{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/mp4vh5f59s/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Tejas Desai Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClip 1:\u003c/strong\u003e Tejas Desai discusses what the atmosphere of the Queens Public Library's Cambria Heights branch was like before the COVID-19 pandemic and what it has been like since the pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePhoto: Portrait photograph of Tejas Desai, 2017. Photo by Jose Musse.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTejas Desai is the Assistant Community Library Manager of Queens Public Library's Cambria Heights branch as well as a novelist and short story writer. Desai shares his memories of visiting Queens Public Library branches starting as a child in the 1980s through his teenage years in the 1990s. Desai discusses his early interest in writing fiction and reflects on how his experiences in junior high school and high school, including incidents of bullying and racism, influenced his writing during that time.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter high school, Desai attended Wesleyan University, spending one year studying abroad in Oxford, England. Desai reflects on his educational and personal experiences in college and his subsequent career path toward librarianship. Desai began working at Queens Public Library in 2007; prior to his current position at the Cambria Heights branch, Desai worked at the Queensboro Hill, Bayside, Central Library, Bay Terrace, and Corona branches. Desai describes his day-to-day experiences of working in a busy public library that offers a wide range of programs and services, interacting with diverse customers, and managing library personnel. Desai also explains how working at Queens Public Library has enabled him to continue his own writing career and to offer programs and resources to support other independent authors in Queens.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/42908"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2023-02-24 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Tags"]},"value":{"en":["Queens College Alumni"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Video","Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Tejas Desai (Interviewee)","Taline Janikian (Interviewer)","Jose Musse (Photographer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queens Public Library 125th Anniversary Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1980s-2023 (temporal)","Cambria Heights, Corona, and Flushing, Queens, NY; Bronx High School of Science, Bronx, NY; Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT; Oxford, England (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClip 1:\u003c/strong\u003e Tejas Desai discusses what the atmosphere of the Queens Public Library's Cambria Heights branch was like before the COVID-19 pandemic and what it has been like since the pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePhoto: Portrait photograph of Tejas Desai, 2017. Photo by Jose Musse.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTejas Desai is the Assistant Community Library Manager of Queens Public Library's Cambria Heights branch as well as a novelist and short story writer. Desai shares his memories of visiting Queens Public Library branches starting as a child in the 1980s through his teenage years in the 1990s. Desai discusses his early interest in writing fiction and reflects on how his experiences in junior high school and high school, including incidents of bullying and racism, influenced his writing during that time.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter high school, Desai attended Wesleyan University, spending one year studying abroad in Oxford, England. Desai reflects on his educational and personal experiences in college and his subsequent career path toward librarianship. Desai began working at Queens Public Library in 2007; prior to his current position at the Cambria Heights branch, Desai worked at the Queensboro Hill, Bayside, Central Library, Bay Terrace, and Corona branches. Desai describes his day-to-day experiences of working in a busy public library that offers a wide range of programs and services, interacting with diverse customers, and managing library personnel. Desai also explains how working at Queens Public Library has enabled him to continue his own writing career and to offer programs and resources to support other independent authors in Queens.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/227/961/small/Desai_picture_-_2023-02-24_aviary.jpg?1708012693","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227961","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 2 - tejas_clip_QMP.mp3"]},"duration":164.04,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/227/961/small/Desai_picture_-_2023-02-24_aviary.jpg?1708012693","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227961/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227961/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/227/961/original/tejas_clip_QMP.mp3?1708012666","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":164.04,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227961","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 2 of 2 - Desai_Interview_-_2023-02-24.mp4"]},"duration":3299.12,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/227/962/small/thumbnail_227962_1708014058.jpg?1707996170","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/content/2/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/227/962/original/Desai_Interview_-_2023-02-24.mp4?1708012766","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3299.12,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Hello, my name is Taline Janikian, and I'm interviewing Tejas Desai on today, February 24, 2023. By making this recording we both consent to the use of our names, voices, images, and likeness by the Queens Public Library understanding that this recording will be the property of the library, and will be used in connection with the promotion and marketing of the library, its programs and its services. It will not be sold by the library in any way. We understand that we will not receive compensation and agree to hold the library harmless for any claim arising from the use of this interview and recording. Hi Tejas, how are you today?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=0.0,39.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Good, how are you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=39.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: I'm great. Let's get this started! I'd like to begin by talking about your formative relationship with libraries. What role did reading have in your life and in your family?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=40.0,54.