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 Jennifer Peterson, Library Media Supervisor at the Menasha Joint School District and one of WiLS’ Board Members representing K12 libraries.
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 was actually going to school for computer science and education. In one of my education classes the professor, who happened to be a librarian in the district I currently work in, told me with my skills in technology I would be a great librarian. I really didn’t even know it was an option, to be honest. I loved to read, loved technology, loved teaching, loved learning, etc. As they say, the rest is history.
What is unique about the culture of your library? How do you influence it?
It’s not entirely unique to our state with recent government cuts to education, but I am the only library media specialist in our district. I have 8 schools, 4 full time aides, and 2 part time aides. Each of our 8 schools is very different, and rather than have cookie cutter libraries I allow our libraries to meld with the school culture. This gives my aides more autonomy and staff and students a feeling of ownership. I have never been a top down manager, and I feel that shows in our libraries. My aides often say they feel our libraries are very collaborative and we listen to everyone.
What do you think is important to know about the patrons or community you work with? What helps you understand those needs?
I have an advantage, in that I live in the community, and working in so many schools I get to know so many students and their parents. I could sit in my office and guess what the students want, but the best way is to get out into the schools and talk to the students and teachers. We have a very unique community, filled with cultural and economic diversity and I try to meet those needs.
What big ideas are being worked on at your library? What problems are being solved?
Currently the high school library is being renovated. It was part of a school wide referendum project. We have rebranded our library into the learning commons. We have very mobile, student friendly furniture, glass conference rooms, lots of access to technology and resources, video production equipment, etc. The students can change the learning commons to how it works best for them. The learning commons also has no doors, and students are able to use it before and after school. I can walk into the learning commons at 8pm at night and see groups working on projects together, students using computers to do homework, or just sitting in a quiet corner reading. We have students who would rather spend their time at school due to issues at home, and this has provided them with a safe haven. In our elementary and middle school libraries, we are continuing to transition to more digital books. We have a very transient population, and so this provides them with more access to books and stops our issue of books often being lost. Our readership of digital books has gone up over 100% and our print readership is up 10% over the past year.