A librarian plays a pivotal role in any child’s life, curating the selection of books in their libraries, organizing book fairs and making displays. District Librarian Amy Page has a slightly different role, working behind the scenes to support librarians across Eugene.
Page is the district librarian for the Eugene School District 4J, which includes most schools in Eugene. A district librarian has many jobs — consulting with the various schools, providing extra resources and providing support where needed throughout the district. In a district like 4J, where some schools still don’t have full-time librarians, this role is crucial.
“I kind of think of myself as somebody who’s trying to remove roadblocks for them and make their jobs easier,” Page said.
Page started out as a classroom teacher in Springfield before a library position opened up at her school. In that role, she navigated a whirlwind of back-to-back classes and prepared lessons on top of growing the library’s collection.
“It was very eye-opening because until you’re in this space and actually doing the work, you don’t really realize all that’s involved there,” Page said. “You’re planning lessons and doing all the kid stuff, but then you also have this huge space to develop and maintain and build a collection for.”
She began her role as the Eugene district librarian in January 2020, when 4J libraries looked much different than they do today, as schools relied on volunteers to work in the libraries. Although the pandemic threw a wrench into that system, it was an opportunity.
Page and her dedicated team of high school librarians worked with the district and built the program up. In the past few years, they have done just that — adding elementary school librarians to their team, among other incredible strides.
Page’s experience as a librarian gave her a valuable perspective on the job these librarians are going into and what they have to manage. It’s that perspective that puts her in a position to succeed.
“It takes a lot of getting to know the culture and the needs of the school and what they would really benefit from. You want books that will enhance that, so students can further their learning on particular topics that tie into the curriculum,” Page said, emphasizing the importance of the individual librarians in each school.
This hard work translates into tangible moments — seeing the transformation of libraries across the districts into places kids respond to and look forward to learning in. The beginning of this school year was one of those moments for Page, and she got to see her hard work pay off.
“When I held our back-to-school professional development, instead of just having four high school certified librarians and myself there, I had 18 certified librarians in the room,” Page said. “Knowing the work that they were going to be doing in these libraries — it’s just been so cool throughout this year to see the transformation and the care that’s been put in them.”
Despite the slow start, the district is putting countless resources towards the library program, supporting libraries and recognizing the value in them. At the end of the day, that investment pays off with kids responding to the libraries: requesting new books in a series, participating in events or even just getting excited about reading. The library program will continue to evolve — with Page at the helm of a hardworking team, it’s a guarantee.
