Today's Member of the Week is Gabrielle Nata. Gabrielle works at Villa Del Rey Elementary in Baton Rouge, LA. She has been a school librarian for half a year.
We asked Gabrielle 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 love having the opportunity to be involved with every student and to be able to do out of the box lessons that cross content areas that you may not normally see in a library class.
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I graduated in elementary education in December of 2016 and somehow got the amazing opportunity to be offered the position as the school librarian after the principal saw me teach a mini lesson. I stated this January fresh out of college, not certified, and completely overwhelmed by the role of balancing being the librarian and an ancillary teacher. It's helped answer a lot of my questions in the past few months and now that I'm working on my masters.. having pre made lessons and activities help.
What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing when it comes to your school library?
Balancing the many roles I have while still learning the best way to organize and manage the 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?
Pick one challenge at a time to tackle. I organized my space first. Make sure the library is workable for you and you know it and it makes sense to you and then your classes and lessons will fall into place.
Kinsley Garrison says
Me.Nata was and still is my Favorite Librarian. She is the literal sweetest person and is amazing at her job. Love you and. Nata -Kinsley G