PLCS Insights: Q&A with SLS Supervisor Catherine Graybosch

What inspired you to pursue a career in school libraries and education? My passion for education and working with children has always been part of my life. Both of my parents are former educators and I grew up in a household that valued education.  At the beginning of my career, I was working in a preschool classroom and I was assigned to also work in their school library.  That work ignited my passion for school libraries and my love of sharing books and information through that venue.  I feel strongly that librarians are changing the world and I want to be a part of that world.  That led me to getting my masters in library and information sciences and becoming a school librarian for 10 years.  

 What excites you most about leading the School Library System at SWBOCES? I am most excited about building relationships with the librarians in all of the districts that are a part of SWBOCES.  Relationships are essential when it comes to librarianship and too often librarians work in a silo and do not get to establish those necessary relationships with each other.  I want to help build those relationships across districts and give librarians more support and collaboration that is vital to the success of libraries.  

How do you view the role of school librarians evolving in today’s education landscape? School librarians are the heart and soul of their schools.  They are the people who teachers and students flock to for important information, great books, research projects and more.  As today’s education landscape changes, school librarians are having to adjust in order to remain a vital part of the school community.  They are doing this in ways such as teaching digital and media literacy, collaborating with teachers, advocating for intellectual freedom and equity and more.  School librarians are at the forefront of the change in education and they will continue to do what is best to support their students and school community.  

What do you view as  the most significant opportunities and challenges for school librarians in the present and near term? The most significant opportunities lie in the collaboration between school librarians and the staff with which they work.  It is imperative that school librarians have those connections so that they are able to work with students and further their knowledge regarding not only reading materials but also digital literacy and media fluency.  Students need to know how to assess facts and data and determine what is “real” and what is not.  Librarians lead that work throughout the school.  That is also one of the biggest challenges for school librarians - the spread of misinformation.  This is something that is critical to the work of libraries and librarians are on the forefront of helping to stop this spread.  It is challenging work to say the least but school librarians are working diligently to ensure students are gathering reliable sources of information and learning how to be digitally literate.

What are your priorities for the SLS moving forward? Ensuring the use of technology in school libraries is an important priority for me as school librarians often bring new tools to teachers and help them incorporate them into their classrooms.  I believe school librarians also need to be constantly learning and growing with the use of AI in our world in order to better support students and teachers.  AI is an ever changing part of our world and it is imperative that school librarians are learning and growing with those changes.  

What opportunities does the School Library System provide for librarians and educators? The SLS offers a variety of opportunities for librarians and educators such as offers of professional learning, purchasing of materials/databases and sharing of information about new technology.  We are also trying to create more opportunities for librarians to visit each other’s libraries and make those connections between districts.  This is especially important for those librarians who are singletons in their schools or districts.  The more we can foster collaboration, the more school librarians can learn from each other and better their own libraries in the process.  

What’s one thing people might not know about you? One thing people might not know about me is I am a big disabilities advocate.  Having a son who has multiple disabilities has plunged me into a world that has helped me learn and grow into someone who believes in full inclusion and the idea that everyone can learn.  Often students with disabilities are on the fringe in their districts and pushed to more restrictive environments.  I believe the library is a wonderful place for inclusion and a space that can give equal access to all regardless of ability.