Librarians

the original search engines...

Jun 23, 2024

“Librarians are just like search engines, except they smile and they talk to me and they don’t give me paid-for advertising when they are trying to help….and they have actual hearts.” ~ Matt Haig

It happened to me the other day. One of those moments when you realize something for the first time…

While on vacation, I walked into a used bookstore with my brother and sister-in-law and we struck up a conversation with the owner. She remarked how school had just gotten out and how happy her children were that summer vacation had finally arrived.

My sister-in-law replied back, “Probably not as happy as the teachers are!” and my brother smiled and said, “All three of us are retired teachers and we remember those days…”

That’s when it hit me. I am a retired teacher.

In November of 2023, after I had turned 55, I officially retired from teaching. But I actually left my teaching career back in 2021 and it was one of the hardest decisions of my life.

A variety of factors were involved in my decision, including how covid significantly changed my job.

It takes a certain amount of bravery to step outside your comfort zone, leave everything you have done since you were 21 years old, and start over. Taking a chance, trying something different, going against what is expected of you, just because…you want to be a happier, healthier person.

In September 2021, I was blessed because I ended up with my current job, working part-time in a church office, getting to use some of my technology and teaching skills in a new way…in a less stressful environment that was better for my health.

But teaching and libraries were my career…my passion…for 28 years. Over those years I worked in four different elementary schools and in four different, distinct libraries.

As an elementary school librarian, I began my career back in 1992, during the infancy of the internet, a.k.a. “the world wide web”. Remember floppy disks, Apple IIGS computer labs, VCRs, overhead projectors and filmstrips? I still remember being so excited to connect a television to the one computer in the library that had a modem and showing my students the local public library’s online catalog…It would be a few more years before catalog automation came to my libraries.

Before you just “googled” it, we used to have a part of the library called the reference section and I taught students how to use those resources to find answers to their questions. Tools like the encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, World Almanac, Guinness Book of Records, Bartlett’s Quotes - I even did a lesson on the phone book and using the Yellow and White pages.

Then there were the technology lessons…starting with word processing (remember the days of saving to a disk instead of the cloud?), creating PowerPoint presentations, using tools like digital cameras and scanners…. and ending my career with laptops, ipads, robotics and makerspaces…The changes in technology in education is mind-boggling…

I loved many parts of my job but the parts that involved people were the most interesting…helping students find books they would enjoy, showing “book hook” videos that introduced authors, running “Read-a-thons” that raised money and, at the same time, promoted reading, supervising Library Crews and Book Clubs…And of course, the story times, reading to primary age students, which was one of my all time favorite things to do.

All these activities took place within a library where several classes were taught daily, a fact that I think most people outside of education, are unaware of and, of course, I can never forget all of the wonderful people I worked with over the years - students, parents, support staff, teachers, administrators and other district librarians…..

And I documented the work my students did because, for some unknown reason, libraries seem to be the first places that are looked at when budget cuts are threatened. My library blog, entitled Collaboration is the Key, and my use of tools like Animoto, helped to explain what took place in our library. Here is an example: https://animoto.com/play/Pej76dfEBM7gouUIGFOuqw

Yes…by the time June rolled around, you needed that summer break as much as the students did…Time to recharge and get ready for the next school year.

So now I am a retired teacher…one who admires all those who continue to work in education, where many challenges still exist but so does the hard work and dedication of those who work in one of the most noble professions.

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Tranquil Moments…

I asked my niece, Jennifer Malphy, if she could share some of her nature photos with my newsletter audience. Each week I will feature a new photo. Here is this week’s:

This week’s Smile video…

A young family was met with raised eyebrows when they shared plans they would be moving to a remote island way off the coast of Maine. Steve Hartman goes "On the Road" to learn what led them there, and how they found happiness off the beaten path.

#believe #smilevideos #spreadkindnessandlove

And that’s a good thing…

Singer-songwriter A.J. Croce lost his dad in a plane crash before he turned two, temporarily lost his sight when he was four, and lost his wife to a heart condition. Now 50, musician and songwriter A.J. Croce is turning to the music that his father, Jim Croce, had made famous, and in the process is embracing his father's legacy – and his own…and that’s a good thing…

What I am watching…

This past week I started watching the television drama Family. Sometimes it is fun just to watch something you never watched while it was on the air originally but you get to relive the 1970’s from a different, more adult perspective.

Things that were considered taboo topics are now commonplace or even seem tame compared to today’s world. Watching old television shows is one way to “go back in time” and remember that time period and that can create its own level of joy…

What I am reading…

This week I started reading Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim. I must admit it is a difficult read at times but it gives a realistic depiction of slavery and what it was like for everyone involved.

The Amazon description is as follows: “Moments after Lisbeth is born, she’s taken from her mother and handed over to an enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, a young mother separated from her own infant son in order to care for her tiny charge. Thus begins an intense relationship that will shape both of their lives for decades to come. Though Lisbeth leads a life of privilege, she finds nothing but loneliness in the company of her overwhelmed mother and her distant, slave-owning father. As she grows older, Mattie becomes more like family to Lisbeth than her own kin and the girl’s visits to the slaves’ quarters―and their lively and loving community―bring them closer together than ever. But can two women in such disparate circumstances form a bond like theirs without consequence? This deeply moving tale of unlikely love traces the journey of these very different women as each searches for freedom and dignity.”

This week’s TED Talk…

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level. This is one of my all-time favorite TED Talks.