Meet Your Librarian: Steven Lamonea

[caption id="attachment_8164" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Steven Lamonea, by Jen Anderson"][/caption]

Meet Steven Lamonea, Cortelyou Library's new manager, or as the official title goes Neighborhood Library Supervisor of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Cortelyou Branch.

A resident of Prospect Heights, Lamonea has been working in libraries for 14 years. “I started out as part time clerical staff and then decided wow, this is great.” He’s been with the Brooklyn Public Library for 9 years and has been with the Cortelyou Branch for 3 months.

What drew him to the Cortelyou branch? Who can resist Cortelyou Road!  Proximity to Cinqo de Mayo, an easy commute (the Q train),  and memories of how much he’d enjoyed working at the branch for a few weekends 5 years ago all played a part. But the food was definitely a factor. Steven Lamonea is also a fan of the cupcakes and cookies at Market.

Lamonea‘s job as the Cortelyou Branch’s Neighborhood Library Supervisor is to manage the Cortelyou Library. Along with the rest of the branch’s staff, he oversees the cultural programs and maintains the collection of books and DVDs. Recently, Lamonea and his staff weeded through the branch’s collection, removing such outdated books as a 2000 biography of Bill Gates. “We think of it in terms of school reports. As far as students are concerned, this is the definitive biography on Bill Gates and everything in here is accurate. Never mind that it stops in 1999 [detailing Microsoft’s legal woes, which have long since been resolved].”

Steven Lamonea takes all library patrons’ questions seriously, even when they’re a little off the wall.



In his office at the library, he told me about the time “a woman came up to me and she was concerned about a haunting in her apartment and she wanted to know if we had any books to help with this.

She was absolutely serious and who am I to say that there wasn’t such a thing? I personally have never experienced anything like this, but that doesn’t mean she’s not experiencing it.” Unable to track down the appropriate books, he suggested a Botanica or Spiritualist.

Just like any other librarian, Steven Lamonea’s love of books is obvious. His favorite part of the job is encouraging a love of reading in children and adults. Ask him for book recommendations and he’ll keep going until you have more books than you can carry home in one trip. He’s read The Lord of the Rings trilogy several times, and favors funny books, such as The Cry of the Sloth by Sam Savage and Beautiful Yetta the Yiddish Chicken by Daniel Pinkwater.

One of his favorite classic children’s books is the original 1923 Bambi by Felix Salten. “I was so amazed that this book about Thumper and Flower wasn’t just about that. It was about hunters and life and death. It’s a heavy book but really wonderfully done and such a surprise from what you might expect after seeing the Disney movie.”

eBooks don’t worry Lamonea. He doesn’t own an eBook reader, but that’s because he’s, “a late adopter or skipper of some technology innovations.” He praises eBooks’ portability and convenience, but doesn’t think print is going anywhere, “because I think a lot of people still have a real fondness for it.” Brooklyn Public Library has embraced technology and has many ebooks, eAudios and eVideos available for download. “It’s not the actual book that’s valuable. It’s the information inside it, so whatever format that it takes, the information is what’s vital.”

Support Your Library:

The best way for the community to support the library is through financial donations, especially given the harsh budget cuts the library is subjected to. All donations are tax deductible, and you can make your contribution here.  The library uses donations to buy materials for the library, make technology upgrades and support cultural programs, such as the Cortelyou Branch’s Chess program that is conducted by a paid teacher, not a volunteer. He also suggests that library patrons let their local politicians know how important the library is to them, since that can influence budgetary decisions.

The Cortelyou Library Friends Group is holding its first Book Sale at the library this Saturday, December 11, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in support of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Cortelyou Branch. For more information contact cortelyoulibraryfriends@gmail.com or 718-693-7763