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Well, my mom says, and I don't really remember this, but she said she read to me when I was very young. And I started going to libraries, when— I think my first library that I can remember was Lefrak City actually, because I was born in Flushing and I moved to Corona when I was four years old. And I remember going to the Lefrak City Library, when I was living in Corona. And that was probably when I was four or five years old. But even before that I know my mom read to me a lot when I was a kid. And later on when I moved to Flushing, when I was eight, I started visiting the Queensboro Hill Library. I remember checking out all kinds of books, books on military, books on adventure, books and all kinds of things. I just remember reading pretty much everything I get my hands on. So reading was a really important part of my life from the very, very beginning.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=54.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: So, as I was writing, because I started writing stories when I was eight years old as well. Well, that's the first time I can remember writing them, but when I moved back to Flushing from Corona when I was eight, I only had one friend I remember in the very beginning. It was this kid from Hong Kong, originally from Hong Kong, and he had been left back by a grade, strangely enough. But, we were kind of hiding out from the school bully and we were kind of create this kind of criminal underworld. I would write the stories and he would draw the pictures. And so we would do all this within these like black and white notebooks that we had. That's my first memory of creating stories. So it's pretty early on. And I never really stopped. I would write, I remember one time I wrote a story when I was in fourth grade, and my teacher was like, \"Who are you? You're so strange\".","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=120.0,191.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I [unclear] even trying to write novels when I was in junior high. Reading and writing have been really important parts of my life from the very, very beginning. And I started reading more like classic authors and more challenging authors when I was in junior high school, and especially when I got into high school. I wrote an article called Faulkner on the subway. And that was just about me reading [unclear] William Faulkner novels while I was standing in the subway taking my two hour trip to high school every day. I went to Bronx Science. So yeah, so I was [unclear] I was 14 and I remember I read The Bear I think in one of my classes. Maybe I was 15 or so. And that really got me hooked on Faulkner and I read all of his major books. And he was very difficult to read, but I found it fascinating and challenging to me. That was like when I really started reading really challenging authors and I never really stopped. So I can go on but is there anything specific you want to ask me or—?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=191.0,270.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Yeah, I'll just I'll keep going. Thank you for sharing. What would you say inspired your writing? Would that be from the books that you were reading at the libraries or just what you were witnessing around you living in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=270.0,282.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: When I was eight years old, I was creating this world. I don't even know where that came from, honestly. But, I remember we had a very specific kid who was bullying us and using racist rhetoric. In addition, he was a white kid. And at that time, there were a lot of minorities. Much of my class was Asian, actually East Asian primarily, but all from different backgrounds, it was actually pretty diverse even [unclear] we're talking about the like late 80s. But, there was a large white, kind of working class I guess that felt that they were being displaced. And that's maybe where this kid got that from, I'm not really sure. It's weird because later on one time I actually saw, found, met him on a bus stop near my house, and it was many years later when I was a teenager, and he was completely different. He was friendly to me and he was telling me how much his dad bullied him and he was trying to escape him and stuff and, and it was funny, it was, it was kind of weird this kid who was like my tormentor was suddenly my friend or something.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=282.0,359.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: But anyway, a lot of kids get that from their parents, and it's just, it's built from that. But, in any case, at that time I think it was more escape and also my other friend had a really wild imagination. He would even talk about blowing up things including the school or whatever. We clearly created this kind of underworld and then when I got to junior high school and I really started writing longer things, again, it was just to escape the bullies and the gangs I had junior high school. I went to junior high school basically near the Flushing projects, within the projects. I don't think they're projects right now. And the [unclear] projects, so there were two different groups that were kind of battling each other and I was just a nice kid like trying to walk home from school and stuff.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=359.0,429.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I had a lot of things happened to me and apples thrown at me. It's all kind of different things so all these things kind of, and I started writing all these kind of gangster like detective type stories where the good gang get revenge on the bad gang or whatever, and many different things. So, at that time I was [unclear] novels and I didn't really finish one until I was about 16. I started writing them and then I would start writing a different one et cetera. But when I was 16, I finished my first novella, which has a title which I can't repeat.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=429.0,489.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And there was also a novel that I finished around 17 called [unclear]. And that was almost a 200 page novel; it was terrible. A lot of it was what I was witnessing in Queens, what I was experiencing. And I would say my reading didn't really— I was also influenced by the way by movies, as well. So, for a long time Fargo was my favorite movie. I like Raging Bull a lot, for example. So a lot of, it's kind of gritty movies. [unclear] noir-ish, or based in New York or whatever.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=489.0,552.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Thank you. So we've talked about your elementary school and what life was like for you in middle school. So let's talk about when you were a teenager. So as a teen patron, I guess, did your relationship with libraries change from when you were a kid?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=552.0,571.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Well, when I was a kid, I would always go with my parents, right, to the public library at least. Not of course including the school library. But when I was in high school, I— first of all, my lunch periods at Bronx Science, I would just sit in the little room that they had [unclear] the library that was just like a fiction room, but there was no seats but you could like sit on the floor next to the [unclear], so I'd literally just sit on the floor because I was too shy to hang out with other kids or something. And there were books behind me so I started reading them. I read The Great Gatsby that way. Read all the different books like Catcher in the Rye, I think. I might have read that earlier, I can't remember now. Definitely read The Great Gatsby that way. And, yes, I just started reading a lot of these books. And so that was often my hangout spot when I'd have free periods or whatever. And later on some of my friends would come too and would hang out and read and talk to [unclear]. What, was the library going to yell at us? Rightfully so.