Stacy is a Lower School Librarian at Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City.
“We are a progressive school that’s been operating since 1921. The first thing that you see when you walk in our doors is the library!”
The Skinny
One of the things that I love most about my job is that I am not alone! We are a team of librarians, including Jesse Karp (Early Childhood), Jennifer Hubert Swan (Middle School), Karyn Silverman (High School), and myself. We work together, and are able to bounce new ideas off of one another, observe each other’s classes, and get excited about new projects or new books. Each day is different and varied in the library, and it keeps all of us on our toes!
A Lion’s Pride of Programs
Our joint Lower School / Middle School library houses a goldmine of a folktale collection. We have a picture book collection as well as a collection of anthologies, many of which are out of print. My first grade curriculum includes a folktale study wherein folktales are told geographically, and students discover the similarities in stories across cultures, as well as the mechanics of story in general, and folktale as a genre. This piece of curriculum wouldn’t be nearly as rich without our fantastic folktale collection.
We also have a great graphic novel collection. Jesse is a graphic novel expert and he is constantly growing our collection. It’s no coincidence that our top circulating items are all graphic novels!
Reader’s Roar
I asked some of our students what their favorite thing about the library is, and this is what we found out!
“I like the library because it has books for everyone. Even when I’m in middle school I can find something to read here.” G, 3rd grade
“I like that you can find something to read at any time in the library. The librarians can always give you a recommendation!” C, grade 12.
“The advanced readers section! It’s so great that we get to read books before they are out!” S, grade 6
Librarian Note: The advanced readers section came about from our BBYA reading club...I don't want folks to think we have arcs on the shelf to borrow!
Book Brag What's Hot This Year Stacy?
Any and all of the Basher books fly off our shelves. Our students love the format, the characters and the presentation of the facts! Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series is always in high demand as well. Students are continually asking “When does the next one come out? Do you have anything just like it?” And Babymouse, Babymouse, Babymouse. The brother/sister Holm duo can do no wrong, and the appeal of these particular graphic novels cross gender and age lines in a pretty incredible way.
Library Lion’s Roar
Another highlight of being a librarian at LREI is that we try to get out of the building as much as we can! Since we are in NYC, we are lucky to have a vast number of libraries and institutions to visit. In October LREI students gave the D train a workout, with 3 separate trips to the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
Author Author!
We bring authors into our school every year for our annual Book Week. Authors and illustrators visit each classroom to talk about their craft to our students. It’s one of the most exciting weeks of the school year!
The Lower School had an amazing Book Week this December with visits from:
~Lisa Graff – author of Umbrella Summer
~P.D. Eastman – author of Go Dog Go!
~Gina Goldmann – contributor to Hands Off Harry
~Judith Inglese and Dedie King – author and illustrator of I See the Sun in Afghanistan
~Roxie Munro – author/illustrator of Hatch!
~Cornelius Van Wright and Ying Hwa-Hu author/illustrator of Sam and the Lucky Money
~Dave Roman – author and illustrator of Astronaut Academy
~Ai-Ling Louie – author of Vera Wang: Queen of Fashion
~Marthe Jocelyn – author/illustrator of Hannah’s Seven Dresses
~Monica Wellington – author/illustrator of Mr. Cookie Baker
~Julie Appel – author of Touch The Art: Count Monet’s Lilies
~Julia Sarcone-Roach - author of Subway Story
~Isabel Hill - author of Building Stories
Let’s Link
Library Lions Readers find out more from these Blogs:
Lower School Library Blog
Middle School Library Blog
High School Library Blog
LREI Libguides
Welcome to my Tweendom
Reading Rants
Someday My Printz Will Come
Thank you,Stacy for your terrific interview!
Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.
Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot.
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