Time to show your appreciation!
April 4th is National School Librarian Day, which means it’s time to recognize the amazing work of thousands of men and women around the country. For your convenience, we’ve rounded up a list of some of the most astounding librarians out there:
1. Hilda Weisburg
Hilda Weisburg is the most recent recipient of the American Association of School Librarian’s Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual member of the library profession who has, over a significant period of time, made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship and school library development.
“Hilda exceeds the criteria for this award in every category,” wrote AASL Past President Gail Dickinson in her nomination. “She has been a model of service and visionary leadership to AASL, to her state affiliate and to the profession for decades, with over 30 years of experience in school libraries. In addition to her work as a school librarian, through her work in writing and publishing, she has shared the milestones of significant and influential research and is responsible for a body of publications that have contributed to the professional development for thousands of practicing school librarians.”
Source: ala
2. Lois Parker-Hennion
Students and faculty at Tappan Zee High School (Orangeburg, NY) are pushing back: when the Trump administration withdrew support for transgender students, they simply stepped up their efforts to make sure those students didn’t suffer discrimination. School librarian Parker-Hennion has been vocal in supporting her students’ efforts to build a second gender-neutral bathroom as well as an adaptated changing room for the gym.
“The students have really taken the lead on this,” Parker-Hennion says. “It’s just the kind of engagement and learning we want our students to have.”
Source: schoollibraryjournal
3. Ann Yawornitsky
Ann Yawornitsky, from Wilson Southern Middle School in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, won the 2016 American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Roald Dahl Miss Honey Social Justice Award. This honor recognizes collaboration between school librarians and teachers in the instruction of social justice using school library resources. Yawornitsky collaborated with two teachers, Jennifer Sarnes and Melissa Zawaski, to create a “Children of the Holocaust” exhibit, which allowed their students to research children who suffered in the Holocaust and connect to them by writing poems and journal entries based on those children’s lives. Holocaust survivors also visited the middle school to share their thoughts and experiences.
“It is our hope that this unit teaches our students to see the good in everyone, to speak out against evil, to do their best to never forget their assigned child,” Yawornitsky stated.
Source: ushmm
4. Jennifer Spillman
Fake news! Alternative facts! Overrated news source!
In the Trump era, truth is frequently called into question. To help combat this world of conflicting information, Jennifer Spillman, Director of Libraries for Muskingum County Library System, is encouraging students to rely on their libraries. We’re used to just Googling everything, but libraries have much more accurate databases.
“How can the library play a part in determining fake news from real news is something people don’t always consider. We have reference libraries here and their entire jobs from the beginning of reference librarians has been to decipher information and make sure its accurate,” Spillman says.
The John McIintre Library has moved their computer lab to the first floor to allow more convenient access to their reference desk.
Source: libraries.santarosa
5. Dr. Carla Hayden
Appointed last year by President Obama, Dr. Hayden is the current Librarian of Congress. She is both the first woman and the first African-American to hold the position. Hayden is a vehement defender of library users’ freedom from surveillance and is dedicated to modernization so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture.
Source: rawstory
Who is your favorite school librarian? Why do they deserve recognition?
YouTube Channel: Capstone Publishers
Featured image via Gallery Hip