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=571.0,638.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: But the other thing was that I started going, I remember, I would go to Flushing library as well on my way home because I would take the 7 train to downtown Flushing, and then I would check out a lot of these books that I wanted to read. Norman Mailer or whatever it might have been; Russell Banks. I started checking those books out. At first, there was actually a Flushing library near Northern Boulevard, it was very small, when they were creating the very big one that exists now. I think that one opened in 1998. So, when I was a junior so that's when I was really reading heavily challenging literary and classic authors so I would often visit there. The other place I would go to a lot was Central, just because I was doing like papers and stuff. And that's where I read the biography of Faulkner, two volumes, huge, by Joseph Blotner, and a lot of other criticism and stuff; Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=638.0,700.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I would definitely spend a lot of time there, as well. Again, I was just, I was reading all the time, reading even on the subway as I said standing up and bring this huge volumes. It was weird. And of course I was writing, as well. I actually wrote a lot of poetry back then which I don't anymore. I haven't written a poem in like probably 20 years, other than like a spoken word poem story that I'm writing right now. But, I was writing a lot of poetry [unclear] and I actually got published in the Bronx Science Magazine, and I got an honorable mention in a printed poetry contest. I was published in Teen Anthologies, New York State, and a couple of them I think. And, yeah, so I was surprisingly successful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=700.0,763.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: You mentioned going to the public library in Flushing, could you describe that environment; being a teenager and a person of color at the time? Was the environment welcoming? Could you tell me a little bit about that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=763.0,780.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I never really thought about that, in terms of the library. It was different in the sense that now a lot of teens and kids do come to the library, just because they have nowhere else to go and they're just coming to hang out. And we've kind of catered to that as a community center. As I said, I did use the library that way at school at Bronx Science and later on in college, as well, just because I was shy and or bookish and all that stuff, just to hang out in the library. But, there was like relatively no one around. I was literally there to read and or just be alone. And at Flushing and at Central, again, I was there to read and explore, and they also included movies as well, checking out lots of different classic films and everything else. My goal was the literature and the film; not like hanging out or playing games or doing crochet or a lot of other things that we have now for teen. It's like endless nowadays, especially in our teen center, what we have for them to do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=780.0,845.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: But I don't remember if it was there, I didn't know about it, I was really focused on the reading and exploring aspect of film and literature. So that was different but as a person of color, I mean, there was definitely plenty of racism in society. I remember one time I was just walking from my house to a place where I worked as a tutor. I started working as a tutor when I was 14 years old. And in addition to Bronx Science and everything else, and I was a volunteer in a hospital too. But as I was walking there I guess I must have just wasn't watching and I stepped into a cement, wet cement puddle. Or something like, yeah it was a cement puddle and I took my leg up immediately. And one of the construction workers, some white guy with long hair, I don't know, he was just like, really mad because he had just probably put it in and he was like, \"f-ing immigrants\", whatever.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=845.0,918.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: So that's just one example out of many. But there was definitely plenty of that. And the racism didn't just come from quote unquote white people I mean, I remember having bullies who were Korean, in high school, Korean-American. I remember, actually, one of the worst experience that I had, this was senior year right before I was about to graduate. I went into the bathroom, and this kid who had actually had been a friend of a friend of mine, which is another long story, I was at the urinal and he was just like \"this bathroom is only for Koreans\". And so I was like, whatever, I just finished and I left. But then I was like, man I really want to get out of New York City. So I decided to go to Wesleyan which was a private school in Connecticut, which is the only private school I ever went to. But I just really wanted to get out of New York City. So, there was, there was a lot of that and I can go on and on with stories.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=918.0,983.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: A friend of mine I was telling you about who was friends with another kid, he was actually one of my best friends [unclear] high school, and ended up going to Bronx Science with me, as well. He kind of fell into some bad elements, let's just say [unclear]. I think one of our mutual friends told me he showed a gun to her at school. And then I read that he was suspended or expelled from Bronx Science. And then one day I read that in the paper that he had killed somebody. And he went to prison for almost 20 years. This was like a nice kid I knew, like he was a nice kid when I knew him but he definitely changed. I remember one day meeting him on the subway one time he's like, \"if someone's ever messing with you let me know\", whatever, stuff like that. So, people change, I don't know. But, yeah, as I said it wasn't necessarily a racial thing, it was all over the place. And it was as diverse as it is now too. Libraries were my sanctuary, let's just say that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=983.0,1067.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: And you made it out. You went to Wesleyan. Do you want to tell me a little bit about that change and also maybe what you studied, as well? What that experience was like for you going from Flushing, Queens, and experiencing all that and then going to a private school in Connecticut?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1067.0,1084.