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!

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!

Dorinda Koelewyn is the Library Media Teacher at Central Valley Christian School in Visalia, California.

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

I began as a part time home economics teacher.  The high school asked if I would “take care of the library”.  They gave me one or two periods to do that.  A volunteer parent told me about the teacher librarian credential through Fresno Pacific so I earned my credential and soon became a full time library media teacher.  I’ve been here over 20 years and love it!

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

It’s a great day when students are successful in finding the information they need.  I teach them search strategies and when they use them and are excited about finding what they need, I’m very happy.

What’s your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is to keep up with the workload.  It’s just me and student aids who come 2 periods a day.  I have new and donated books to catalog, lessons to prepare, books to buy and students to watch.  I need time to research how and when to begin checking out ebooks and other techy things like that.   I also “do” the yearbook, which is a big job.

What advice would you give to someone just starting off?

I’d advise anyone new to the library to get a library teaching credential.  It will give you the right framework for everything you do in the library.  Also keep up learning, join CSLA or CUE.

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

I don’t think there are any issues unique to a Christian school librarian.  I think public school librarians have many more issues to deal with.

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?

Your attitude and actions with your students will always show you’re a Christian, if you are in a Christian school, or not.

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

John Stanton  

John Stanton is Head of Library Services at William Clarke College, a Kindergarten-Year 12 private school in Sydney, Australia.  His library is two-in-one, as it has two separate students spaces (one for primary grades and one for secondary grades) in the same building.

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

I got started in libraries while I was at University. While studying for my undergraduate degree, I took a job as a part-time library shelver (to basically put books away, and after a while I graduated to circulation!) at another university in Sydney.

My first “real” library job was a 1 year contract working for a multinational corporation, followed by ten years in public libraries. I have been in libraries full time for about 24 years. I have been at William Clarke College for 10 years, and it is (still!) my first school library.

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

I enjoy most things about working in the library. I really enjoy interacting with students, collection development, and working with the teachers across the College.

What is the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is figuring out what the best way forward is with respect to technology. Many great things simply disappear before they’ve take off, while relatively obscure things become a sensation. Balancing the desire for the “new” with the need to be financially responsible is an interesting aspect of the job. One of the greatest challenges that I’d like to get right – for my sake as much as that of the students – is to transition well from a print-dominant environment to a digital–dominant environment, without losing the benefits and convenience of print. The successful integration of all formats into the thinking of students is part of that challenge.

What advice would you give to someone just starting off?

The essential skills are people skills: customer service, negotiation, flexibility. Then comes the technology and curriculum content. Then comes the teaching and library management. I think that many people get them in a different order, or just focus on one of them without regard for the others. I know some librarians in schools who are committed, excellent teachers, but they really lack the people skills to make the library central to the school’s activities; or they lack the technology skills to move forward with the knowledge that the students have.

Take risks. Seize opportunities. Look for every possible way to connect the library with the wider school community – committees, co-curricular activities, classroom activities: whatever it takes. You are the only one who can bring your library to life.

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?

The best thing I’ve done is to take control of the design process for our new library. In 2010 I was presented with the opportunity to move the library to a new location on the campus, into an existing building which would be completely gutted and refitted for library purposes. Having control over every aspect of the decision-making with respect to the design was tremendous. I was able to impose my philosophy of what a school library space should be, how the fittings would actually be laid out, access points for technology, class spaces, multi-functional spaces, workflow areas for staff, supervision, the use of natural light, and pick the colour schemes. I think we have a magnificent result. The K-6 Library space uses bright colour as a way to engage students with a fun environment, while the 7-12 library has more of a “grown-up” feel as the lounge-room of the school: relaxed but academic.

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

I think that censorship is the biggest issue. Our school chooses to provide students with a broad education, which means that some of the material we have in our library might well be challenged in another. I feel that it is vitally important for students, staff and parents to be realistic about the world beyond the school, and to be able to discuss information, concepts and ideas openly. It is easy to bury your head by removing particularly challenging material, and it is just as easy to become thoughtlessly fanatical about one ideological position. Our students come from many backgrounds, their families have many ideas. It is a gift to our students to allow them to see how others live, hear how others think and see what others see: and even to sometimes embrace and enjoy it!

I consider myself to be really fortunate that I work in a school library (at a Christian school) where censorship is not really a major issue. I don’t have to justify owning specific titles, nor do I get many titles challenged by staff or parents. However, I know of schools where certain titles are banned – like Harry Potter. I think that represents several lost opportunities: firstly, students lose the chance to read some really engaging stories; secondly, the opportunity to discover how JK Rowling (a self-confessed Christian) presents the magic in that world; and thirdly, the opportunity to have a broader discussion about the nature of supernatural power.

