Interview with Ms. Straub
By: Max Herman
Ms. Straub worked in public libraries for over 20 years before coming to join us here at EG. Previously she was the director of both North Kingstown Free and Ocean State libraries.
“I’m so happy to be here!” she said. When given the opportunity to join the school community just a couple weeks into the year she was ecstatic.
Many students have been down to the library already, looking for loaner chrome books or trying to troubleshoot problems, and Ms. Straub has been able to come to the rescue due to her many years working with technology before moving to administration. For many years she wanted to become a school librarian. She appreciates the opportunity to work with students, parents, and teachers to more directly affect the growth and learning of young adult readers and learners.
Ms. Straub is a self proclaimed “big reader.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Salem State University, the town where she is from, but to become a librarian she went to URI for her master’s in library and information studies in the year 2000. Many years later, to lay the groundwork for her longtime goal of becoming a school librarian, Ms. Straub went back to URI for a set of courses to become certified as a library media teacher.
She also feels that the rise of the internet has affected the world of research.
“It’s a little more wild west,” she explained, “You can’t just take for granted that the information you’re pulling up is decent…. That’s why we have a lot of database resources.”
In regards to how she hopes the student body will utilize the school library, she said “I am here to help.” Ms. Straub wants all to feel welcome in the library to study, ask for advice on a research project, and of course search for the perfect book.
Ms. Straub is also the advisor of the school book club which is currently reading the fantasy novel “Six of Crows” centered around a pack of thieves in the fictional land of Ketterdam. If you’re interested, why not come down to the library yourself and check it out.