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: It was different for sure. I mean, high school is very, I was depressed and I was angry and I was just as I said I just want to get out of New York, and I got to Wesleyan and again it was a completely different atmosphere. I remember walking on the street which was just the campus and a girl just smiled at me on the street and I was like shocked. I mean that would never happen in New York. I was like what's going on. But, the transition was weird too for me. I was definitely happier there but, and I had a couple of really all three of my roommates, I lived in a quad so all three of my roommates were great people. And two of them actually became very good friends of mine, and are still friends today. But even that was a transition. I was very unhappy at the very beginning and different things happen as well. I remember one time I drank. I had no experience really drinking and I remember I drank one time and I was taken to the hospital, and apparently they didn't have to pump my stomach or anything but I did have to go to a psychotherapist, which was forced on me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1084.0,1158.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And my parents were very mad of course. They're very anti alcohol and everything but, and I remember, I went to a psychotherapist and I went to two sessions and he was like, dude you're not crazy you're just fascinating. So [unclear] that for what you will, I don't know. But yeah, it took me for a while there as well just to be acclimated. But yeah I mean I loved Wesleyan, it was a great experience. Definitely much different and again I could just sit in the library there too, or I could socialize and I made really great friendships, many of whom still exist today. I had a great girlfriend for a few years, many years. But, yeah, it was just different. And then I also actually studied abroad for my junior year, well the entire year. That was at Oxford, England so that was a great experience, as well. That was probably the best educational experience of my life just because, it was actually sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, which is in Bronxville and I actually had taken a writing workshop there one summer, I think summer into my junior and senior year of high school, and I really liked that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1158.0,1236.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And that also really inspired me to write my, my first novel which was bad, but it was written. But point is, at Oxford we had a different system. So at Wesleyan, or any or most colleges you would just take a class, even if it was a seminar whatever, you write a paper or take a test, whatever it was and get a grade based on those things. At Oxford, I actually had tutorials, not classes, so I had specific teachers I would meet with, like, weekly, and then from that create my own curriculum. I would write papers every week but it would be based on what the curriculum that I chose and what I wanted to read. So that was a great experience for me. I wrote a lot, like 50 stories. I wrote essays on Nietzsche, [unclear], I was reading all these great philosophers and writers. So just again continue to expand all that stuff that I'd already been reading in my repertoire.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1236.0,1304.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I created a fiction workshop; I took that with a poet, Jamie. His name was McKendrick, I think it was. So anyway, there was that. So again I was just observing and trying to try to use that. And some of that comes in one of my stories; in Good Americans, my first short story collection [unclear]. I used that experience, a little bit of my experience, a couple people I had met, and just a general background about that, about loneliness and alienation while you're abroad. There were negatives too, of course. British people aren't the most outwardly friendly but I did make some good American friends, and the main thing was I traveled a lot, I traveled across Europe.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1304.0,1361.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: We had trimesters so we had 8 weeks, 6 week break, 8 weeks, 6 week break, 8 weeks— So I traveled with a friend of mine through much of Europe, and my girlfriend at the time sort of studied abroad, right in the spring semester at Paris so I was meeting with her and I went to Paris for a few weeks, lived there with her and she spoke French that was helpful to me. And then I went to Spain by myself which was the first trip I'd ever taken by myself, which I remember being terrified when I first got to Siviglia and some of these places. But I was able to do that and I've never really stopped traveling since. I still take like a backpacking trip, pretty much every year by myself, mostly. So, yeah, [unclear] experience and again that's when I tried traveling and also writing about traveling so, which again is incorporated in my novels, especially in The Run and Hide and The Dance Towards Death. The two latest ones.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1361.0,1419.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Traveling is very important for a writer for inspiration.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1419.0,1427.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Some writers have never left their hometowns but like you never know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1427.0,1431.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: But, that's great that you were able to travel and you went to Seville, and do you speak Spanish or at the time did you know Spanish?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1431.0,1440.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: A little bit, I mean, I learned it in high school and then actually and then helped me later on when I was working in Corona as well when I was a librarian at Corona. But yeah, I speak a little bit but I kind of understand it but can't really speak it very well, but it was more helpful than say being in France when I knew no French.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1440.0,1462.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Do you speak any other languages besides English and some Spanish?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1462.0,1466.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Gujarati, which is an Indian language and my parents are Gujarati, so I can again I can understand it, mostly perfectly, but speaking it, I can speak it also but kind of haltingly. I just don't have enough practice, I guess.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1466.0,1484.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Understandable. So while you were at Wesleyan, and I guess while you were at Oxford, as well, what were you studying exactly? What was your major or minor? What, what were you hoping to, to get out of this education? What did you see for yourself after graduation?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1484.0,1502.