COVER STORY .

Ray Banas

Materials Selector, Free Library of Philadelphia


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Published: Apr 29, 2009

Ray Banas, 46

Materials Selector, Free Library of Philadelphia

Salary: $59,538

Union: DC 47

Ray Banas started working for the city when he was 14, leading summer programs at the rec center near where he grew up in Port Richmond. He went to high school at St. Joe's Prep, worked through college as an assistant rec leader at Department of Recreation's Carousel House, then took the civil service test and bounced around various city departments (DHS, homeless services) before landing in the librarian trainee program. He worked full-time while studying for his master's in library science at Drexel, and within a few years was running the Durham Branch Library in Mantua.

About two and a half years ago, Banas was promoted to his current position as a materials selector — basically, he picks new books for the library system. The subjects he oversees are urban lit, world language materials, history, sports and mass-market paperbacks. In choosing books, he talks to publishers, keeps an eye on professional and academic reviews, and also bears in mind the community surrounding each library — the Sixth and Lehigh branch, for instance, has a big Spanish-language collection.

Banas and his wife own a small rowhome in East Falls. Though he feels like he "kinda made a sacrifice to stay with the city" — people he graduated high school with are doctors and lawyers — he likes his job and his lifestyle. His main frustration is dwindling resources in the library system. But at least, he says, the public stood up for the libraries in the recent budget fight.