Videos

The Work We Do: Brian Mealy, Floyd Memorial Library

Hi, I’m Brian Mealy. I’m the library clerk at Floyd Memorial Library.

A normal responsibility is, when we first open we get the things from the dropbox, we check everything in and then we open the library and turn the computers on. We listen to messages if we have messages. We try to prepare things that come in for patrons, like books and videos.

I’ve been here a total of nine years. It really is an amazing experience to serve the Greenport community and get to know the grandmother, the mother, the kids. A lot of times people say, “You’re so nice” and “The library is so great.” We’re great because the people we serve are great. That’s how I look at it. And we’re right in the middle of the community, so it’s such an advantage where we are placed. 

As a kid, my parents instilled in me community involvement. So we are really passionate about helping people find what they need if they’re trying to do self-improvement or they’re just trying to relax and find the latest video that’s entertaining.

A lot of times people help you just by being nice or giving a kind word or encouraging you, so it really has been an amazing ride. Sharing reading and literacy, and encouraging kids to read, or the whole community to read. We just live in such an amazing environment and in some ways we can shut out the outside world. My co-workers and I try to keep things light and we’re always having fun. We always share a joke and our family lives. It’s just so nice to share and to help others. The library celebrated its centennial, and it’s amazing to think of all the people who worked here. If you stop and think about it, that’s amazing that through the whaling period, through the bootlegging period and through the wonderful period we’re going through now with the restaurants, the library has been in the middle of the community.

It’s nice to talk to people about positive things, like, “Oh, I read this book and it really is exciting. You might like it.” 

Just having excitement for books is really an amazing thing.

“The Work We Do” is a Suffolk Times multimedia project profiling workers on the North Fork. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See photos on Instagram @thesuffolktimes.