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Yeah, so from the age of 16 I knew I wanted to be a writer, a novelist and short story writer like that was it, like that's what I wanted to do. And also a screenwriter although that never really panned out. But, that's what I wanted to do. I was pretty adamant about that from that age so even in my Wesleyan application I wrote a statement about my love of what I wanted to do and Faulkner was my inspiration. I majored in English. Obviously I took plenty of other classes as well. But that was my focus. And, but I didn't really know what I want to do for a career, other than being a writer, and I was so focused on that that I didn't really think about it that much. I probably should have. But, when I got out of college I was just like, \"what do I do?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1502.0,1560.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And so I remember I moved back home and I was like, okay maybe I'll try to become a security guard or maybe I'll try to become a bartender and take classes. I actually have a certificate in being a security guard, and a bartending certificate too. But ultimately, one of my professors at Wesleyan, Daniel Handler who you probably know better as Lemony Snicket, the children's book writer, he helped me a lot when I was at Wesleyan. I took a creative non-fiction class with him, he was just teaching part time. And he was great, I sent him my short story collection that I wrote when I was 19 and he read it and critiqued it. He'd invite me to writers' parties in the city when he was there. So I was close to him, at the time. And so his agent knew another agent who was actually dying of cancer. But his assistant needed help running the agency and so it was an agency that he owned that would be run by his assistant.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1560.0,1630.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And so I started interning for him but within two weeks I was getting paid. And I was an assistant to [unclear] agent, which based on what I heard was actually pretty fast, even for that position, even how low paid it is, but something $18,000 a year. That was my first full-time job, in the Upper West Side. And ultimately this agent passed away and the assistant inherited the agency and so he was the main agent and I was his primary, his assistant, that was like the two of us. So then I started working there. I worked there for three years. I wasn't very happy working there, even though sounds like a dream job. I was sending checks to Leonard Nimoy and lots of famous people, like we were representing Bill Bryson, he was our biggest client.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1630.0,1693.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And on one level, I was working on the Upper West Side, I would walk to Lincoln Plaza and watch all the indie films I wanted and go to Film Forum and, it sounded great. And my girlfriend lived in Upper East Side so I could just take the bus across Central Park; sounds like Sex and the City or whatever. But, I don't know, I just wasn't really that happy with the job, being an assistant to an agent; I didn't really want to be an agent, I wanted to be a writer. So, I was like, well how do I achieve that? Ultimately, like my health insurance was taken away which wasn't his fault, it was just a business thing like we just didn't have enough money. So, okay, how do I have a profession where I'm happy, where I'm helping people, where I get to read and working with books and I forget about myself and I can still explore society and everything?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1693.0,1750.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And then I was like, \"Oh, I guess I can come become a librarian\". I love libraries. So that's where kind of the idea was born. And so two years in, I started my MLIS at Queens College. And I quit my job about a year in and decided to focus on that so I could finish up faster. I had a bit of a tragedy when my house had a big fire and I had to live with my uncle, in my uncle's basement with his two cats. And I was finishing up school and so I did that, but I was able to finish. I visited kind of a friend of mine in Boston who was working [unclear] films, and I considered possibly living there. But then I got the job at Queens Library and I got into the MFA program at Queens College for creative writing. And so I came back, and I've kind of been here ever since.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1750.0,1814.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Did you ever complete any specialized training in library information science?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1814.0,1821.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: As in like archive management or something like that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1821.0,1824.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Yeah something like that or anything in that particular area?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1824.0,1826.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: No, I would say I definitely expected— I mean, I did very well library school, I would say it wasn't hard but it was labor intensive. I did well in reference. I liked our History of Libraries class that I took. But, my assumption was that I would become an academic librarian. I was also interned, by the way, at Mercantile Library which is now called Center for Fiction, it's a private library in Manhattan. It's a literary library, the most famous literary library. But, yeah, my assumption was I was going to become an academic librarian. And that's why also I got the MFA in creative writing, although the main thing was that I would become a better writer, but also, and I had been trying to get into [unclear] before that. I forgot something else, initially I thought I would become an English professor also, but that didn't happen either.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1826.0,1884.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: But, yeah so I thought I would be an academic librarian, but the Queens Library thing just kind of happened by accident in a way. But in a way it's the best thing that ever happened to me, because I definitely think that I've become more aware of how society operates and just the human condition; just being constantly exposed to the public, and being in a public library where I'm interacting with like 100 people plus a day. And I wouldn't have that in the academic library experience, even though I'd be with the books, but I'd probably be with students, which is fine but, you really get the entire all of society here.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1884.0,1933.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: You got kids, you got teens, you got middle aged people, you get older adults. And you have all aspects of human behavior and condition as well. So anyway that actually worked out for me even though I didn't expect it. I never thought I would work in a public library, to be honest. And even after I got my two bachelor's degrees, even though I did apply to a few places and stuff I was like, why? Like, I actually kind of like it, like a public library, and most people don't, but, it's too rough for them or whatever it is, but I actually enjoy it. It's a perfect balance for writing and stuff. I get up every day at six in the morning and I write for two hours and I go to work and so it works.