After nearly fifteen years at Fieldston, beloved Tate Library faculty member Tom Carey is retiring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carey first joined Fieldston in 2011 as a substitute teacher and later became the International Trips Coordinator in 2014. Though Carey enjoyed spending time in libraries as a child, he never thought he would end up working in one. \u201cI certainly used libraries a lot, they\u2019re one of my favorite places\u2026but I never worked, and I never thought I would work, in a library.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite spending most of his time in the library, Carey is technically not a librarian. \u201cI don\u2019t have a degree in library science or anything like that, but what I do is a little bit of pretty much everything else,\u201d said Carey. Instead, Carey handles the logistics and operations that make the library function. His job includes handling invoices for all supplies, ordering books, dealing with vendors and other operational tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI open up the library in the morning, and I walk around a lot during A and B bands to tell people to be quiet and not to use their phones,\u201d said Carey. \u201cThat\u2019s probably the main thing I\u2019m doing these days, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carey spent his early career in finance, working with the top Fortune 500 companies. \u201cMy background is all business development, so that\u2019s sales, marketing, advertising, account relationships. I worked mostly in financial services like MasterCard, JP Morgan Chase, places like that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though working in finance and libraries may seem completely unrelated, Carey believes there are key similarities between his work experiences: \u201cThere’s a lot of things in the library that could be related to sales and marketing. You have to know your customer and know who your people are that you\u2019re working with, and that\u2019s certainly very true here in the library. So, I took a lot of those skills professionally and brought them here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before he became a teacher, Carey learned about Fieldston through his wife, Esperanza Ca\u00f1o, who was a teacher in the language department for 36 years. \u201cEven though I\u2019ve been here about 15 years, if you count the substitute teaching years, I really feel like I\u2019ve been here a lot longer because of my wife,\u201d said Carey. \u201cI saw her passion. Even in the summer, she was always doing class planning, always looking at things to bring into her class. So I really felt like a part of this community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managing unruly students in a library is a daunting task, but Carey maintains an optimistic mindset. \u201cThere\u2019s times when I get very frustrated,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll get frustrated when it gets noisy here, and I know people are trying to study, and other people are here just to hang out. That frustrates me, but that\u2019s not a bad moment. That\u2019s just part of teenagers in a library; it\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the challenges, Carey believes that his experience at Fieldston has been overwhelmingly positive. Some of his favorite memories are times when students ask him for help on projects in his area of expertise. \u201cThere are certain subjects that I have a lot of knowledge about. And I\u2019m always very flattered, very happy when teachers send a student to me if they\u2019re doing a project,\u201d shared Carey. \u201cI know about Spain, I know a lot about Spanish history, the Civil War, things like that. Mr. Montera sends kids to me all the time to talk about the Spanish Civil War\u2026I really enjoy those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Montera said, \u201cTom was the perfect person for fledgling historians to interview. He mingled mastery of subject with gentility and gentle guidance. The kids adored him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saskia Sommer (Form VI) remarked, \u201cMr. Carey made the library such a warm and inviting place. He\u2019d constantly check in as I was doing my work with a smile and anecdote. I\u2019ll sincerely miss his presence on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n