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?

Yes. Two things come to mind. As actions speak louder than words, I can only suggest that the biggest way you can “shout” in your workplace is to serve other people. You can serve those above you, you can serve your peers, you can serve your staff and you can serve your students. Offer yourself and the library to them. Defend and build your empire by giving it away. Volunteer your time, your expertise and your resources. Do unexpected things: if you know a staff member would really value a particular resource you’ve just bought, fast-track it through the cataloguing then take it to their desk while they are away teaching.

The second thing is kindness and grace. Show unsolicited kindness. Offer grace to your students, and the staff. Cultivate patience in the face of frustration. Don’t be the library dragon – we all know that library-land has too many of those. Laugh with your students while maintaining the school’s boundaries and expectations.

Many thanks to John 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!

Christina Larrechea is the Teacher Librarian at Mission Oak High School in Tulare, California.

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

I have worked in libraries since I was an eighth grader, I was a library aide in my school library.  I think I just bothered the librarian so much that she asked if I wanted to take it as a class so that she didn’t have to try and keep up with my reading habits.  I remember that is where I was when the Challenger exploded.  Then when I was in high school I was a student library aide.  They actually hired me over a couple of summers to do inventory—back before there were computers and I had to take each card in the card catalog to check!  When I was in college I worked in my college library.  I was a “normal” English teacher for the first 3 years of teaching as I went back to school at night to get my credential to work in school libraries.  I worked 1 year at an elementary school, and 5 years at a middle school.  Then we moved to CA and I have worked in a public high school library for the last 5 years.

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

The most enjoyable part of being a Teacher librarian is connecting students with books.  A motto I live my professional life by is “The Right Student, The Right Time, The Right Book”  I truly believe that books can change your life and help you make decisions because you can experience as many lives as you can read about .  I also love that I am still a teacher so I still get to teach classes but I usually get to do all the fun stuff such as projects (Poelicious for Edgar Allen Poe or March for Freedom with Social Studies, etc)

What is the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge professionally is being recognized as a teacher with the same rights and responsibilities.  It is quite a blow when you’ve worked with someone for 5 years and they still make remarks like “Oh I forgot you’re at this meeting because you’re a teacher.”  It is also really hard being the only person on my campus with my job.  Most teachers have at least one other teacher they can depend on for help or just a sounding board, but as the TL while you are more connected around campus you are also less connected.  I have to “force” my way into dept meetings and insert myself into discussions that would be automatic if I had a “regular” classroom.

What advice would you give to someone just starting off?

The old stereotype of librarians is gone.  Your main job is not checking in and out books.  Your main job is teaching literacy whether it is digital or traditional.  Today’s librarians have to be out and about going into classrooms and forcing themselves to be available as a “resource” to teachers.  You have to be very familiar with what is going on at the state level to understand how that affects your job and you have to know a lot about your campus and who is teaching what and when so that you can make yourself a resource.

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?

In Oregon I was selected as the Teacher Librarian of the year by the Oregon Association of School Libraries (2007).  Last year, a few teachers nominated me for our local Tulare County’s Teacher of Excellence award-which I didn’t win, but as they say it was an honor just to be nominated.  The program I love the best in terms of recency is one I developed in conjunction with Junior Social Studies teachers just a few years ago.  Students were studying about the Civil Rights and the Soc Studies teachers approached me about helping them.  We developed our own March for Freedom where all juniors would get out of their normal 2 hour block and march to different checkpoints around our campus to learn about this significant time period in our history—literally making the textbook come to life.  They experience school segregation and bus segregation; they go to “jail;” they listen to community speakers talk about what it was like to live during that time period; and they hear the words of MLK himself from his I have a dream speech.  Students have left in tears and said they never knew what it was like before even though they have learned about that time period their whole lives.

I also really loved a program I developed at my middle school called Survivor: Book Islands.  Teachers would vote to put 20 books onto an island (a display case I had decorated to look like an island).  Then every week students would have a chance to vote a book off the island and try and win immunity for their favorite book to stay on the island.  We had lunch time competitions like basketball shoots and trivia questions, shuffleboard and jump rope competitions.  Students would compete in the name of the book and whichever book won could not be voted off that week.  Every week we made a video highlighting different events for the whole school to watch and then students would vote.  Students were talking about it in the hallways and trying to convince other students to compete for their book.  It was amazing.  When the island was first set up with 20 books students could vote for the book they thought was going to win immunity and in the end the last book left standing, everyone who voted for that book was invited to a pizza party.  It was a lot of fun and it really increased reading.

