It’s been awhile since my last interview, so I’m happy to post my conversation with Libby Bergstrom. Libby is the librarian at IDEAS, and has spent many years working in school libraries overseas. She blogs at GlobalReachLibraries.com.  I hope you’ll enjoy her interview as much as I did.

I decided I wanted to be a librarian back in third grade – because I thought they got to sit and read books all day! Of course, I learned differently but didn’t lose my love of libraries. I volunteered at a local elementary school library and paged at a public library in high school, worked in my college library, and since then have worked in a special library, public libraries and school libraries.

Q. You’re currently working overseas developing and creating libraries. What kind of impact has this cross-cultural work had on your faith?

Living and working overseas has helped me look at my faith through fresh eyes. I have realized that parts of my faith experience, while good and valid, are very cultural. My brothers and sisters in other parts of the world have taught me a lot about faith outside of America. Truth is constant; how we live out that truth is very much impacted by time and place. And of course, living in parts of the world where the events of the Bible actually happened definitely opens up greater understanding to Scripture.

Q. What do you think librarians in the West should know about libraries in developing nations?

Let me change the question a bit. I think librarians in general have the skills, mindset and passions to transfer what we do to less developed areas. We know how to find out what our patrons need/want and provide it in whatever format is most appropriate – whether that’s online or with “old-fashioned” physical books.

The bigger question is what people in general need to know about libraries in developing nations. Part of what motivated me to start the Global Reach Libraries project through IDEAS was seeing a lot of well-meaning non-librarians to start libraries overseas. They would often gather book donations, ship them to a location, help with some sort of initial set up, and then leave, not knowing that the books they’d brought sat unused because they were out-of-date and falling apart, there was no plan for ongoing support for the library, no library programs or promotion. The donors were happy, but the impact of the libraries was minimal.

One of the stories I often tell is about when I first started working with a school in Morocco. The school was 10 years old and I was their first trained librarian. The library had been started with a container of donated books sent from the states. Among the books I found on the library shelves that first year was one published in 1964 talking about someday when we go to the moon. Kids in developing countries deserve and NEED up-to-date, current information as much as American kids!

We librarians know there is a lot more to starting a library than collecting books. Someone needs to help the library become a place where people can learn and grow in all areas of their lives.

So, my challenge is for librarians, especially librarians of faith, to help educate our friends who are doing development and ministry work overseas and who want to start libraries. We need to be using our skills and gifting to make these libraries into places that will impact their users and their communities.

Q. Brag a bit! What library-related accomplishment are most proud of?

Most proud of??? That’s hard. I can point to “bigger” accomplishments, but I’m most proud when I’ve seen a child who used to hate books and reading get excited and WANT to check out a library book. And I’m excited when a group of 5th grade boys chooses to hang out in the library rather than go outside for recess, because then I know the library is a welcoming place. And when a middle school girl who rarely finishes a book tells me she loved Wanting Mor because there were Arabic words; it felt familiar and drew her in.

Q. Do you have any thoughts on how Christian librarians working overseas can be a light for Christ while respecting the local cultures and traditions?

As Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them…” I start by thinking about how I want to be treated by those who don’t share my worldview or beliefs. Then I treat my patrons and co-workers in the same way. This means I listen well to them, I learn about what they think and feel, and then I enter into real friendships and conversations. Actually, the challenges and the joys are the same as when I worked in a public library in the states. The most important thing is just to be truly present and praying.

Q. What advice would you give to a librarian who is thinking about looking for work overseas?

First, take time to pray. Figure out where God is leading you. Then start looking for opportunities – they take many forms. International schools often need librarians; recently the national library in Qatar has been looking for librarians. And various ministry groups also know of opportunities. I work with IDEAS: International Development and Educational Associates and through my project, Global Reach Libraries, I know of several opportunities in libraries involved in transformational, hope-giving work. If you want to know more, check out the website or .

Q. Is there anything else you’d like my readers to know about you and your work?

I’ve just started my own foray into the world of blogging, exploring issues related to global libraries. Please check out my blog and join in the conversation. I also send out a newsletter with updates on my work with Global Reach Libraries. Email me if you like to be added to my update list.

Many thanks to Libby for taking the time to talk with me during the busy holiday season.  Let me know if you’d like to be featured in an upcoming interview.  You don’t need to be a “professional” librarian to participate.  If you’re a Christian and have had school library experience, I want to interview you!

The “Interview with a Christian School Librarian” is a series that features Christian school librarians and school library staff (both active and retired) from all over the world.  The goal of this series is create a sense of community among Christian school librarians and to share our professional wisdom.

I recently spoke with Jo Ellen Misakian, Program Director for the Teacher Librarian Services Credential at Fresno Pacific University (FPU).  I’m so excited to share our conversation with you today.

Well… sort of.

