I recently reached a personal milestone as a middle school librarian. I published the 200th episode of a podcast called Books in the Middle, a bite-sized book talk series that strives to inspire students to read. Working with younger students has taught me there’s a small window of opportunity to cultivate an appetite for reading. That’s why I share my book talks with teachers, families and other librarians as other resources dwindle and pressure on educators gets greater.
I release a new episode every week, at a time when there’s a rising tide of misinformation, censorship and book bans. After a pandemic that forced many librarians, including me, into other roles, I’m back in my library, but others haven’t been as lucky. The last three years have certainly exacerbated the devaluation of the school library, but schools have been cutting their library budgets for years.