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

Being a Christian teacher in a public school you have to walk a very fine line between professional obligations and moral obligations, but I don’t think those challenges are unique to librarians.  Maybe the only issue unique to Christian TLs is the issue of censorship vs choice.  Often times you have to make decisions about putting books on shelves that perhaps personally you don’t agree with or that don’t align with your moral views.  Every person is different and every location is different so you have to make the best choices for you and where you are at.  At the end of the day the guiding principle for the choices I make for my library is: Does this book teach a life lesson that will make a person a better person.  I don’t agree with teen pregnancy but I have tons of books in my library on this topic.  I don’t do drugs or drink alcohol but I have tons of books in my library that talk about this topic.  I can’t just decide unilaterally for everyone that a book is “bad” because it doesn’t line up with my personal beliefs, but I can decide if it will be to the betterment of my community and my students to make this book available.  Early in my career this caused me great stress, but as I have been in libraries for over 10 years now, I realize that I cannot force someone to align to my beliefs because then it wouldn’t be free choice and I would force them if I only had certain “safe” materials available.

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 can’t tell you the number of opportunities I have had to share my faith with students because I am not a traditional teacher.  Students talk to me all the time about what they are reading and it is a perfect opportunity to share my personal beliefs.  Students will read a book about suicide and share about a friend of theirs who committed suicide and then they ask me how they should cope.  You can always answer personal questions with personal beliefs, you just can’t “teach” those beliefs as the only way to a whole classroom full of students.

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

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a copy of The In-Between by Jeff Goins.  

Steven Golden

Steven Golden is a writer and an editor who previously worked with the State Library of Kansas, Heritage Christian School in Topeka, and the research library at Answers in Genesis.  He blogs about literature and film at StevenEGolden.com.

Enjoy his interview below!

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

I worked in libraries for three years. My first experience was an internship with the State Library of Kansas assisting the Kansas Center for the Book with website design/evaluation. My first “real library job” was as a part-time cataloguer in the Heritage Christian School library in Topeka, Kansas (I was primarily an English teacher at the school). I also developed and taught library literacy for their students. In the summers, I worked as a temporary librarian (reference and cataloguing) at the Answers in Genesis research library in Petersburg, KY.

What was the most enjoyable part of your job?

I’m incredibly detail oriented, which made me very good at cataloguing. In those three years, I catalogued, repaired, and preserved over 3,000 books, in addition to my other duties in reference and instruction. Slowly but surely taking a disorganized mess of books and turning them into a usable collection was an incredibly rewarding experience, especially as I began teaching students to use their new OPAC, how to read call numbers, etc.

What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was convincing the school how important it was to have a working library—and a full-time school librarian. I was never moved into a full-time library position while I was there, because the funding was not made available. At my current company, where I am now an editor and writer, the value of our research library is still called into question, and funding for databases and institutional subscriptions is extremely hard to come by.

What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting off?

Libraries today want people who can wear many hats, so take advantage of any opportunity to learn skills from other librarians! I was blessed to have the cataloguer for the State Library of Kansas teaching my cataloguing course, so I learned very practical skills, which was not the norm. Any of us who have been through an MLS program know that the bulk of the coursework is dreaded “theory.” But my best training came from working with another cataloguer on the job. Additionally, I performed informational interviews with librarians in other areas, such as reference and instruction. They were able to share their own knowledge and wisdom with me. Those interactions prepared me for tasks not directly within my expertise.

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

Teaching at a small school without a dedicated librarian meant that whoever had the skills and was willing to step up could do quite a bit more than in many organizations. At HCS, I developed a library literacy program for my students (grades 7-12). Additionally, as the school sought accreditation, I was able to assist in that by developing and presenting a collection development policy, choosing an OPAC, and cataloguing a large portion of the collection. I also found and implemented a faculty textbook checkout system, so that we could better track whether students had returned their books at the end of each school year.

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

I’m not sure how most Christian school libraries are run, but in my case, it was incredibly difficult to balance a very full teaching load against being in the library. And since money was scarce, hiring help or even being moved into a more dedicated position in the library was just not a possibility. Relying on volunteers (usually parents) to come in and help with circulation was risky and often resulted in lost books and a very disorganized collection at the end of a school day.

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?

Connect with your colleagues! You may not be allowed to share your faith unasked, but if you’re “eating with sinners” (Luke 5)—engaging them on topics, sharing in their joys, crying with them, encouraging them—questions about where you find your strength and encouragement are bound to come up.

My thanks to Steven 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!