improve patron communication, strengthen collection access, reduce staff workload, and support library growth.
Fine-Free Gentle Nudge
Recover long-overdue materials while preserving patron goodwill. Restore access, return items to circulation, and support the goals of a fine-free library.
Explore Recovery
MessageBee
Connect with patrons through email, SMS, and voice messaging from one library-focused platform. Improve outreach through the channels patrons use every day.
Patron Services
Expand patron support with live phone and chat assistance. Reduce frontline workload while providing timely answers and a better patron experience.
New Mover Service
Reach new residents soon after they move into your community. Targeted postcards build awareness, drive registrations, and help grow library membership.
Learn More
Material Recovery
Bring valuable materials back into circulation through proven library outreach. Improve collection availability while maintaining positive patron relationships.
Learn More
Verified Borrower Registration
Simplify online card registration through automated identity verification. Reduce staff work, improve data quality, and give eligible residents faster access.
Learn More
Automated Borrower Renewal
Renew eligible borrower accounts while validating patron information behind the scenes. Reduce repetitive tasks and maintain uninterrupted patron access.
Learn More
Explore All Services
Explore solutions that improve communication, increase efficiency, strengthen patron relationships, and support library growth.
View Every Solution