Librarian profiles
Meet Vallena Harris
Vallena Harris knew early on what she would do with her life.
"I made my career decision to become a librarian as a middle school student," says Harris, who has been a school librarian for 15 years at Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa, California, a K-8 independent school.
"I had plenty of time to learn about the profession and served on a young adult advisory committee for our library system during high school. I was mentored by three wonderful librarians during high school and college."
In turn, she has helped mentor a new generation of students. "The most rewarding part is engaging students in reading and encouraging them to become lifelong learners. It is a joy to see the excitement of students when they have the opportunity to meet well-known authors and illustrators such as Megan McDonald or Jules Pfeiffer or host a newly published author to learn about the writing process."
Harris worked previously as a medical librarian, library consultant, and public librarian. But she enjoys working with students, where she can "develop a long-term connection with my students as they grow and change."
In addition to reading to students and developing information skills lessons, her responsibilities include researching resources for specific study units, preparing presentations on how to locate reference materials for class projects, developing a departmental budget, and planning new programs and resources for the school curriculum.
