Capital Region BOCES partnered with Hamilton Fulton Montgomery BOCES (HFM), Questar III BOCES and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES (WSWHE) to host a Communication Coordinators meeting that focused on wellness and self-care for school librarians.
The event, “The Resilient Library: Navigating Challenges and Building Futures,” was held as part of a routine meeting for librarians with the state School Library System (SLS). As liaisons between the SLS and school districts, Communication Coordinators meet four times a year to share updates, discuss district needs, and for networking and professional development opportunities.
The event began with a screening of “The Librarians,” a documentary that chronicles the nation-wide struggle to protect the freedom to read amid censorship and surging book bans.
“It has been a stressful few years to be a librarian,” said Annie Gersztoff, Capital Region BOCES Library and Arts program manager. “As school librarians, our profession—much like journalism right now—is under attack. It feels like we are fighting for our right to exist.”
Although not to the scale of what happened in states like Texas, she said that librarians across the Capital Region have experienced censorship in some capacity.
After the film, attendees were encouraged to share their reactions, which varied from anger, to sadness and optimism. Most librarians in the room shared similar sentiments, with comments like “none of the people in the documentary thought it would be them,” and “I don’t want you to look at this and feel doomed.”
Becky Jones, a librarian at Shaker High School in North Colonie Central School District, said “I’m not angry, because I don’t have the energy to be angry, but I like that we can all be here and meet,” whereas the political climate in some environments might discourage librarians from openly expressing their concerns.
Maureen Squier, director of SLS at Questar III BOCES, said events like this help librarians build networks of support.
“Look around the room—we’re all here. Make it a point to connect with someone you can reach out to. We have to be in this together,” she said to attendees during a breakout session.
The event also consisted of restorative sessions that offered the librarians tips for prioritizing self-care during turbulent times and wellness tools to help them thrive. They discussed the impacts of trauma on human development, and ways they can help to foster a culture of wellness at their schools.
Perhaps the most important message of the day was to all librarians who are facing challenges on the job; that they are not on an island alone.
“Oftentimes, librarians are the only ones in their building or even in their districts, so to help build up a group of people they can turn to is really important,” said Squier about the event. “And to know that if they have a situation they’re in, there may be others who have either been in that situation or are in the same situation can give them a sense of comradery.”