You started the 5 for $5 book club to encourage students to read more, how has that club grown or changed since you first started it and what are your hopes for it?

When I first came here, the 5 for $5 was already kind of a thing, so I just kind of got thrown into it and, of course, I wasn’t really put together very well my first year. However, I really wanted to make sure the kids had opportunities all year long to encourage their reading. So we’ve grown it to about three times the amount of kids, and I’m hoping that this year it’s even bigger and really encourages the kids to read what they want to read. 

You’ve read many books as a librarian, what has been your favorite book you’ve read and why? 

I don’t have one favorite book. When I was in middle school, it would have been Wrinkle in Time. As a young adult, it was probably Harry Potter. Currently right now, my favorite from the past year was James, which is a retelling of Huckleberry Finn. So it’s very hard to pick a favorite. It’s almost like picking a favorite kid, but there are definitely books in my life that have made important impacts on me and I would definitely say the very first one being at Wrinkle in Time.

You’ve seen so many students come through the library over the years, what’s one big change you’ve noticed in how kids read or use the library now compared to when you started?

I will definitely say that since I’ve started, more kids are reading, which is an amazing thing for me. They’re reading books that are all over the map. This year, students checked out a lot more of the giant classic books that I didn’t think they would be interested in. Of course, romance is always a popular genre as well as mysteries. It’s just a really nice thing to see how it’s changed since I’ve been here and how I’ve moved the books around according to their desired genres. I do think that the students have an easier time finding books here, so they’re definitely reading a lot more, which is nice.

You have changed around the library, added new books, organization systems, and even new activities to do, what are some things that you are currently working on and are hoping to implement in the coming months? 

I’m still working on the perfect setup for the library and I would love to eventually have more shelf space, so we can keep adding more and more books because sometimes it’s really hard to add in all the books I add every year. One of the things I’m working on for a second semester, hopefully with the Mother’s Club Grant, is literature subscription boxes, kind of like Book of the month. Kids will be able to sign up for it and will receive a box with a book in it with activities or other little things, like tea bags, crafts, and things like that. 

You must have had a passion for reading when you were younger, what do you think your past self would say about you right now and do you think she would have expected you to be here right now? 

I think she would be shocked. I mean, she definitely was always a reader. My first library job was a corporate librarian, so I don’t think my young self would have been like, oh, yes, let’s hang out with high schoolers every day. Nevertheless, I think she’d be proud of me.