Photo courtesy of Taneisha Tucker
Taneisha Tucker is the director of the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest.
Taneisha Tucker has been director of the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest since 2007.
Q: How long have you been working for the city?
A: I began at the city in July 2004.
Q: What position did you start in?
A: I began as the adult services librarian.
Q: Tell me about your job changes at the library over the years.
A: From 2004 to 2007, I was the adult services librarian, and then in 2007, I was asked by the board to serve as interim director, and in the fall of 2007, I became the director after an intensive search.
Q: What do you love about working in a library?
A: I’ve done almost every job that you can do in a library. I started as a page in downtown Birmingham, and I’ve worked in so many departments. I’ve been a children’s librarian. I’ve been a circulation manager. I’ve been a literature specialist. I’ve done so many jobs. This one is different in that I am the one who has the 360-degree view. I get to see it from start to finish, top to bottom, inside and out. So whereas the department heads only look at what’s important for their department, I get to look at it all, from the facilities to the grounds to the budget to the staffing to everything. So it’s more of a challenge, but I like doing it.
Q: Is there anything particularly exciting going on at the library these days?
A: Of course. It’s always something exciting happening. We just completed summer reading, and our summer reading numbers were up. We’re excited that more adults and children read this year, and we are also looking to build in the east. As you already know, the city has tentative plans to build an east-side library, and I am over the moon excited about that.
Q: I understand there has to be some fundraising done for that to be accomplished. Is that true?
A: That is true. We have just hired a fundraising consultant to determine what’s viable for our library foundation, and hopefully we begin pretty soon doing that work. We are confident that we will raise the money. The funds for this building [the Library in the Forest] were not given from large corporate donors. We received small donations from a lot of people, a lot of residents who just wanted a new library, and the total sum of those small donations, along with in-kind donations, is what led to this building receiving $4 million. So I believe it can be done in Liberty Park because they deserve a library out there. They’ve wanted one for a very long time, and I would like to do see that done soon.
Q: Getting back to you personally, are you a big reader yourself?
A: I used to be a big reader. These days, I listen more than I read. I listen to a lot of motivational books. I like historical romance. I have a degree in English, so I’ve read the classics, and I appreciate them, but these days, I’d rather listen to and read things that are a little bit less challenging for me. I am also a photographer, so I spend some time listening to books while I edit photographs. I don’t read like most people think librarians do. Actually, I don’t have time to read because I’m doing everything else that I mentioned before.
Q: But you say you listen to audio books?
A: I listen to audiobooks all the time. I will probably listen to about two books a week, and here lately, I’ve been listening to the news more than books.
Q: What is the best book you’ve either listened to or read in the last year?
A: “Ever Yours, Annabelle.” It’s a romance.
Q: Are you a romantic? Do you like romance?
A: Yes. It’s easy because in college and when I was working on a master’s degree, I had to read so many literary things — I’ve gotten away from it. I just read things that I enjoy, and if I’m in the car, I don’t want anything where I have to really think about it. … There is a nonfiction book I am reading, but I don’t read it every day, and it’s called “Nonviolent communication.” It’s an older book, but it’s very helpful to communicate without confrontation. I am reading that when I can pick it up. It’s on the bedside. It’s right on my nightstand.
Q: Other than reading, how do you like to spend your spare time? Do you have any hobbies or things you really like to do?
A: Photography.
Q: What type of photography do you do?
A: For a long time, I shot weddings. I no longer shoot weddings. I do a lot of lifestyle photography. I do a lot of sorority photography. I am a member of a sorority, and I do a lot of photography with them. I do families. I do events.
Q: What sorority do you belong to?
A: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Q: Are you still actively involved with them?
A: Yes, it’s a lifetime commitment. … I actively do community service through that organization.
Q: Is the photography like a side business, or is it just something you do for fun?
A: Both. I’ve had it as a business maybe 12 years. It’s a small business. I shoot when I want, and I don’t when I don’t. I do it seasonally really, especially in the fall.
Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures — something that might be hard to admit, but it’s something you do? Maybe a TV show you binge or something you really love to snack on that maybe is not always the best thing?
A: Yes, my guilty pleasure is pasta. It doesn’t matter what kind of pasta it is; I love pasta, and I know that as I get older, it’s not good for me. So lately, I’ve learned how to do protein pastas and wheat pastas, but it’s still pasta, so I’m fine.
Q: Do you like to make it yourself or go out to eat?
A: I am a pretty good cook. Most of the time, I make my meals at home.
Q: What else do you make besides pasta that’s good?
A: I can bake almost anything.
Q: Do you have a favorite?
A: Red velvet cakes or hummingbird cakes or Italian crème cakes — any of that.
Q: Did you say hummingbird cakes? I’ve never heard of that.
A: Yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s a banana-based cake.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go and why?
A: Today, if I could go anywhere in the world, I would want to go to Ghana because last week I found out that I couldn’t go to Ghana. My sorority is doing a trip to Ghana, and I wanted to go, but it was sold out in less than 24 hours. … There are other places I want to see. London is the first place that I would really want to go out of the country and see — and jump on over to Paris.
Q: What’s special about Ghana?
A: I want to see it with my sorority sisters. Part of sorority is that you have a different experience because it’s with them. The culture itself would be great, but experiencing the culture with them is even better.
