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MT. LEBANON PUBLIC LIBRARY
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
VOLUNTEERFOCUS
Volunteerism was very important
in Kit Murphy’s family and she was
encouraged to give back to her
community. Growing up, Kit was a Girl
Scout and volunteered at her high
school library and at a local hospital as
a junior aide. “It taught me service to
others in need, and that I REALLY didn’t
like the hospital setting as a career
choice!” In college, she was a hugger for
the local Special Olympics.
After college, Kit worked as a librarian—
first for the Darden Graduate School
of Business Administration at UVA and
later as a children’s librarian in Lafayette
Hill, Pa. While pursuing her MLS, she and
her husband moved to Mt. Lebanon.
After completing her master’s at Pitt
and working for Highmark BCBS for
a few years, she left the workforce
to concentrate on her family…and
returned to volunteering. For the last
three-and-a-half years, Kit’s volunteered
at Mt. Lebanon Library as well as at
her church, and supports her family’s
activities, which include PTA, Girl Scouts,
Relay for Life, and Mt. Lebanon Soccer
Association. Plus she is someone who
will make cookies for almost any event.
Q: How did you get started
volunteering at the library?
A: When my children were older, I
wanted to get back to working in a
public library. Unfortunately, many
libraries were experiencing funding
cuts at that time and there was
little hiring. Eventually, I decided to
volunteer. It was a way to use my
experience, skills and fulfill my desire
to be back around books.
Q: What is your favorite part of
volunteering at the library?
A: I like spending more time in the
adult sections. I’m pretty good at
shelf reading and I like to make the
area that I read look very nice and
organized. I also love helping patrons
find something they are looking for,
52 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Mt. Lebanon
whether a book or
a specific location
like gardening.
And I absolutely
love to hunt for
books that need to
be found for some
reason.
Q: What keeps you
coming back as a
volunteer?
A: Service to others. It’s in my
blood!
Q: Have you always been interested
in libraries and why?
A: I have vague memories of going to
the library as a very young child. It
was in an old store in the downtown
area of the small town in which I
grew up. It later moved to a house
(rumored to be haunted) near my
elementary school. In second grade,
we would go as a class to the library.
Of course, I went often on my own
as well. I still have my first library
card. Fines were 3 cents a day. In my
grandparents’ home towns, I would
go to their libraries to borrow books
while I visited them, and at summer
camp I discovered that on a rainy
day, even very old books could be
interesting.
I think the greatest allure of libraries
was LOTS of books and the friendly,
helpful librarians. I loved the library
smell of books, and getting reading
recommendations from time to time.
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: At this very second, I’m not reading
anything, as I just finished A Land
More Kind than Home by Wiley
Cash and The Promise of Stardust by
Priscille Sibley. I’m a huge user of
Goodreads where I store my list of
books to read. The expression “So
many books, so little time” clearly
applies to me as I have over 1,000
books on my to-read shelves. Yikes!
Q: What is your favorite work of
fiction or non-fiction?
A: Two of my (recent) favorite non-
fiction works are The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown and The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by
Rebecca Skloot
Q: What would you title your
autobiography?
A: Maybe…”I’m reading as fast as I can!”
OR “How can I help you?”
Q: If you could be any fictional
character, who would you choose?
A: Nancy Drew. I loved her.
Q: What’s the library’s best-kept
secret?
A: You can borrow anything. All the
answers are inside. Librarians are the
original “Google.”
Q: What do you do when you’re not
reading or volunteering?
A: Scrapbooking, coloring, video
games, board games, playing tennis,
biking, dog walking, and watching
Pittsburgh sports.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: I have three favorites: The Sound of
Music – I didn’t understand it in 1965,
but knew it was something pretty
special; Star Wars Episodes IV, V,
VI – Who didn’t love it with all those
Dolby sounds and FX? The Lord of
the Rings trilogy – They opened my
world to fantasy. (I’ve never read any
Tolkien, but it is on my to-read list
now!)