Fostering a love of learning here and abroad

On Monday, October 28, our librarian, Mrs. Susan Zhang, presented at the annual International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) conference which has taken place since 1972 and invites librarians from around the world to encourage the development of libraries, their resources and programs for schools, and to support international literacy. This year’s conference centered the panel discussion on exploring the experiences of international students enrolled in online USA-based Library and Information Science (LIS) programs. “Library and Information Science is a program for librarians, and it has a graduate study program,” says Mrs. Zhang

Mrs. Zhang shares she received a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics in English from Hebei Polytechnic University and recently received a Master’s degree in Education Specialist from the LIS program at the University of Central Missouri. Mrs. Zhang’s final thesis researched the impact of Accelerated Reader on English Language Learners. Her research was published in the IASL July 2023 Newsletter, and she shared with nearly 130 conference attendees the benefits and challenges behind earning her degree, and said that by sharing, she could inspire future librarians to apply to the LIS program. “A lot of things encouraged me to keep my study,” she says, “and I feel like this is a great experience to show around my librarian groups, like maybe, ‘my today is your future’.”

Alongside Mrs. Zhang on the panel were speakers from the U.S.A. and Israel who shared about the development of their school library programs and the efforts they have taken to increase and maintain a love of reading amidst youths. A few of the tactics were putting on events for holidays, applying for grants to join the conference, or gathering resources by conversing with librarians around the world.

At our school, Mrs. Zhang says she’s grateful for our administrative team’s support as she has worked to develop an annual schedule of library activities, including this week’s book fair, the upcoming March Reading Madness, and our summer reading program. Amidst our LifePlus schools, she has worked with our district’s librarians to organize the LifePlus Kids’ Reading Competition for middle school students. “I do have a passion for middle school students, to keep them reading and then, keep them interested in and focused on books,” she says.

Mrs. Zhang has been with our school for 16 years and says her favorite part of being our librarian is “being the window for the school, and I can meet different people and share my reading and also recommend books and resources.” She says it’s fun to see students grow in their reading. “I really, really want to create a fostering of a love of reading and resource-reaching environments of our school, and for all the students, teachers, and for our community.”

Thank you, Mrs. Zhang, for working tirelessly to support the knowledge of our students and a passion for reading.