{"id":10705,"date":"2013-02-25T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T13:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=10705"},"modified":"2019-01-14T10:17:03","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T16:17:03","slug":"caitlin-gerrity-success-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=10705","title":{"rendered":"Caitlin Gerrity …Success Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee\/interviewees’ positions<\/span><\/h2>\n

All Jobs<\/span><\/b> for INALJ can be found here: https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=1441<\/a> Updated daily
\nNaomi House\u2019s interview with success story Caitlin.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"caitling\"<\/a>Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 How did you find your current job?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>The job was posted to PAREAP.com<\/a> — a site for Pennsylvania Teaching Jobs. Ironically, I had observed at the very school where I’ve been hired about a year and a half prior while completing the education courses for my degree. I had met the principal who explained that he had arranged for me to observe with a reading teacher for the day since they didn’t have a functional library. Looking back, I had no reason to believe I would ever step foot in the school again, but it ended up being my first fulltime librarian position. It’s funny how things work out sometimes and just goes to show that professionalism and courtesy always pays off. The principal, after hiring me, told me that he had consulted with the reading teacher I observed with before making his decision–how serendipitous! I\u2019m very excited to be able to build this program from the ground up. It’s going to be a challenge, but when you love what you do and have a great support system, it’s really more like an adventure!<\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite library you have been to?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>I have to say the Albright Memorial Library (http:\/\/www.lclshome.org\/albright\/<\/a>) in Scranton, PA because it\u2019s where I first fell in love with libraries–a beautiful early French renaissance building with oak, marble mosaic, and books for days. It’s the perfect spot to wander the shelves or curl up in a corner with a good book.<\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite book?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>It\u2019s nearly impossible to pick! I\u2019m enjoying Game of Thrones<\/em><\/a> at the moment; anything by Javier Marias<\/a>; Siddhartha<\/a>; The Passion Dream Book<\/em><\/a> by Whitney Otto. Being in the K-12 sector means I\u2019m all over the map. Lately, I\u2019m crazy about the Olivia<\/a> series by Ian Falconer. With children\u2019s literature, I always think it\u2019s really something to come across stories that can bring cross-generational delight. Olivia\u2019s got spunk you just have to admire. Also, in the way of children\u2019s lit, Pam Munoz Ryan\u2019s \u201cThe Dreamer<\/a>\u201d is a beautiful fictional biography merging magical realism with the poetry of Pablo Neruda.<\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite thing about libraries\/ library technology?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>Teachable moments! I so enjoy being able to teach the aspects of our career that may seem overwhelming and intimidating to others. All patrons need is a tiny bit of your time and patience to become an expert themselves. It’s so nice seeing the transition from “I don’t know how” to “I can do it on my own.”<\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>For aspiring school librarians, PAREAP<\/a> and School Spring<\/a> are wonderful. Both allow you to upload your resume, certification, etc. and apply right through the site. School spring will also allow you to customize your job search and email you when new positions that meet your criteria come available.<\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Best piece of job hunting advice?
\nCaitlin:\u00a0 <\/b>Build a support system in your field. While I was in grad school, I pursued an opportunity to work on a grant partnership between Drexel and the Institute of Museum and Library Science, which recruited, trained, and placed 10 teachers in library positions in the district. I got to know many librarians and joined their local professional organization, APSL, the Association of Philadelphia School Librarians. I also completed my student teaching under two wonderfully inspiring librarians in the School District. When I was offered this position, I knew it would be a huge challenge to be spearheading this process–between weeding, purchasing new materials, designing a more modern and inviting space, and automating the collection for the first time, I was bound to have some stumbling points. However, the network I had built as a grad student working with experienced and passionate members of the School District made me feel so much more comfortable and confident about my ability to succeed in this endeavor. The amazing mentors I’ve grown to know over the past two years have already started contributing donations to my new library.\u00a0 Successful librarians cannot function in isolation!\u00a0The most important thing I could recommend for anyone still in school or currently job searching is to reach out and make meaningful connections in your desired field.<\/p>\n

Caitlin Gerrity is the Library Media Specialist at Penn Treaty Middle School in Philadelphia. In this role, Caitlin will be working to rebuild the school library, which has been closed for about 10 years. She is passionate about creating a library space that fosters\u00a0lifelong learning, collaboration, and critical literacy skills while assisting teachers in their curriculum goals. <\/i><\/p>\n

Caitlin\u2019s professional interests include the school library\u2019s role in bridging the technology gap, increasing student achievement, and integrating critical literacy across the curriculum. She has previously interned for libraries at The University of Pennsylvania, The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Drexel University, and Moore College of Art & Design.<\/i><\/p>\n

Caitlin earned her MLIS at Drexel University<\/a> and her BAs in English and Communication from Temple University. She has been recognized as a Pennsylvania School Librarian Association 2013 Outstanding Student Librarian of the year.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee\/interviewees’ positions All Jobs for INALJ can be found here: https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=1441 Updated daily Naomi House\u2019s interview with success story Caitlin. Naomi:\u00a0 How did you find your current job? Caitlin:\u00a0 The job was posted to PAREAP.com — a…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,141],"tags":[3679,3692,5,3677,2116,1133,3686,3691,216,3681,3696,3685,3689,3687,3678,3693,820,506,3690,3680,3682,144,2906,3688,3695,3683,3694,3684],"class_list":["post-10705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-six","category-success-story","tag-albright-memorial-library","tag-association-of-philadelphia-school-librarians","tag-bio","tag-caitlin-gerrity","tag-drexel-university","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-ian-falconer","tag-institute-of-museum-and-library-science","tag-interviews","tag-javier-marias","tag-moore-college-of-art-and-design","tag-olivia","tag-pablo-neruda","tag-pam-munoz-ryan","tag-pareap-com","tag-penn-treaty-middle-school","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia-pennsylvania","tag-school-spring","tag-scranton-pennsylvania","tag-siddhartha","tag-success-story-2","tag-temple-university","tag-the-dreamer","tag-the-federal-reserve-bank-of-philadelphia","tag-the-passion-dream-book","tag-the-university-of-pennsylvania","tag-whitney-otto"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-2MF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}