Mrs. G.

Katy ISD

Question 1: As a principal, what do you believe the school librarian’s role in teaching and learning is?

My personal philosophy of the school librarian and the school library is that it’s the first thing people see
when they first walk into the campus…it’s the living room of the school. It’s where everyone goes and
what everyone sees when they walk in your school. It’s the main hub of the school. It’s not just about
books. It’s about literacy. It’s about research. It is the energy of the school and gives off a vibe. It needs
to look good. If the “living room” doesn’t look good, people assume the rest of the “house” is the same
way.

Question 2: As a principal, what do you believe the role of the school librarian is in promoting literacy
and reading?

First of all, I feel strongly that the librarian should be an avid reader. One of our main goals in the library
should be reading and we should have one or two or three books going at a time so that we are able to
cater to our customers—the kids. Sometimes we need to cater to our teachers as well so that we can
recommend books to them and take them on a tour of some good reading genres. We should have the
latest and greatest books. As new books are coming out they should already be in our que to order so
that when kids come back from summer we are ready to promote books, book clubs, book everything!
Our kids in a Title 1 school are likely not reading at home so it is vital we promote reading here. And not
just reading for school but reading for pleasure. Kids need to read for fun. We get to go places in books
that we won’t ever get to go in real life. We get to go there in our imagination.

Question 3: How do you expect school librarians to help students build life-long learning skills?

At the elementary level, kids copy what the teachers do. If we can be an example to students, it will
make such a difference. When the kids are reading, we should be reading. After the kids read, confer
with the students about what they’ve read. Don’t just give them time to read and not connect it back to
anything. Talk to the kids about books. Librarians have a lot of impact on schools with reading and how
the library is being used. Even using the public library or digital resources…equipping our students to be
about to be successful outside of these four walls. Magazines, periodicals, lots of technology…these are
all things we need to be showing kids. Expose them to all of the tools and show them the appropriate
way to get their needs met via technology.

Question 4: What tips do you have for school librarians in regards to communicating with principals?

With me being new this year and having a fairly new librarian, we have tried to meet several times to
discuss what is going on in the library. Next year I’d like to meet every month with her. I know how
important literacy is and how important reading is…especially in a Title 1 school. There are some
avenues I’d like to explore in the library that we haven’t used yet and the communication with the
principal and the librarian should be ongoing throughout the year. The librarian and the principal have
to be in sync with their thinking. You also have to have people that have a heart for kids and are willing
to put in the time to have some events and things after school.

Questions 5: As a principal, how do you feel the library impacts student achievement?

A lot of people think the library is just a place to read and go check out books but I think it’s a place of
resources for kids. We have some big learning TEKS that are a problem across the school. These are
some great skills the librarian can help us with by promoting them during her lessons. She can get to
kids in a more creative and entertaining way than they get in the classroom. Kids should be very excited
to go to the library. Librarians can attend planning meetings with teachers and have a big part in
planning with teachers. This can be very beneficial for the students. I also think they need to use the
computer lab…because it is an extension of the library. We are also working on opening the library up a
few days during the summer so students can have access to books to keep them mentally active during
the summer as well.

SUMMARY

This was actually a great interview with my principal. I really enjoyed getting to see a different side of
her and talk to her about a topic that wasn’t related to my current position. I did learn several important
things from this interview. First, it was refreshing to find out what an avid reader she is and how much
value she places on reading. We chatted for a few minutes on making time to read and some personal
challenges she’s been facing with not having enough time to get her personal reading in. Second, I
learned that although she is still a new principal (this is her first school year), so I know she will be
implementing some changes regarding some plans she wants to put in place in the library. An additional
thing we discussed was about the library being the hub of the school. I love her analogy of the library
being the “living room” of the school. I couldn’t agree more. The library is just a central locale in the
school and needs to be inviting, warm and exciting. After all, books and information are exciting…so we
need to promote that! All in all, it was a great interview.