While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to the high school library — students must arrange checking out library books and printing documents ahead of time by filling out a Google form, for example — none was more welcome than the addition of a new staff member.
Ms. Hannah Cole, the new Instructional Library Assistant started work this fall. Cole graduated from college in 2018 with degrees in English and journalism. After graduating, Cole worked for the News Wire Service and Elevator News Network, where she edited news, worked on social media, as well as brand copywriting.
Cole took part in two editorial journalism internships while in college.
“I wrote for a college lifestyle blog called Society. I also wrote for Parsimony Inspired, which is a wedding and bridal blog,” said Cole.
Due to the pandemic, Cole found herself unemployed. She applied to various jobs, and found herself considering what she wanted to do next.
“I found a lot of academic job postings. [I thought] why don’t I try something completely new. I love books and I love people and I think libraries are the best place to have those things.”
When the economy returns to normal, Cole believes that she may very well want to attend graduate school.
“If the economy picks back up, grad school would be awesome,” said Cole. “I’ve always wanted to go to grad school, but I didn’t know what for. This [working in the high school library] is a good way for me to get my feet wet and decide where I want to go.”
Library Teacher Ms. Amy Fiske feels that working with Cole has been a positive experience for the library.
“She brings this professional writing skill set that we have not had before. She is interested in and has experience with social media, which is something that we would like to improve,” said Fiske.
Cole most looks forward to working with students at the high school this year.
“It is kind of silly saying this because you can barely see any students, but working with students [is what I am most eager to do] because I am so used to working with clients and having to adapt to their corporate positions. I am really excited to work with students on a one on one basis eventually and help them love books as much as I do,” said Cole.