Teachers, parents, students and support staff have all adapted to many changes over the past few months. North East ISD librarians are no exception. Rachel McDevitt spent the weeks leading up to the start of a new school year wondering how she could offer help and support at LEE High School. McDevitt started her hunt for a solution by asking a question.
“At the beginning of the school year I launched a survey to try and figure out what kind of support I could offer our teachers,” said McDevitt. “Once I found out what they needed, I just jumped right in. That’s kind of the neat thing about being a librarian. You can play a different role every day.”
McDevitt transformed the LEE library into a distribution hub during technology pick-up and drop-off days. She also created professional development tutorials and hosted training sessions for teachers preparing for virtual learning.
“When I came back to campus, I offered to help with Zoom trainings for new teachers or whoever needs it,” said McDevitt. “It’s such a cliché, but this has been a total team effort. I think a lot of people have the idea that a librarian is someone who sits at a desk and checks out books all day. There’s so much more to it, especially in the digital age.”
Campus librarians offer support in so many different ways, from educating students on media literacy to providing tech support and most of all, nurturing a love of reading. Every NEISD librarian started the school year with a new set of challenges and obstacles to overcome. Each of them rose to the occasion and continue to find new ways to keep students and staff engaged online and in-person.
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