Today's Member of the Week is Cody Whitton. Cody works at Dassa McKinney Elementary School in West Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He has been a school librarian for 1 year.
We asked Cody some questions about his 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?
My favorite thing about being a school librarian is being able to connect students with the books they enjoy. I was a struggling reader when I was growing up and a large part of it was not being able to find books that interested me. I love letting my students explore the library and find books that are appropriate for their reading level and of interest to them. Seeing their excitement when they find the book they're looking for makes the job worth it.
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
"What Do You Do With an Idea" By Kobi Yamada
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I decided to join Elementary Librarian to help spark some lesson ideas. As a new librarian I find that I need some guidance on what other librarians have done and what lessons are successful and which just don't work so well. I have benefited a great deal from the resources on Elementary Librarian and being able to collaborate with other professionals. I love seeing what other librarians are doing and often I am walking away with new ideas to bring back to my students.
What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing when it comes to your school library?
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?
Always try for new things! Even if you don't get funding right away consider donations, grants, and donation websites. Change is hard to accept and sometimes having the supplies donated is the push that students and teachers need to accept new ideas. When you stop requesting new things and trying then we are doing a disservice to our students. Our students deserve the best!
The biggest challenge as a school librarian is finding the time to fit in everything. The librarian wears a lot of different hats and serves in many different roles. Being a teacher to students, being a resource to teachers, and managing a library are all full time jobs on their own yet for a librarian they fit together. There is always another book to catalog, an email to respond to, a resource to evaluate, a lesson to teach. Although I wish I had more time in the day, I love my roles!