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1933.0,1989.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: You were talking about what your typical day looks like working in the Queens Public Library. Could you tell me a little bit about that starting with how your day begins and then what it looks like at the end?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=1989.0,2005.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: So I guess it's changed because nowadays I'm a supervisor, I'm Assistant Manager of a principal library. So, it could actually go any way, but I'm the assistant manager so I do have a manager above me. And so when I come I usually check in with him. Usually, we'll check the schedules, see who's here, who isn't, who's running late or calling out sick, whatever it might be. And then all the other issues there are to deal with from projects to maintenance of the building, whatever it might be. I mean it could be a lot of different things. And if I'm in charge that day, which also happens often, then I'll directly assess the situation with my staff and all the projects and everything else, open the building, greet the customers who are coming in the beginning of the day, and help out, and help my staff or just directly do it if there isn't enough stuff.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2005.0,2074.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: But, I'm in charge of a fairly large staff these days. It's actually less than there used to be pre-pandemic. But, right now we have three full-time librarians; I've had up to four under me. We have a teen center manager who has staff under her. We have a customer service supervisor who has lots of full time staff under her and part time staff and volunteers. So, I know we did a staff party, about a month ago? We actually went out to Elmont. [unclear] Cambria Heights, I'm actually in Long Island. But we went to a bar slash restaurant there with the entire staff and it was at that time 17 people and we've gotten two more since then. So, that's just the paid stuff. But anyway, so it's a big operation and a busy library. Our teen center is very busy at 2:30 onwards and we have tons of programs.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2074.0,2140.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: We have recording studio and somebody who helps the teens record beats and make music. We have hip hop programs twice a week. We have all kinds of craft programs, crochet, whatever, board games, video games. We have huge cultural programs both for teens, and we have a youth justice court where teens who learn about justice and be prosecutors and defense attorneys. Saturday, we have up to seven or eight programs, cultural programs. And then there are the kids at 2:30, same thing; [unclear] packed. Little less than pre-pandemic days, but yeah so anyway, it's, it's a lot to deal with, lots of different populations to deal with, so again I think, and again [unclear] also the books.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2140.0,2201.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: The books are coming in, we're ordering. I just actually finished ordering for the year, still a little bit. We have to finish up ordering very early in the fiscal year to get all the books [unclear] balance and stuff. But yeah, I coordinate all the orders with the librarians that make many of the final decisions on that, consultation with my manager. But we order for children, teens, adults, et cetera. DVDs, magazines, video games, everything. So we're dealing with the entire population of the community. So anyway, yeah, there's a lot of other stuff too but one thing I'm really proud of here and throughout my career is that we're really advocating for authors, especially independent authors as I'm an independent author.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2201.0,2250.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And we have an indie author festival every year, we have author talks, and I just had three different authors approach me last week about doing stuff. And I gave a talk at an ALA LibLearnX [American Library Association, The Library Learning Experience] last year about this, supporting indie authors. And even when I was a [unclear] librarian at Bayside, I taught a writing workshop for two years at the library. So yeah, I've used that and I really, and I also created a self-publishing resources page for the library which isn't up right now, but it used to be for many years. Now I just sent out an email.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2250.0,2288.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Is that something that came following the pandemic?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2288.0,2292.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Which one?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2292.0,2292.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: That now it's just an email.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2292.0,2297.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Oh, yes. Actually it is, because first they updated the website, and then the pandemic happened. So it's kind of almost simultaneously within close proximity. And so I guess, I don't know, I just, I emailed marketing and I guess that page was lost so they couldn't find it or I don't know what happened. But that particular page just wasn't restored when the new website came up and then the pandemic happened as well so it was just a double whammy I guess. But anyway the page was a little bit outdated. I mean, I have been updating it once in a while but, I mean, plenty of people told me it was very helpful to them. But, that's why I recreated an email that I would have other resources for them. So whenever someone asks me, or sometimes people go in a library [unclear] refer, they know I'm the guy for that. And then I'll help them out with that, with the email or other resources.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2297.0,2360.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: What was the library like pre-pandemic then, if you're saying these are the changes that happened post-pandemic, what was life like before working in this library?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2360.0,2367.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: It was nuts. It was 100 teens downstairs. Calling the police like every three days. Also, there were lots more kids in there, more adults too. I would say our volume is at probably 50% right now than what it used to be, and it's still busy, but it was crazy busy before. We also had a larger part time staff at that point, though, to deal with it. So, I don't know, it was just different but, it's just quieter now. It's been hard to get people back. It has come back, but it's not anywhere near its full capacity yet. I mean it's just different in that way; it's just a little bit slower.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2367.0,2430.