THE ECHO

By Jerica Bernfield // Reporter

As schedules for next year are being finalized, more and more classes are being introduced as those half semesters need filled. One of the classes to check out is Library Media.

Librarian Wendy Kovach teaches the class, which students take for one semester. She said it’s geared toward students who have an interest in working in the library in the future.

“Library Media class is a way for students to learn about all sorts of aspects of the library and to see if they might be interested in pursuing that after high school,” Kovach said.

Work within the class consists of shelfing books, keeping the library tidy, silent sustained reading, and doing projects. Students are able to assist classes who come in, help others find books, and manage the library as needed. There are also projects — along with a pathfinder they create, they also have book projects.

“Students have to read two full books and the first book they read has to be a book in the library,” Kovach said. “They can either create a Book Tok where they advertise their book, they could do a Tik Tok that advertises their book, or they can make a movie trailer that advertises the book.”

Kovach said students learn presentation, researching, and management skills. Library media prepares students for careers like public or school librarians, library sciences, and academic librarians.

“I think it gives kids a look into the different components of being a teacher librarian,” Kovach said. “But there’s a lot of things that go beyond, behind the scenes like creating and pulling research and selecting books that students will want to read and figuring out ways to get kids excited about reading.”

As students are learning about what they want to do after high school, it’s important to keep minds open for all the possibilities. Library media is another way for students to try new things, see if librarian is an occupation they’d want to pursue, and to see learn part of the inner workings of the school.

If you have an open semester and are looking for a new class to try, talk to your counselor about Library Media.