You see, we conducted our interview on Skype and I recorded it with the intention of transcribing it for this blog.  But I somehow lost the audio file.  Despite the fact that I practiced recording several times beforehand (in order to avoid this exact catastrophe!), the file has disappeared.  I  looked in every folder and every location on my computer.  I consulted forums online and even put out a desperate plea for help on Facebook.  But I never found the file.  After a few hours of trying to recover the file (and a few tears), I gave up.

I decided the next best thing would be to paraphrase our interview.  So please keep in mind that the responses are paraphrases (from my memory) of what Jo Ellen said.  I’m writing this about 4 hours after our conversation ended.  It pains me so much that I don’t have her verbatim responses, because she was so wonderful!  (Seriously, I’ve buried my head in my hands and banged the table in frustration several times just writing this intro!).

Introduction

The wonderful thing about Jo Ellen is that she has had experience at every level of education.  She first started working in libraries as a paraprofessional without a library degree.  She eventually earned her MLIS from San Jose State University, and after some time as a District Librarian in the Fresno/Clovis area, she became the director of the Teacher Librarian Services Credential at Fresno Pacific University.

Another awesome fact about Jo Ellen is that she is responsible for The Outsiders book becoming a movie!  In the early ’80s while she was working as a school librarian, she wrote to movie director Francis Ford Coppola and told him her students and teachers wanted him to make a movie out of the book.  Her students signed a petition and Coppola began shooting the movie a few years later.  In fact, there is a dedication to Jo Ellen and her students at the end of the movie.   What a great example of how librarians are world-changers!  You can read more about this amazing story in this 1983 article from the New York Times.

Q:  I started off by asking what advice she would give to someone who is in charge of a school library, but has little or no formal library training.

Answer:  Jo Ellen encouraged people in this situation to think about enrolling in a paraprofessional certification program.  She mentioned that ALA offers a Library Support Staff Certification and many community colleges have a similar program.

She also said that she encourages library workers to further their education as much as possible and she’s always supportive of anyone who wants to pursue a library credential or MLIS.

We talked briefly about the fact that for some, the support staff certification may be enough to meet their needs.   Many states have school districts that rarely hire certified teacher librarians at the elementary or middle school level.  So if you’re working at an elementary school level and intend to stay at that grade-level, you may want to focus on getting that support staff certification and then work on really honing your skills to the best of your ability.

Q.  Next, I asked about what distinguishes her Credential Program at FPU from other secular credential programs.

Answer:  She responded that she thought the value of a Christian university credential program was really in its service aspect.  She liked the fact that professors and students can freely pray together and talk about their personal faith and how it integrates into their work.

Q.  I asked her to speak to the tension that teacher librarian in Christian schools often feel when they try to balance professional ethics with the values of their school.  I gave her an example of how it was difficult for me to reconcile my desire to keep students’ circulation records private when the school administration wanted me to make them freely available to parents and teachers.

Answer:  Jo Ellen responded by acknowledging that this is a difficult area.  Many teacher librarians feel this way in regards to book challenges by parents.  She stressed the importance of having a collection development policy in place.  The policy protects the teacher librarian, the parents, AND the book in question.  She also said that no teacher librarian should ever feel like they should have to lose their job for a book, and that we simply need to do the best we can do in our specific situation.

She also had some wise advice to teacher librarians who find themselves in the middle of a book challenge.  She said it’s important to not get defensive.  We need to approach it from a place of cooperation, and acknowledge parents’ desire to control what their child reads.  However, we should gently remind parents that they cannot control what other children read.  When we respond with a spirit of gentleness and cooperation, the outcome is likely to be more positive.

Q.  Next, I asked Jo Ellen how Christian librarians working in secular schools can be a light for Christ while still respecting other people’s beliefs and upholding the law.

Answer:  She responded that she tries to live a life that is a good example of Christian beliefs.  She also acknowledged that sometimes that’s not enough, and told a story of how she one re-connected with a former student who had gone on to work in youth ministry.  He discovered she was working at a Christian university and said he hadn’t realized she was a Christian.  She said that conversation made her realize that sometimes we need to be more vocal about our faith, when appropriate and without offending others.  She suggested that a simple way of doing that could be to let others know you’re praying for the when they go through something difficult.  It’s not pushy and it’s offensive, but it does plant the seed that you are a person of faith.

Q:  Finally, I asked Jo Ellen if there was anything else she’d like to say to new librarians in particular.

Answer:  She said she wants them to know that being a teacher librarian is a fabulous job. We get to be a student’s teacher not just for one year, but for however long they attend our school.  We get to watch them grow and we get to provide a safe place for students who may have trouble fitting in otherwise.  She told a story about a student who was spending a lot of time in her library because he didn’t fit in with other kids.  Some teachers wanted her to encourage him to go play outside and get out of the library.  Rather than do that, Jo Ellen allowed him to help create her library newsletter and to do some video recording for her.  Well, we all know that students love to record themselves, so this students quickly became very well-known for his video skills and his confidence improved. That student went on to career in television journalism in New York!  It’s yet another example of how librarians and libraries can change people’s lives.