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And strangely enough, we have a security guard these days, though, because of the pandemic, but before we had more people, even more incidents and stuff. But anyway, that's just how it is in the public library though. I mean you're dealing with the public and literally anybody can come in, everyone's welcome, which is great, I mean, I believe in that firmly. But you also have people who don't want to follow the rules. So that always happens but on the whole, most people are very appreciative, and it's just a joy to come to work every day and help people, whatever they need. Anything from tax forms, to helping them with the computer, with the immigration stuff, or whatever it might be.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2430.0,2480.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Or the latest books. Or this lady just asked me about, she's teaching her own class and for like four year olds and for like teaching them about trains and stuff so I just looked up a bunch of books about trains. So, it can really literally be anything. So this job, especially in Queens, with our huge population and diverse needs, you're always on your toes, especially in this branch. And the other branches, maybe, and I'm not going to maybe name them, but maybe that aren't so active, but this is a very active one, but I couldn't really have it any other way. I really do enjoy it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2480.0,2526.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: That's great. Were you still a supervising librarian at the time too, pre-pandemic?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2526.0,2531.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Yeah, I was. I've been the assistant manager and supervising librarian of this branch for since late 2018. So almost, it's approaching five years, four and a half, I would say, four years, four and a half. And before that, I was in the same position in Corona, which was a different experience as well because it was much more kid focused. It was a much smaller library. And again, after 2:30, it was like the entire place was packed with kids, all speak, mostly speaking Spanish. And, I loved the neighborhood [unclear] everyone appreciated us so much there. I love the neighborhood there. And it was my old home when I was very little.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2531.0,2583.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And before that I was at Bay Terrace for a year, which is a completely different environment, also. It's in northeast Queens, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Queens. And before that, I was at Central for four years, a regular librarian, but I was doing all this stuff; I was in charge of all these great collections. We were doing [unclear] movie clubs and I was also doing writing stuff, programs, brought in bloggers and everything, a lot of stuff. And I was at Bayside before that. Queensboro Hill was my first branch, where I started; which was helpful because I was also doing an MFA at Queens College so I was able to walk from home to work, and then to Queens College and back home in theory. I didn't always walk, sometimes I drove, but that was helpful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2583.0,2641.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: And so having worked at all these libraries now having all these in your resume, what is your experience of how libraries and librarians are viewed by the public? Either pre-pandemic or now, what have you noticed as far as trends in that sense?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2641.0,2660.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Well, I think, especially very early on, a lot of people just thought we just sit in a quiet room and read all day which is completely untrue at least in Queens Library, at least the libraries that I've worked at. But I guess that's still true today; people don't know much but, even when I started in 2007, it was already like half community center. I will say it's even more so now but it was already that way. I mean I worked at Queensboro Hill up to, again after 2:30 it was packed with teens from John Bowne High School, hanging out for two hours before they left. But, in terms of what people think, I would say in general it's a positive view. It's always, librarians are definitely considered trustworthy, helpful people, whatever.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2660.0,2722.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: As a male, certainly I've gotten, oh that's the woman's job type of thing. Or I didn't realize there were RFID tags in the library, I thought it was just like card catalog and like people stamping books or something or the mean librarian being like don't talk and whatever. So you still get that stuff, but I think more people are cognizant now of how libraries have changed, at least public libraries, [unclear] other types of libraries.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2722.0,2760.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And I think at the time that I started, there really was a major question of are libraries relevant, will they survive, especially with ebooks and everything. And we have more ebooks than ever. And I think a couple of years ago, there were more ebooks checked out than print books for the first time. And yet, like 90% of my sales as an author are ebooks, but still, I mean, people still read print books, and they're still coming to the library [unclear]. As I said [unclear] the pandemic that slowed down in terms of number [unclear] come back. And so we're still doing all the things and more that we have always done which is just to serve the community, mostly culturally in terms of books and programs, but also in a variety of other ways too.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2760.0,2813.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Yeah, there's still that patron loyalty to the library.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2813.0,2817.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Oh definitley, no question. And this is the place, this is like the one free democratic place. I know people keep on saying that like as a slogan but it's true. I mean where else are you gonna— I don't know, maybe the park, I don't know, or the street I guess, but with crime and everything I don't know if the street is— but, yeah, the library is the place where you can go. I mean we have people coming in here just to play chess. People coming in here just to tutor kids, to do a little Zoom call like we're doing for their job or whatever it is. And, test proctoring, and list is on and on and on. So, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2817.0,2859.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: It's not just a library, it's like you said, it's a community center.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2859.0,2864.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Literally, it's everything you want it to be basically for the most part.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2864.0,2870.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: What are, what are your hopes for the future of the Queens Public Library?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2870.0,2877.