* My librarian has asked for her name to be changed for this interview, for that reason it has been changed to Ms. L.
If you walk by my school library before the warning bell in the morning, you would notice one thing immediately, it is a popular spot. On a usual weekday morning, the school library is filled with students finishing homework assignments, researching on the computers, or chatting with friends. Every seat is full, and there is a friendly buzz in the air. A large part in the creation of this atmosphere is owed to my school librarian, Ms. L. Over her past four years at MHS, she has developed the library into a welcoming, cozy environment, in which students can come relax, research, and work. Ms.L is always more than willing to help and chat, so I took the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her role as a school librarian, the atmosphere of school libraries, and how technology is changing the way we look for information.
1. Your name and a little bit about yourself. How long have you been working at MHS? What did you go to school for? What made you become a librarian?
Ms. L, born in Upstate, NY near Syracuse. Youngest of three children. Two grown children. I've been at MHS for four years, before that I was in Acton Boxborough for 5, Wellesley for 3, Sudbury for 4 and Westborough for 4. My bachelors degree is in Journalism and Political Science, my MS is from Syracuse in Information and Library Science.
I became a librarian because I once worked as a library aide in an elementary school, and the older woman who was the librarian was very mean to the children. She yelled at them and humiliated them, and I remember to this day feeling excruciatingly upset that I could not intervene to stop her, I felt like I was enabling child abuse. I said to myself, "I could do better than this," and so then I did. I have never understood why so many librarians are mean and sour.
2. What do you believe the role of the school librarian is? Do you think there is a stereotype surrounding librarians/ school librarians?
It's super hard to describe what the role of the librarian/library is so I've linked you to a job description from the American Association of School Libraries.
There is such a stereotype of school librarians! Whenever I tell anyone what I do for a living I get one of two responses, either, "Oh, does anyone even use libraries anymore?" or "You don't look like a librarian." So annoying. Think about it- it's like if someone said to a math teacher, "Oh, do they even teach math anymore now that we have calculators?" And adults! Do I walk up to them at a party and basically discredit their entire profession? Geez!
3. What do you believe the role of the library is in a high school? Have you noticed a change due to the greater access to technology?
The library itself should be the heart of the school, welcoming in every way, a place where students can be happy, quiet, peaceful and relaxed, a flexible space for displays, presentations, performances, and filled with whatever resources or materials that students need.
In my 20 years of being a school librarian, I have gone from a library with four computers in a corner that no one used, to what we have today. Technology is just the newest way that humans have invented to record, archive and access information. Ever since the invention of written language, the purpose of the library has remained the same; computers are merely the most current form of access. Never equate the technology with the information or knowledge.
4. How have you changed the library to better benefit the school? Is there anything else you want to do to further develop the library at MHS?
When I arrived at MHS, the principal at the time said to me, "My library is not the heart of the school, and I don't know why." I am like a library whisperer. Wherever I have gone I have changed the library culture to one that is popular, safe, relevant, comfortable, welcoming, organized and helpful. To me those things are easy- First of all, I like kids. I don't have due dates for books because I don't want kids to worry about returning them, just using and reading them; I had the custodians take away the big metal arch in the front doorway that would beep if kids stole a book- it felt too prison-like. I unlocked the back door and kept it unlocked all day. I took away the need to have a pass in order to use the library at lunchtime, I bought new furniture and couches, I weeded the library collection of thousands of old, irrelevant and dusty books; I try to answer every question with a "yes, I can do that," and I say hello to every student who walks in the door.
If I could I would add space to the library, I have asked multiple times for the copy machines to be moved to a separate location so I could turn that room into a quiet/comfy lounge for studying; I would buy new computers that were faster, I want to partner with teachers to reduce required reading and encourage pleasure reading. I would change the lighting. I want to purchase Kindles for students to borrow if they want books we don't have. I would have writers come and talk to kids.
5. How have books and libraries personally affected your life? Do you believe these two things, book and libraries, will ever go away?
Books and libraries are a very important part of who I am. My family are all big readers, and on Saturdays we would all go, including my mom and dad, and spend an hour at the library getting books and we would all go home with huge stacks and then the house would slowly calm down as everyone started to read. I remember the smell of my public library, I remember sitting cross-legged on the floor looking at books; in my school libraries I read everything voraciously. After coming to the circulation desk with a big stack of books to check out one time, my fifth-grade librarian told me, "You can't read all those books." I remember being highly insulted. There are stories that have changed me, and stories that have helped me become a better person. Reading allows you to live a million lives, not just your own- it allows you to envision a future that you might never have known about; you can cry for other people, you can become more a citizen of the world. I feel like I carry a tiny bit of every book I have ever read inside me. I love learning because of libraries- I always think I would like to read every book in the library, I feel like I will always feel that way.
"The library itself should be the heart of the school, welcoming in every way..."
I think there will always be libraries- of that I am sure. I am tempted to say that books will survive too, not because the internet could not hold all the stories or information, but because people of all ages still say they prefer to read in print. The biggest challenge to books is not their format but the loss of readership.
It is not well understood, but humans were not meant to read. There is no part of our brain that is set aside to understand the written word that would allow children to learn to read as easily as they learn to speak. Because reading (the invention of the alphabet) is not encoded in our brains it is very difficult to do, and to do well. In the past, because reading was all there was, everyone did it, and eventually became fluent so that it was easy to get "into" a story and want to finish it. Video games and digital animation, YouTube, etc, have made entertainment easy, kids aren't reading and therefore don't practice it, and therefore aren't good at it, and therefore, don't like it. That's the biggest threat to books. And I wouldn't mind that if the content that kids were watching/playing, etc was as important and challenging and educational as books are- but it's not. However, the future belongs to the young, so maybe there is something I am not seeing. Can't wait to be 80 or 90 and find out!