Sue Whitney: 'I just wanted to share my love of books and reading'
Sue Whitney
Library Assistant
Marshall Elementary School
Marshall Elementary School library assistant Sue Whitney’s story is unique. She started her first day on the job the same day her twin boys began their first day of kindergarten. That was 11 years ago and now her twins are sophomores at Marina High School and she loves her job just as much as her first day of work.
“I always had a love of books and reading, and I just couldn't think of anything better to do than do that with other kids. I just wanted to share my love of books and reading,” she says.
She has the wonderful opportunity to see every single class every week. More than 20 classes in grades transitional kindergarten through 6th grade have a chance to visit the library at Marshall for 30 minutes.
“I do story time for 15 minutes and then students get to check out books," Whitney said.
Sue also opens the library during lunch to afford students the opportunity to read, check out additional books, play chess, participate in coding or just relax and get away from the playground.
“They (students) know that this is a safe and quiet place to be,” she says. “It also means so much to me because as a child I loved reading and I just want to foster that love of literacy and books in kids, as well.”
When asked what she loves most about Marshall Elementary School, she says, “I love the student population. I love the teachers I work with. The administration is amazing, and everybody looks out for everyone else.”
Sue takes pride in the work she does. When the seasons change or a holiday comes up, she displays books that are reflective of what is happening. She also ensures that she has books that cover all types of topics.
“I do try to curate the library so the topics and content are suitable for the grade levels we have at Marshall,” she says. Sue also receives guidance from her peers in library meetings.
April represents National School Library Month, National Library Week and National School Librarian Day and Sue believes that it is really important for children and students to have access to books.
“I know for a lot of our students at our school, this is the only library they go to. Having access to books and other materials is important. But to some students this is the only library that they know and the only place they are getting books,” she says.
She also is quick to acknowledge that all the librarians at MPUSD work hard and that they all are doing such a great job.
“Every single one of them is doing it because they love reading. They love books and they love the kids. That is key,” she states. MPUSD has a collaborative group of librarians, digital media assistants and library assistants that support each other. “It’s a great support group. Every librarian is very kind hearted and really just loves kids. That is why we are doing what we do.”
Sue graduated from the University of San Diego with her bachelors degree in English and Psychology. Shortly thereafter she started a graduate program at San Jose State University to pursue a Masters in Library Science. She paused her graduate studies to get married and have kids, but she may return to graduate school once her kids graduate high school. Outside of work, Sue can be found hiking in nature or supporting her three sons' Boys Scouts journey. One of her sons is an Eagle Scout and the other two are moving in that direction. She also loves music and attends concerts with her fiance or enjoys dining out with friends.