I have been very fortunate that in all of my library jobs
thus far, there has always been a library clerk (secretary, assistant, or
support staff). They all have different titles depending on the district but
the job is the same, and that job is so important! I have had three amazing
library workers in my six years and four schools as a librarian. They were not
amazing just because they do their job well, it was the extra stuff they did,
the stuff that cannot be put on a job description that made the difference.
They LOVE students
It is the way they welcome
everyone in the library space whether it is students or teachers, “Hi sweetie!”
“Your book just came in”, “Are you done with that book already?” Students (and
teachers) feel cared about, they feel welcome. They developed positive relationships with
everyone that came to the library. That does not mean they were afraid to call
students out when they needed to change their behavior, or to follow up on
students who had missing books. I have learned so much about how to interact
with others from these ladies.
They are my mom’s age
They have been working
for a while and know how to deal with people. I find that even some of our
toughest students would still be respectful to the library staff. In my current
library, we have a student that calls the library secretary “Grandma”. They are
fun yet calming, they are young at heart, yet wise.
They are my partners
In each setting, I was the
new person coming in and I had a lot to learn. They were great teachers and
they were supportive. When I had no one to sit with during meetings, they were
there. When I had no idea how to answer the million questions we get at the
desk, they were there. When I wanted to try some crazy idea, they would listen
and let me try something new. They were my collaborators. The library can be a
very isolating place but they were there and I could not have survived without
them.
They all like to garden
I have no idea how this
translates into library work but all three of them like to garden.
And, yeah, they all like books too.
Thank you Christine Hackney, Karen
Parjani and Jackie Witt. I love you ladies! Thank you so much for supporting me,
for being at the circulation desk when I was running around to classes. Most of
all, thank you for making our libraries a welcoming place. I still have a lot to
learn, but I definitely want to be like you three, when I grow up.
