Today's Member of the Month is Julie DeMarco. Julie works at Maple Grove Elementary in Warrensburg, MO. She has been a school librarian for 5 years.
We asked Julie 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 absolutely love reading to the students and hearing and seeing their reactions to the story. The gasps and giggles, the wide-eyed "Wow" moments, and even the groans because of different situations in the stories all make reading aloud to the students my favorite part of the day. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than seeing the looks on their faces as they follow along with the story.
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I joined the Elementary Librarian Community for a resource to go to for new ideas. With the wide variety of topics that can be covered in the library, it's nice to have a place to go to for ideas of what other librarians are teaching. Having a learning community of like-minded colleagues to share resources with helps you feel like you're a part of something bigger than just your own library.
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?
My advice would be to network with other librarians and glean information from their experience. Finding another fellow librarian, be it in your own district or in a neighboring one, really helps you not feel quite so overwhelmed. And, if you have to opportunity to go visit/observe other librarians/libraries, do it!
Knowing what to keep and what to let go of has always been one of my biggest challenges. Weeding is such a subjective task that I always worry I'm going to get rid of something that may be needed in the near future, especially when you don't have a huge budget to buy something you previously got rid of. Taking into consideration the age of my collection is a factor that makes it even harder as well.