What I remember about my school libraries...

... Or how our personal experiences shape the way we approach teaching in the library now.

I only have few memories of my school library when I was a student at Lincoln Street Elementary School in the 1970s.  I remember visiting with my 4th grade class and having a teacher direct our attention to the biography section.  She told us about a former student who decided to read all of the biographies in the library in one school year.  This was not an idea or a challenge I ever would have come up with on my own and I found it interesting, if not totally inspiring.

My husband remembers one thing and one thing only about his school library experience in elementary school: the frustration of never having enough time to select and check out a book.

Now that I find myself teaching in the library, I like the idea of making suggestions to students about their reading choices that they might not have thought of on their own. The library can and should be a place where students have a chance to set their own goals and make their own choices based on what they are interested in.

I keep my husband's shared memory in the forefront of my mind always.  I know students want time to check out a book that they are excited to read and I want to make sure they have that time and any help they might need to find that book.

I have no memory of a library teacher from middle school at all and I never saw or spoke to a librarian in high school either.  With that in mind, I aim to be available to help my students and to get to know them and their interests as much as possible.

Read On!
Ms. J.