November 6, 2015 at 4:39 p.m.
Crescent library named in honor of first librarian
Crescent library named in honor of first librarian
A group of Crescent students gathered, along with district administrators and others, for a quiet, low-key dedication ceremony Thursday.
Sue Makris of the Hodag Schools Foundation told the children that the library has been named after White "because she loves libraries, she loves working with children."
"She was the librarian in this building for a long time," Makris noted. "She was my children's librarian many years ago."
Makris said the library is the first named space at an elementary school in the district and added that the naming has been in the works since this summer.
District superintendent Kelli Jacobi read a letter from White that detailed the history of the Crescent library.
According to the letter, when White's son was in kindergarten at Crescent in 1977, she was hired to be the librarian. There was just one problem, there was no library.
"There were a few books in each classroom, so we gathered those, ordered a few new books, and got busy putting pockets and borrower's cards in the books," White wrote.
With just a few bookcases, the library began to take shape and was ready for the first day of school that year.
White worked at Crescent for many years during her career as well as in the libraries of three other district schools.
The longtime librarian has written a children's book, "Touring Polka Dot Village," which she read to the group of children on hand for the library dedication. When she was done, she donated a signed copy of the book to the library.
"I want to thank Mrs. White for coming today, but also for all that hard work that took place so many years ago to make sure all of our kids had wonderful libraries," Jacobi said.
"Things sure have changed a lot since I was here," White told the children. "It's fantastic. We are really lucky to have this kind of facility here, all those books."
White said she still remembers when all the new books would come out and she would have to decide which ones to order for the library's collection. Her love for physical books remains unchanged today.
"When the books come out and they select the winning books, I still love to look at them. There's a lot of good stuff out there and I'm sure that you have a lot of them here," she said.
While she worked in other libraries during her career, White said she has always had a special affinity for the library at Crescent.
"This was the first one, and the only one where I was in on the beginning of setting it up," she said.
Developing a library at the school was important in 1977, she noted, because, in addition to teaching children how to read, books were the only way to research information back then.
"There were so many wonderful books for children and information, sets of encyclopedias and things like that. It's just important to have those things available. It was just fun getting it ready and having activities for the children," White said. "It was really well received, it was fun, and it was also heartwarming to accomplish something."
White said the new space at Crescent is four times bigger than the library space she had to work with back in 1977.
"It's just a wonderful thing for the children," she said. "And I think for the teachers, too. I think they appreciate having a place where they can come for information and ideas and activities for the children."
Ever the librarian, White was quick to point out that reading is one of the most important things students learn in school and it's something that carries over into adulthood. Even in the age of digital media, White said libraries are still the most important room in a school.
"I think holding a book in your hand is wonderful," she said. "I hope that there will always be a place for hard books in schools."
She said she was honored to have the library named after her.
"I certainly appreciate the naming of it," she added. "It looks good to me."
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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