Beginning Anew: A Reflection

It's been nearly six years since my last blog post. I'm back at it thanks to a graduate course I'm taking as part of my Ph.D. coursework at Northern Illinois University this fall term. Before composing this blog post, I couldn't help but scroll through my past posts while reflecting upon the nearly six-year gap between then and now is honestly a bit surreal. After all, my blog journey began when I had just taken on my role as a certified library information specialist at Shepard Middle School, a school I have worked at since August 1998 with most of those years spent in the classroom teaching 8th grade ELA and 7th grade social studies. Here I am in 2021, six weeks into my seventh year as the school's no-"shh" librarian. In the many years since my last blog post, it's no surprise that a great deal has happened. Some highlights include the following:

I've been part of a nearly million dollar school library transformation that gave students a voice in the kind of school library they'd like for our school and now am grateful to work in a gorgeous, innovative learning space each and every day. 

I've even created a digital twin of this space with the help of Matterport! You can explore this space virtually here. 

I was fortunate to be sent to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to represent American school librarians along with the incredibly talented Laura D'Elia at the Sharjah International Library Conference in November 2019; there I met librarians from all over the world who continue to inspire me today.

And, of course, I've survived months as a "dining table librarian," navigating the pandemic as best I could while supporting students and staff, so the learning could continue despite everyone learning and working remotely.

There's obviously much more that's happened in this time, but these are the three big highlights that stand out most to me over these nearly six years. It's the good, the bad, and the ugly--but all are part of my library story and all have transported me to right here, right now. I honestly wouldn't change any of it as I have learned a great deal all along the way; I now carry these lessons with me and continue to strive to evolve as a school librarian who wants to make a difference in her corner of the world and break the mold of the stereotypical school library.