by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
In every Minnesota community, there's a library. And in every library, you will find workers dedicated to the betterment of their neighbor's lives. That's why the most important resource in a library is not its books, but the people who work there. Soon, Melissa Ward, currently an MLIS student at St. Catherine University, will be one of them.
Tell us one thing you've learned at St. Kate's about libraries that surprised you (for the better).
The first surprising thing I learned at St. Kate's about libraries is that there are so many different kinds. From archives and academic libraries to public and special libraries, they all have a unique role as centers of learning and engagement.
What made you want to become a librarian?
When I was really young, my father was a teacher and he was great friends with the school's librarian. Every week, he'd bring home armfuls of books, selected by Mr. Skrivanek, that my siblings and I would plow through. I think my interest in librarianship began way back then.
Can you share a story about how the library had a positive impact on your life, or the life of someone you know?
Like many (soon-to-be) librarians, I feel very much at home in a library. I have a lifetime of memories there, first as a child, then as a student, and finally as a parent. These days, when I open up a library book, I think about the dozens (or hundreds) of people who opened it before me. It's a collective, shared experience that is unique to the library and a reminder that learning unites us.
