One of our greatest joys at WiLS is hearing our members tell the stories of the big and important work they are doing – interesting new projects or initiatives, or even interesting and new approaches to old projects. And, in addition to hearing about it, it makes us even happier when we can share those stories with other members. Each month, WiLS is proud to feature an interview with one of our library members. This month, we interview Andrea Schmitz, Librarian at Verona Area School District and WiLS Board member.
This interview is part of a series of interviews with both WiLS library and vendor partners. Your feedback is appreciated. If you have any to offer on this article, or suggestions for upcoming interviews, contact Andrea Coffin at acoffin@wils.org.
Why did you, personally, choose to work in libraries?
I arrived at my decision to work in libraries because of two life experiences. First I had the good fortune of growing up with a public library in my little WI hometown of fewer than 800 people! I loved everything about it: the never-ending supply of books, the clear order and routine, the democratic principle of sharing with my community (and the A.C. on hot days)! It was a comfortable, if not fancy, place and I always felt I belonged there regardless of the circumstances. Needless to say I walked to and visited it weekly.
What I didn’t have as a young child was a school library. But as I prepared to become a teacher during my college studies the library came to have a new meaning for me. It was then that I experienced elementary schools with full-time librarians supporting the work of the teacher and, of course, promoting reading to students through a welcoming environment. So when it came to choose an area of concentration for my Master’s degree I found library studies at the top of my list.
What is unique about the culture of your library? How do you influence it?
The culture of my current library is unique because it serves two disparate populations and contains a specific collection for each. One population is a traditional middle school and the other is a K-8 charter school both housed in one building. My services are shared between the two, and with faculty and staff I have approximately 1000 patrons.
I influence the tone of the library in different ways depending on the time of day and the need of my patrons. Most mornings are filled with a variety of student and staff users looking to find resources, use technology or in search of a larger workspace. I have a small cadre of student Pages who have learned to staff the circulation desk. They free me up to field questions, provide tech support and develop curriculum supports.
Most afternoons you’ll find me providing information literacy lessons to elementary classes in the LMC instructional space. At the same time the library continues to support our middle school students and staff, too, although that responsibility is then managed by our competent and unflappable part-time assistant Marsha Ripkey.
What do you think is important to know about the patrons or community you work with? What helps you understand those needs?
The school community I work with is growing in size and constantly changing in its makeup. I like to poll individual students and the Student Library Advisory group about various ideas and suggestions for programming and the library in general. It is rewarding to find a different cross-section of students participating with each idea that is implemented.
What big ideas are being worked on at your library? What problems are being solved?
The big ideas being worked on in my library are our district initiatives for Personalized Learning and a 1:1 iPad rollout. We are busy reevaluating and beefing up our electronic resources as well as our iPad competencies and strategies. In addition, we are working to discover and anticipate what new needs our community of learners will have once the initiatives are in place. We readily expect the library will grow and change too but we can’t quite predict what that will look like yet!