Highly Textured Librarian: Wanett

high•ly tex•tured li•brar•i•an: A person who is a specialist in library work and has curly or kinky hair.

Welcome Wanett to Librarian Dreams

1.What is your signature hairstyle and how do you achieve it?
I would have to say the bang and bun/pony combo. I always, always, always sleep with my hair in braids. So, to get the bang/bun style going, I make the bang’s sleep braids smaller than the 4-8 I make for the rest of my head. In the morning, I undo those larger ones, first, and spritz with water before gently brushing my hair up into a pony. I usually tuck it halfway through the hair tie and then pin and sticky-up parts down. If my hair stayed braided long enough (or if I spritzed, then curled that section) I’ll have the perfect bang length when the front section is undone. If things go a bit funky, I pull it all into a bun/pony.

2. Which books could give insight on you as a person? Why?
Pearl Cleage’s I Wish I Had a Red Dress. I strongly identify with the main character, Joyce, and her struggle to do the right thing and to be there for people who have no one else. She is strongly principled and fiercely independent. But, before the story ends, she must learn to trust someone else enough to be there for her.

3. What is your role at the library?
I’m a librarian at a public library where I work in the adult services division. Though my library is packed with books, and I sometimes answer basic reference questions, my primary responsibilities are tech/computer help related. Doing this work has really opened my eyes to the reality of the digital divide. It sounds bad enough on paper, but assisting patrons with such basic computer questions when they’re working on important job/health/school related issues, is really bracing.

4. Do you have any interesting stories about how patrons or colleagues have reacted to your hair?
Before returning to work, there, apparently, weren’t that many opportunities for strangers to grab my attention in order to comment on my hair. Now, that I’ve spent nearly a year, sitting at a desk interacting with strangers, I have heard so many comments on my appearance. They have all been universally respectful and complimentary. Of all of them, the comments made by one of coworkers have been the most surprising. Mostly because the coworker is 70-something and a white male. The bigger, fluffier and fuller my hair is, the more he loves it. After working with him for a while, I was introduced to his wife a gorgeous black woman with a fierce, short natural! And a fellow librarian!

Want to know more about Wanett? You can find her on blog.
Are you a highly textured librarian too? If you would like to be featured, send an email to highlytexturedlibrarian AT gmail.com.