Today's Member of the Week is Susan Lutman. Susan works at H.D. Berkey Elementary School in Arnold, PA. She has been a school librarian for twenty two years.
We asked Susan some questions about her experience as a school librarian and we would like to share them with you.
What's your favorite thing about your job as a school librarian?
I like the variety that each day brings whether it's sharing books through a story or working with students on finding answers to research questions. It's never boring working with all grade levels. I especially love seeing beginning readers share their books with me and their fellow students and also the "light bulb" that appears over a student's head when he finally understands something new.
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
It's difficult to pick just one, but I'd choose Wait!, No Paint!
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I began as a school librarian when elementary school libraries were just starting to being required in PA, and initially just set up the library and developed a curriculum. I've had multiple schools without any support staff, and found the experience to be challenging with both teaching and running the library. Since my current district only has two librarians, I like the idea of connecting with other librarians while also looking for new ideas to use with the students.
What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing when it comes to your school library?
My district realigned two years ago and one of my libraries is temporarily located in a former shop area. The space is noisy since a fan runs continuously, and it's also crowded with the collection arranged on three book stacks with limited viewing between the stacks. Once tables and a checkout area were added, there's little space to move around. It's difficult to get students to focus on a library lesson or just maintain a minimum noise level because of the environment.
If you could give one piece of advice to a brand new school librarian (or someone considering becoming a school librarian), what would it be?
When I became a librarian many years ago, a colleague told me that "the librarian should be a teacher whose subject is learning itself." I try to follow that advice with my students and teachers. I look upon my job as one of the first steps in developing life-long readers by encouraging a love of books and assisting teachers wherever I can in making their jobs easier.
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