Reading (or Not) as a New Parent
The Librarian Is In
The New York Public Library
4.7 • 595 Ratings
🗓️ 28 March 2019
⏱️ 41 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How on earth can you read when you have a newborn? Stephanie Anderson—a new mom and a professional book selector for NYPL and the Brooklyn Public Library—comes to talk about the shifting habits of a reader with a new baby. Plus: Frank channels Supernanny! Again.
Book Recommendations:Â
Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy  by Angela Garbes
Cesearian Section: An American History of Risk, Technology and Consequence by Jaqueline H. Wolf
The board books:  Bunny Roo, I Love You by Melissa Marr and Global BabiesÂ
Also mentioned:
The New York Times article on cute aggression—why you want to squish and eat that baby!Â
In the Witch Elm by Tana FrenchÂ
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Happyland by J. Robert Lennon
The films Back to the Future and The Terminator
Angela Garbes' article, "The More I Learn About Breast Milk, the More Amazed I Am"
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Lauren Childs
Bull by David Elliott
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Oh, this is like a perfect baby nap room. I bet he's going to fall asleep. |
| 0:03.3 | Yes. |
| 0:04.0 | It's quiet. Yeah. It's dark. |
| 0:08.0 | All right. While he is happy, should we start? |
| 0:11.5 | Yes, let's start. |
| 0:16.2 | Hi, everyone. Welcome to the librarian is in the New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next. I'm Gwen. |
| 0:27.1 | I'm Frank. And we are joined today in our little booth by not one but two very special guests. We have Stephanie Anderson, who is the assistant director of selection at book ops. |
| 0:38.6 | And we have her very, very new human, Max. |
| 0:42.8 | Six weeks old. |
| 0:44.0 | Hello. |
| 0:44.9 | Hello. |
| 0:45.2 | Both of us say hello. |
| 0:46.7 | That's professional commitment that you brought your baby to an interview. |
| 0:51.0 | Yeah. |
| 0:51.4 | Well, you know, I didn't want him to miss his first podcast. |
| 0:53.4 | Infant Care Leave. Yeah. You get to be his first podcast. You guys are his very first podcast. This is his first recording booth, too. Well, I'm glad you came, Stephanie. Thank you. Yes. Do you want to tell us before we really get started, do you want to tell us a little bit about what you do in addition to being a new mom. Sure. |
| 1:14.9 | Well, what I do when I'm not a maternity leave is I am the assistant director of the selection department at book ops, which means that I oversee a team of 15 awesome people who pick |
| 1:20.5 | out all of the materials that go in the branches and the digital collections of the New |
| 1:25.0 | York and Brooklyn Public Libraries. |
| 1:27.2 | So for all ages and all languages, |
| 1:30.1 | DVDs, books, e-books, everything. So our job is decide should we buy something, where to put it |
| 1:36.4 | if we do buy it, how many of them to get, and then how to pay for it. How to pay for it. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New York Public Library, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The New York Public Library and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.