During the upcoming summer months, as we work toward safely reopening the Library building and offering more in-person services, our Adult Services staff members were eager for an opportunity to share ideas and inspiration with you. So welcome to The 505: Dispatches from the (Virtual, for the moment) Reference Desk!

We thought you might enjoy meeting our team of writers in this first post. Then watch for new posts with creative ideas for making the most of your summer, while at home, in the backyard, or safely exploring the neighborhood. You'll find plenty of book suggestions, too, of course!

Sam Adams-Lanham
Sam is a Community Engagement Librarian, reader, people person, dog-lover, gardener, spouse, empty-nest mom. Curious by nature, working to overcome my implicit biases. Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff hybrid, so Ravenpuff? Firm believer that most answers can be found either in the library or in community. “The thing about learning is, once you’ve earned it, no one can take it away from you.” B.B. King

Ivy Dally
Ivy is an Assistant Librarian in Adult Services, as well as a member of the Gallery in the Library committee. Her reading is varied, from high fantasy to regency romance and anything that deals with mindfulness practices. When she’s not reading, you will find her writing her own novel, gardening, or trying a new project from Pinterest.

Corinne Groble
Corinne is an Adult Services Librarian who oversees the Homebound delivery service and senior services at the Library. She enjoys reading non-fiction, especially nature and science books, and also door-stopper fantasy novels.

Liz Kirchhoff
Liz Kirchhoff is an Adult Services Librarian, responsible for ordering e-books, fiction, and audiobooks, as well as coordinating book-related programming. She reads for a national genre book award committee, so you can usually find her with a romance, mystery, science fiction, or fantasy title in hand.

Melissa Potoczek-Fiskin
Melissa is an Adult Services Assistant Librarian who has been working in libraries since 2008. She began working at Fox Lake District Library and later moved to the Barrington Area Library in 2017. Sharing ancestry knowledge and know-how alongside Kate Mills is her work passion. When outside of the library, one will find her playing and reading with her three children. Their favorite family pastimes are gardening, cooking, and exercise in some form.

Ashley Brooke Sero
Ashley has worked around books for over 10 years, first as a bookseller, and now as an Assistant Librarian in Adult Services. Her favorite books tend to live in the realms of the magical and fantastical. Besides reading, Ashley is an avid fangirl of too many TV shows to name from here and abroad.

Dan Suwinski
Dan has worked in libraries for 10 years, and has been with BALibrary since December 2019. Dan is a huge fan of the fantasy genre – typically buried in a lengthy novel! Dan is a musician, a new dad, and someone who loves to cook.