This winter, get to know the staff responsible for keeping the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries and University Museums running. Today’s feature: Joshua Everett!
Who are you and what do you do?
Hi! I’m Joshua Everett – I’m the librarian for Anthropology, Sociology, Islamic, and Latin American Studies.
Tell us a little about your background.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic, with a minor in Sociology, a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology, and a Master of Library and Information Science degree. I speak Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish – and I love it when I get the chance to use them.
What is something people might be surprised to know about you?
I speak Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish – and I love it when I get the chance to use them in conversation or in research.
What’s the best part about working at the Sheridan Libraries and Museums?
The easy access to information about any topic is a dream. I have lots of wild ideas and curiosities and being able to follow them down the rabbit’s hole with the library is fantastic.
What is your favorite hobby?
Depends on the week! Lately, it has been finding and watching Public Service Announcements from the past. Who doesn’t love short cartoons about how to stay safe while fishing?!
My most consistent loves, however, are writing and drawing.
Imagine you are a ghost. What 3 objects would someone need to conjure you? Why?
- Beverages: Coffee in the morning, soda in the afternoon. I don’t get out of bed without coffee, you think I’ll make it out of the grave?
- Comic Books: my colleagues are probably sick of hearing me blather about comics.
- Paper Mate SharpWriter Mechanical Pencils and a sketchbook: don’t expect me to show up for inferior pencils.
Favorite thing to show visitors to Baltimore?
The Peabody Library and Pit Beef sandwiches.
If something were going to be named after you in perpetuity, what would you want it to be? Why?
I think I would go with a type of food. You know how sandwiches are named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich? Like that. I want a whole genre of food named after me.
If you could be a background character in a book/film/show/game, what book/film/show/game would it be? Why?
I think it would have to be Star Wars. I wish my answer were a bit more high-brow, but it has to be Star Wars. The diversity of beings and places, the technology to move through space, the magic of the Force, the chance to be involved in something like the rebellion (or the Empire, if that’s more your thing), all of that would be too much for anything else to compete with.
If you could travel in time, what event/time period would you visit?
I would only want to be there as an observer, not a participant, but I think the Crusades are fascinating. If I must be there in a participatory way, perhaps Ancient Egypt or the early days of the comics industry.