Once upon a time, many school libraries were guarded by fierce dragons. Students who dared enter at all scurried in, clutching their library books to their chests, and approached the circulation desk with dread in their hearts. One "Shusssshhhhh!" from the dragon would leave a blazing scorch on their heads. Tossing their books quickly into the book drop, they fled into the shelves, all the while casting nervous glances toward the dragon behind the desk who was engaged in applying ugly orange tape to the spines of the books stacked in front of her.
Okay, I exaggerate slightly.
My first school librarian, Mrs. Lippman, in Columbus, Georgia, was no dragon. She made me feel welcome from my first visit to the school library as a first-grader. She read Dr. Seuss stories to our class and introduced me to the Grinch. What I loved best about going to the library was choosing my own book. There are not many choices first-graders get to make on their own, and the opportunity to select what I would soon be learning to read was always thrilling.
But I know from having attended other schools that not all librarians were as welcoming as Mrs. Lippman. Some guarded their collection like treasure, which I can understand to a point because I too think books are invaluable. However, the generation of librarians I belong to realizes the value of the books comes from what they mean to our students. If you have a perfectly maintained book collection but no check-outs, I don't think you have a library.
I hope students and teachers who enter the library at BHL feel wlecome. We have worked hard to update the collection and to actually get those books in students' hands. You can help by returning library books whenever you find a stray one. And I promise a large pizza to the first student who ever hears me "Shussshhh!"
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