WLA Member Profile: Rosy Brewer

Rosellen “Rosy” Brewer is an advocate for libraries, who believes that “librarianship is a noble profession where librarians protect peoples’ rights to information and help them continue their education through their lifetime.” Recently retired from Sno-Isle Libraries, Rosy has been appointed to the Snohomish County Council on Aging and plans to advocate not only for the aging but also for how libraries can help people as they age. Her blog, “Rosy the Reviewer,” can be found at http://rosythereviewer.blogspot.com/ and Rosy says that posts are often library-related, and when she reviews DVDs and books, she always points people to their local library.

Meet Rosy:

Q. How did you like your job as Managing Librarian at the Mountlake Terrace Community Library?
I loved working for Sno-Isle Libraries because it is a very progressive organization that treats its employees very well, and I loved being in a branch library because of the important role it plays in the community.

How long have you been a member of WLA?
7 years

How have you been personally involved in WLA?
I worked on the local attractions portion of the website and arranged for the speaker’s book signing for the 2012 WLA Conference at the Tulalip Conference Center

How have you benefited from being a member of WLA?
Networking with local librarians and being able to keep abreast of issues pertinent to Washington librarians. 

What is your favorite thing about libraries?
I am an advocate for public libraries. Taxpayers get their money’s worth with public libraries. How often do they use police or fire services or benefit directly from their taxes? At the library, community members can visit daily, borrow books, DVDs and CDs, attend programs, and get information to solve problems, take classes and more … all free, courtesy of their tax dollars.

What is the last book you read? Or what are you reading now?
I’m reading “Hello Gorgeous, Becoming Barbra Streisand” by William J. Mann. A very engrossing tale of Streisand’s early years and rise to fame. I am a dedicated celebrity bio and pop culture maven.

What area of the library stacks do you like to browse for your enjoyment?
Biography and True Crime

Where did you go to library school?
Western Michigan University Library School, which sadly is no more.

Do you have children? Any pets?
Two grown children: a son who is an attorney in San Francisco and a daughter who is a Stanford graduate currently living in Atlanta. I suffer greatly from empty nest but am proud my children have flown away so successfully. Three dogs: a collie named Mildred Pierce, a miniature poodle named Frederic and a toy poodle named Tarquin who will never leave me.

What is your favorite travel destination?
Close to home – Victoria, BC. Farther afield, the U.K.

What is your favorite leisure-time activity or what do you do to relax?
Nothing is more relaxing than spending time with the “Real Housewives …” I’m a reality TV junkie who also loves British television. I am a hopeless Anglophile. Must have been my early love affair with the Beatles.

What are some words to live by?
“Until you have done something for humanity you should be ashamed to die.” – Horace Mann

Anything else you’d like to share?
I have had an almost 40-year career as a librarian, mostly in public libraries. Public libraries are more relevant than ever as we adapt to meet community needs: as a community gathering place where community members can take computer classes, get help with their English through ESL classes, become U.S. citizens with help from the library’s citizenship classes, and more. Librarianship is a noble profession where librarians protect peoples’ rights to information and help them continue their education through their lifetime.