Email
HS/MS Library Media Specialist
Phone: 715.824.5521

One of my favorite milestone memories was finally being old enough to walk to the library alone. Even as a child, I found the library a very special place: the smell of books, the shine on the waxed floors, and the stilled hush of all the possibility waiting for me on the shelves. I reveled in the independence of getting to the library by myself, then diving into the stacks to learn about Helen Keller, the Titanic or drawing: whatever my heart desired!

 

Though I didn’t set out in life to be a school library media specialist, all my paths have led me here.

I grew up in Milwaukee and--in addition to the Tippecanoe public library--in the A.E. Burdick School and Milwaukee Tech High School libraries. In college, I attended UW-Oshkosh where I was introduced to bound periodicals, computerized library databases, and Library of Congress classification at the UWO library. I majored in English and minored in journalism in college, and as a research assistant I had the fantastic opportunity to research in the British Library’s rare manuscripts room in London, as well as Trinity College Library in Cambridge and The Bodleian Library in Oxford.

After college, I worked as a professional writer and editor for different private and nonprofit organizations—and developed my own collection of books and music. Eventually, however, I felt a calling, and I ended up back in the library. I’m proud to call the 6-12 Instructional Media Center in the Tomorrow River School District my new library home.

These days, information literacy—being able to know where to find information, understand what sources are reliable, and being able to put that information to good use—is central to the success of our students. As the library media specialist, I am happy to help Amherst students use these skills.