Library Limelight: Jaime Kopke

Monnie Nilsson

Jaime Kopke, Program, Events and Outreach Manager with Sam Barsky, known for his pictorial knitting projects. How long have you worked at the Boulder Public Library?

Just a little over five years.

Tell us one thing about yourself that might surprise us.

A few years after college I had an apprenticeship down in New Orleans with a wallpaper company called Flavor Paper. It got me interested in design. I ran a design blog for years and wrote for other design websites and magazines. I used to travel all over the world to design fairs to write about new trends and designers. Can you give us a short overview of a typical day in your department? What’s your favorite part of your daily work and of your job overall?

PEO programs specific spaces in the library and also coordinates the library’s larger scale happenings. I enjoy how varied the work is, it changes from day to day and all throughout the year. We are constantly collaborating with community partners which brings a new element to every project. Our days consist of lots of meetings, working at the computer, and running programs. A day may find us writing up reports, scheduling new events, and filling in budgets or helping to hang artwork in the gallery… constantly reminding people to please use the hanging system. They never listen.

Name the cities you’ve lived in prior to working at BPL. Which was your favorite and why?

Boston to Austin to New Orleans to Denver to London to Denver and now Golden. Even though I wasn’t that enthralled by London when I lived there, I now often find myself feeling nostalgic about it. The summer I was (supposed to be) writing my dissertation we lived in a little town on the French coast called Guethary. I could easily move back to France, it was the most beautiful place I’ve been. Beaches, baguettes, slow living.

Can you share some of the more satisfying experiences you've had at work in the library? What’s the most bizarre or funny experience you’ve had at work in the library?

The week I spent with Sam Barsky and his wife Deborah was pretty wonderful. I was thrilled that 1) David let me cold call this internet celebrity I heard on NPR, 2) Sam agreed to an exhibition and 3) he knit Boulder-specific sweaters for the public to check out on their library cards. I had no clue if the check-out idea would work, and it turned out to be magical. When Sam and his wife arrived, they asked for our PR person and photographer to go with them to the sites he had knitted (for his selfies of course). I laughed and said I guess that’s me. It was incredible how many people recognized Sam at Chautauqua!

What type/genre of books do you gravitate to? What do you avoid?

I’ve been on a non-fiction kick for a while and I need to break free. Please someone pass me a light-hearted fiction!

Is there a nickname that your partner/ family members/children call you?

Some friends call me J, that’s not very exciting. I think it’s hilarious when people call me by my last name, like I’m a football player. I don’t really mind though. One other fact is that I do not have a middle name, just an initial, S. My parents gave me an initial with the idea I could pick my own name at any point. I think I finally have something I like, but I’ll probably wait until I start my new life in France to enact it. If you didn't work at the library what would your "pie-in-the-sky" dream job be?

Probably to run a small historical museum where I had full reign over the place and plenty of funding. That or to run a mythical museum–I have had a project in my head for a long time called the Museum of Other. Maybe it will happen someday!

Newspaper clipping of Jaime as a child that reads "Jaime Kopke straightens out her team's tire before rolling it back to the starting line during last Thursday's library field day."