The following article was written by Emily Brandt, a Marketing Technician at the Manitowoc Public Library.
Tim joined the Marketing Department at MPL roughly seven years ago, and I learned—almost immediately—that a wonderful and silly friendship would soon bloom! Our conversations would jump from discussing a song that a mutually-enjoyed band just released, to some odd flavored hummus recommendation, to a bad movie recently seen—all in the span of a 3-minute conversation.
After some self-reflection, and laughs, we realized there is no rhyme or reason to what we talk about, and our discussions were most certainly non-linear. We started to make jokes that we should start a podcast, thinking maybe people would find our conversations as funny as we do—and even if they didn’t, we wouldn’t stop being our weird selves, who also love to laugh at themselves. Because life just ain’t any fun if you can’t learn to laugh at yourself!
Fast-forward a few years, and the desire of starting a podcast was just growing stronger. I hate to say it, but what needed the most convincing was—me. The thought of being on-camera, with people watching me—people that I knew, people that I didn’t know—YIKES! Anyone who knows me knows that I will do EVERYTHING in my power to avoid giving a presentation or being in any sort of spotlight. The stage fright and social anxiety was the only thing holding me back. But mine, and Tim’s desire to start a show at MPL, was stronger.
After some planning and plotting, we crafted a new monthly lunchtime series, exclusively online, titled MPL Insider: Beyond the Books with Tim and Emily. We knew two things for sure—we wanted to have fun, and we wanted to promote the library, its resources, and most importantly—the staff.
MPL Insider premiered in March of 2023. Tim, of course, was cool as a cucumber. I, however, was flush as could be, and my heart raced the entire time. But, there was such a thrill I felt after that episode! Not only did we have fun, but we realized that we just started to learn so much more about our amazing team at MPL. The first episode was followed by four more fun, chaotic, and informative episodes before we had to take an unexpected four-month break (when my crazy dog knocked me off my feet, breaking my leg and wrist, keeping me out of work for quite some time). When I returned to work, we were eager to get back into the show! November of 2023 we returned with a BANG, having Jordan Kabat & Barb Bundy-Jost as guests to discuss all things Evergleams. It felt good to have the Dream Team back together.
2024 has been nothing short of spectacular thus far. We’ve had very “unexpected” guests and amazing staff appearances, and this month is no exception. On Thursday, April 18, at 12 PM, Tim and I will be joined by Public Services Associates, Tony Plekan & Lisa Devins-Horohoe, who will be talking about an upcoming event—“Comic Book Day Strikes Back!” Also in the mix—one Force of Nature, and Author Baptiste Paul to talk about an upcoming event: “El Día de los Niños—Children’s Book Day.” As a reminder, this will be livestreamed on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/manitowoclibrary) and YouTube channel.
We hope you’ll tune in for the fun!
