Jennifer Koch
About Me
I fell in love with my first book before I could read. It was a picture book that started, "A is for apple, all shiny and red," and I made my dad read it every night. Since then, my tastes have changed a lot, but my love for books hasn't. No matter where my career has taken me - from graphic design to teaching to editing, I've been drawn to the written word. I read, I write, I game, and now I spend my days introducing books to a new generation.
My undergraduate degree is in English, and I spent nine years teaching Language Arts and Literature to middle school students in Georgia. After moving to North Carolina, I worked as an editor from home so I could spend more time with my daughter, who was two at the time. When she entered elementary school, I began exploring my options for getting back into a school setting, and it wasn't long before I realized the library was the place for me. I received my master's degree in Library Science from East Carolina University, and I am a media coordinator at Knightdale High School of Collaborative Design, where I spend every day helping students find the resources they need to express themselves.
Personal Philosophy of Librarianship
When considering my role as a librarian, I often return to the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which guarantees - among other things - the protection of intellectual freedom, the challenging of censorship, and equitable access to resources and facilities. The ideas contained within this Bill of Rights are actually the concepts that first led me to become a librarian. I spent nine years as a classroom teacher in middle school, and my core values there ensured that I pushed my students to become researchers, to question the world around them, and to learn where to find answers or avenues to explore. I believe that knowing how to find information is more important than knowing the information itself, and I work to empower students and faculty to become more literate with both information and technology. Librarians offer a wide world to patrons, and they should fiercely guard and protect patrons' privacy and access to the resources they need. This naturally involves challenging censorship and protecting intellectual freedom. The librarian is also uniquely positioned to inspire a love of reading and learning, thereby promoting literacy and igniting a passion for knowledge.