By Debra M.
I fell in love with reading and books early on, and really became a voracious reader in third grade. We didn’t have much of a school library, so I used our public library in Jackson, MS as own personal bookstore. In college I was majoring in education, and while home for summer vacation after my sophomore year, I helped my mom, a high school library aide, complete an inventory of her school library. Now folks, that was WAY before online databases, library management software, and the digital universe. We inventoried that library using a card catalog shelf list, touched each book, and it took about 3 weeks to finish. I LOVED IT! My university offered an undergrad library degree, so I wound up with a double major, Elem. Ed/Library Science. In the next 2 years, I fell in love with school librarianship, children’s literature, and knew I wanted to be a teacher librarian as a profession. I never taught as a classroom teacher, instead, I worked for 20 years as a public, business, & consultant librarian before I got my first school. Another 20 years later, my passion for this profession is still strong. I LOVE my school, my job, my kids, my colleagues, and the authors and publishers who are creating such great literature for us. I learn new great best practices everyday. It is the best time ever to be a school librarian!Air Jordan