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: I do think, well, I mean I think we should continue to do what we're doing which is to be everything we can be for as many people, assuming we have the staff and everything else. But I do think there are like greater things that I'm concerned about. I think we should get back to doing like more bigger outdoor extravagant programs, and I know that's not easy right now but maybe within the last few years, like we once had [unclear] administration first came in we had 24 hour like library opening. So we had one at Peninsula, and I think Corona before I was there. So those, and just the library was literally open for 24 hours and people [unclear] for all night protesting banned books which is even more important now with all these challenges, even in Queens. I mean not as much for the books, maybe [unclear] programs, but that's more important than ever.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2877.0,2946.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And so kind of just doing just bigger coordinated things reflecting the multiculturalism and diversity of Queens, which we are doing but it just needs to come back from the pandemic for doing the bigger things. The other thing is, I just think, and this isn't necessarily [unclear] Queens Library but I really am concerned about how we're going to preserve a lot of this online content: Facebook, Twitter, all these things where, which have been huge cultural boons, including for narrative. I have 20,000 followers on Facebook. I use it a lot for getting my word out, whenever I go on trips, I blog on that. I'm also on Tumblr and a lot of other things too. I have my primary blog on Tumblr, but a lot of my content is on Facebook. A lot of my content is on these sites, but one little cyber attack, one anything could ultimately erase that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=2946.0,3010.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And so I'm really concerned, on a macro level of how we're going to, if anyone is even interested, preserving this stuff for future generations. And I think that's really a project that we as an American society need to work on, whether that's Library of Congress, whether that's Queens associated with NYPL [New York Public Library] and other libraries, but I think we really need to start thinking about that, getting on the ball with that because it might be too late one day. I don't know. I just think a lot of really important cultural material has been produced on social media, as much as we might criticize it, as much as the algorithms are a problem and everything else, hate speech and all that stuff. But it's still important for us to preserve. And as much as I believe also in community organizing, community like empowerment and social justice and everything, our primary job is to be objective and to record and preserve. And its what I do in my fiction, as well. [unclear] So, I do think that's important. I think it's a macro goal but I think that it's important as librarians that we pay attention to that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3010.0,3096.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Of course. I also think this is a really good place to start wrapping it up. Before we end this call, is there anything else that you would like to share, maybe a question I didn't ask you or just any, any final thoughts about Queens Public Library or just what your experience has been like with everything?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3096.0,3116.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Yeah, I mean I was lucky to start working here in 2007. Yeah, I never really considered that I'd be working in a public library but it's been the best thing that's happened to me in terms of having a job as a writer, as a cultural observer, as a critic and all these things, and as a people person. I mean this is a people oriented profession, whatever you want to say. Even my professor at Queens College used to say that and he was an academic librarian and he used to say that. But it's true, this is a people oriented profession. And we love the books and love everything else, the film and all the other services we offer, but at the end of the day we're here to interact with and serve people. So, and I love that Queens is the most diverse place on earth and I'm so privileged to be born here and have lived here almost my entire life. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. I actually considered moving to California a few years ago and I'm glad I said no to the job. And I'm still hoping I can stay here for much of my life. So, we'll see but that's the goal and I'm really proud of Queens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3116.0,3188.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Great. Also, can you suggest a present or perhaps a retired librarian for an interview that the Queens Memory Project can conduct?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3188.0,3199.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Assuming he's still alive, and I think he is, Bill Asadorian. He was a, an extravegant kind of Indiana Jones type figure, I guess. He was a librarian at Central for many years. He was a head of the archive, I believe. When I met him, he was already a librarian on his way to retirement. But he's also an author and he wrote, but he's written like I think like archaeological type books, like he would actually go to places and kind of like an Indiana Jones type of thing. So if he's still alive, and I know he had a health problem and I think he recovered from it, but I would definitely recommend seeing if you can interview him because that would be really valuable, I think. He did a lot of stuff for Queens and just generally. He's also actually Armenian-American. I'm pretty sure he is. So yeah, Asadorian, a-s-a-d-o-r-i-a-n, I think; William Asadorian","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3199.0,3261.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Okay, thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3261.0,3265.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: And there are plenty of other people. I can send you a list even.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3265.0,3268.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: That would be great, thank you. Okay, unless you have anything else to share, those are all of my questions. Thank you so much for letting me interview and for participating with the Queens Memory Project. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I definitely learned a lot today on this call.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3268.0,3289.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tejas Desai: Yeah, I really appreciate you doing this interview and your time and you've been a great interviewer and host, so thank you very much.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3289.0,3298.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962/transcript/64664/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Taline Janikian: Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1432/collection_resources/124480/file/227962#t=3298.0,3299.12"}]}]}]}