The library at César E. Chávez Elementary School in West Eugene is a carefully curated oasis for students — the stories lining the walls permeate the space and make you feel as though a thousand different worlds are at your fingertips, and the classical music playing overhead makes it easy to disappear into them.

The bookshelves that act as walls stand at waist height and the library sits right past the main office — so abruptly that you won’t notice there’s a library there until you’re standing in it. But librarian Martha Dyer makes it easy to forget those details as she maintains the library as a haven for learning and reading.

April is D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) Month in honor of “Beezus and Ramona” author Beverly Cleary’s birthday on April 12. Throughout the month, the holiday inspires people of all ages to make reading a priority in their lives. Elementary schools encourage this tradition, and it’s people like Dyer, who foster a love of reading in children, that lay the foundation for those habits.

Chávez Elementary just celebrated Read Across America in March — for Dr. Suess’ birthday — and also had their book fair.

“Practically every parent comes with their kids, and it was three straight hours of constant checking out, selling books with three registers and huge excitement,” Dyer said.

Along with fun events like those, the values of D.E.A.R. are baked into the curriculum of 4J, as they use a reading assessment called Walk to Read. This way of teaching is designed to meet kids where they are based on reading level and interest level. Where does Dyer come in? With reading encouragement and information literacy, despite a lack of widespread recognition.

“The library isn’t necessarily mentioned. We’re like the unicorns,” Dyer said. “We kind of don’t fit. And also our programs have been cut. So it’s almost like people don’t fit us in with how we’re part of reading skill building. We’re part of the reading programs, but it’s not as measurable.”

Dyer’s passion for teaching kids to read is palpable, but her job isn’t without setbacks. Perhaps the main struggle for any 4J librarian is the fact that elementary schools in the district didn’t have librarians just three years ago — although you wouldn’t be able to tell due to Dyer’s hard work.

“When I came, we had to weed, I think it was about 40 boxes of books from the 1980s,” Dyer said. “Not only were they old and shabby, but culturally not appropriate either.”

Dyer was part of a pilot program for librarians in the 4J elementary schools. Prior to this, the responsibilities were done by a part time teacher, who spent just 30 minutes a day checking in books and shelving them. Now, there are librarians in all of the elementary schools to rebuild that program.

4J librarians like Dyer are teaching students to build reading into their lives. As a catchphrase fitting for a librarian, Dyer emphasized that “reading is everywhere.”

She explained how librarians begin to develop those habits. “With the kinders, they start checking out books for the first time, and they’re so excited, you know? They’re not necessarily reading books yet, but we talk about reading by looking at the pictures.”

Dyer sat at a kid-sized wooden table spattered with picture books, and as she flipped through the pages she pointed out how much information a child can get by just looking at the illustrations.

“For me, the second graders and the third graders are the most curious, and they’re so excited to get books,” Dyer said. “Their interest in different topics is huge. It’s so sparked when they’re in second and third grade, and all you have to do is basically provide them with the access.”

What seems like a simple responsibility of a librarian — guiding kids toward the right book — can have effects that last a lifetime.

“I remember when I was a kid, my teacher did D.E.A.R. time, which at first, I wasn’t thrilled about,” Marcus Russell, a Eugene resident, said. “Then she suggested this really cool dinosaur book and it wasn’t so bad. If she hadn’t suggested that book, I definitely would not read as much as I do today.”

Through D.E.A.R. time and the work of dedicated educators like Dyer, the spark of curiosity in young readers is not only nurtured but celebrated — turning small moments like picking out a book or flipping through pictures into a foundation of lifelong habits. As Dyer says: reading is everywhere.