LOOK WHO’S TALKING

MEMORY APATA, Paddock Music Library Supervisor

“I’m kind of a stickler for the rules.”

What are some of the more popular items at the library?
There are over 29,000 CDs and LPs, ranging from classical to jazz to pop music. The ’20s have been coming in and asking a lot of questions about LPs, which I’m really excited about. We have a player, too. In every display that I do, I try to make sure there’s a presence of the LPs.

What are your biggest pet peeves about library patrons?
My No. 1 rule is push in your chair. We’re not at home. Talking loudly, disregard for others—that really gets on my nerves. I have to go through scores and erase pencil marks in the music. The worst is when somebody has highlighted their part, like when an alto picked out Mozart’s Requiem and highlighted her entire vocal part in the score.

What do you enjoy most about working in the music library?
I love coming up with new exhibits. Right now we have a big blues display. We built diddley bows recently—they’re one-string cigar box guitars. The woodshop is across the hallway, and I saw that as an opportunity to get the students involved and to collaborate across communities.

You posted a photo of Hula-Hoops to the library’s Instagram account recently.
We do study breaks for students in the library. Most libraries have a coloring book or puzzles. This summer I got really into hoop dance—it’s dancing with a Hula-Hoop—and I asked my boss to buy some Hula-Hoops for the library. A few people used them, but not quite as many as I had hoped.

What’s your music background?
I have a bachelor’s in music performance from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. My primary training is in opera and classical music, but I’ve done everything from jazz and gospel choir to cantoring at a Catholic church. Right now I do one or two gigs a year with Auriel Camerata. It’s a professional chamber choir out of Albany, New York, that does really difficult music.

You also have your own podcast?
I cohost The Body Modification Podcast with Kes Schroer, who is an instructional designer here at Dartmouth and comes from an anthropology background. We’ve done seven or eight episodes on topics like skin bleaching, white ink tattoos and neck rings. We’ve also done some sexy topics, like corsets. I really loved that episode, because there’s an opera connection. You have to listen to find out what it is.

James Napoli