After the Interview

I really appreciated that she took the time to ask me some questions about myself and about my experience, and she had some very encouraging words to say about this blog.  If you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak or learn from her, I highly encourage you to do so!

Again, these paraphrased responses do not do justice to the interview Jo Ellen was so gracious to grant me.  My deepest apologies to her and to my readers for losing the audio file.  If you’d like to be interviewed for this series, click here to let me know about your interest!

The “Interview with a Christian School Librarian” is a series that features Christian school librarians and school library staff (both active and retired) from all over the country.  The goal of this series is create a sense of community among Christian school librarians and to share our professional wisdom.

Kristen Kramer

Kristen Kramer is the Volunteer Librarian at First Christian School in Napa, California. Her “official job” is the pre-school teacher there, and she’s also held several different volunteer positions at the school.

How long have you worked in libraries and how did you get your start?

My thanks to Kristen for taking the time to answer my questions!  If you’d like to be interviewed for this series, click here to let me know about your interest!

The “Interview with a Christian School Librarian” is a series that features Christian school librarians and school library staff (both active and retired) from all over the world.  The goal of this series is create a sense of community among Christian school librarians and to share our professional wisdom.

Bruce Cummings

Bruce Cummings is the teacher librarian at Davis High Senior School in Davis, California.

How long have you worked in libraries and how did you get your start?

I started in 1995, shortly before I received my MLIS at San Jose State University. Anticipating the completion of my degree program, and in a job that barely paid a living wage, I responded to a job posting for library media teacher at El Camino High School in South San Francisco. I was drawn to the position partly because of a family tradition of teaching (I’m a third generation teacher from both parents). I still had more classes to take for the credential process, which I address in the “biggest challenge.”

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

I enjoy working with students at the secondary level, and I particularly enjoy seeing students experience the joy of discovery, especially if it is of something that is of personal importance to the student (as opposed to a school assigned topic).

What is the biggest challenge?

Going through the process to get a single subject credential, then the library credential, was a bit tedious, but I ultimately embraced it. I think the greatest work challenge is persuading teachers (and students) of the lasting value of the skills I teach. While a single visit to the library may be life changing for a few, in my experience it is the repeated practice of essential skills that bears the most proficient fruit. This tends to be at odds with the “instant results” mentality that so often seems to be governing how schools are evaluated.

What advice would you give to someone just starting off?

Make sure you love what you do, especially in California, which is downright hostile to school librarians. Apart from that, see yourself in a support role for everybody at the school–students, teachers and administrators. Look to expand your influence (with appropriate boundaries!) rather than limit it. My greatest success stories are with those who are the “last, least, lost” groups, like new teachers, and teachers of challenging student populations (such as special ed and English language learners). I rarely see Advanced Placement classes in the library.

Brag a bit!  Tell me about the best thing you’ve done at your library.  Did you implement a program, a policy, or create something you’re proud of?

By following my advice (above), I embraced a “School to Career” (STC) curriculum in South San Francisco. The early recruits dreaded writing the curriculum, and I invited myself to their meetings. I became the STC coordinator a few years later. It was attached to the English and Social Studies departments, but each grade (9-12) had a unit, which had part or all of its STC curriculum in the library. It became a great vehicle for me to teach information literacy skills, but connected to content, rather than in isolation. That probably impacted the greatest number of students. But I’ve also been instrumental in helping the special education program to explain itself to the rest of the school, and in promoting the use of effective teaching strategies with special needs students to all students.

What are some of the issues you deal with that you feel are unique to Christian school librarians?

I can’t really think of issues that would be unique to Christian school librarians, except in how they are handled. I am mindful that when I am “on duty,” I am an agent of the state, and usually with a captive audience. I cannot proselytize. However, I can encourage students to seek out information from a variety of sources, which may include Biblical sources or Christian organizations.

Do you have any thoughts on how Christian librarians in secular schools can be lights for Christ while adhering to workplace rules about sharing our faith?

I will sometimes refer to myself when helping students unpack a controversial issue they are researching, especially where values are being examined. Many students need help looking at “contrary evidence” to avoid setting up a straw man argument. Students who find themselves either in sympathy with a Christian position, or opposed to it, find they cannot merely declare their position “right” by fiat. By seeing an adult willing to discuss values without becoming defensive, students can approach difficult topics with more humility and thoughtfulness. I hope through this to give Christian students a deeper understanding of a viewpoint they may have “inherited.” And for non-Christians, they learn that Christian viewpoints cannot be easily dismissed, at least if intellectual integrity matters to them. I have also been the faculty advisor for a student Christian club, although I don’t see that as a role unique to school librarians. My discussion has been in the context of students, but by supporting  the “last, least and lost” among my colleagues, I have had a positive impact there, as well.

Many thanks to Bruce for taking the time to answer my questions and share his thoughts!   If you’d like to be interviewed for this series, click here to let me know about your interest!