Amanda Workman, Shorewood’s new librarian, from Parkwood Elementary brings her 17 years of experience to our school. She shared her thoughts on being a librarian and new faculty member.

How do you like being a librarian? Why did you become a librarian?

“I wanted to be a history teacher when I was younger and going to college because I loved history and I loved teaching, and when I was doing my student teaching in La Conner, Washington which is just north of here. I worked with the librarian on a lot of projects, and just loved the job and what she did, and so I went back to school to get my librarian degree because of teaching and also supporting the staff and being around books, which I love.”

How do you like Shorewood so far?

“[I do like it.] I think it’s a weird year because of COVID, but everyone has been incredibly supportive of some of the new things we have been doing. The students have been phenomenal, so welcoming, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Really good support from the administration as well, like Mr. Dunbar–whatever crazy thing I come up with, he’s like that sounds great!”

What does your day look like as the Shorewood librarian? What do you do?

“One of the coolest things is that it’s different every single day. So for example, today, this morning, I taught a class on how to access resources like the New York Times for Food and Nutrition, and yesterday I co-taught a class about hero arcs, and then book talked about comic books, like hero comic books. So it’s kind of everything. We do a little bit of technology. I read a paper today for a student, editing a paper as they were turning it in. We do a little bit of everything.”

What is one thing you would like students and staff to know about you?

“That our main job is to help and support staff and students. That we’re here for anything they might need even if it’s just a space. We are super friendly, and it’s definitely a safe space for everyone. Everyone’s welcome, even if they’re not big readers. We still like students to use our space.” 

Is there anything that makes the Shorewood library special or unique?

“We really specialize in getting the staff and students to love reading and to see that it’s such a fun escape and a necessary place and we really want to build a community around that.” 

Anything else you want to add?

“If students or staff have any ideas on how we could improve the library, what programs we could include or supplies or books that they want to see in the library, we are open to any and all suggestions.”