Stephanie Morin grew up in Evans and moved to North Augusta in 1995.
In 1997 she graduated from Augusta State University with a bachelors of science in middle school education. She then taught four years at Sego Middle School in Augusta before becoming a fifth-grade teacher at North Augusta Elementary School.
The past two years she has worked as the media specialist for the school, and will receive her masters in library science at the end of August from the University of South Carolina. The degree is required by the state to be a media specialist, she said.
There are many jobs a media specialist does besides just checking out books, she said. Morin's job includes keeping the school Web site, assisting teacher's with technology-related questions, heading up the book and library clubs, yearbook and in the 2009-2010 school year she will take over the Dolphin News television show.
Morin enjoys reading and developing her computer skills. She also enjoys walks on the Greeneway with her husband, Stephen, and taking pictures of nature.
Q: Why did you become a media specialist?
A: I've always enjoyed reading and it's something I always wanted to do. I always wanted to share that love of reading with children. I don't know what it is about books, but they kind of bring you at peace.
Q: What is the difference between a librarian and a media specialist?
A: It's the same. It's just the job of a librarian when technology came into play (changed so) they expanded the name to cover the technology side of it, but it really just means the same thing.
Q: Have you ever worked as a media specialist outside of the school system?
A: No. I can. With my degree I can work as a children's librarian in a public library.
Q: Is there a reason why you chose to work as a media specialist at an elementary school rather than middle or high school?
A: No, I got really lucky. It was this job happened at the right time in my life and I was in the fifth grade and I just slid right on over into this position. God was watching out for me. I know I was blessed with this job and I love this job and I'm not planning on giving it up unless they make me. I couldn't be happier.
Q: What is your favorite part of the job?
A: I love reading to the kids, storytelling, interacting with the kids. A skill that I have developed and developed quickly is telling a story and making it interesting. I think you have to have a little bit of drama in you to do it and I never thought I had any of that skill because I never did any theater or anything like that. Over the past two years I have learned that the more dramatic you are and the more into the book you are then (the more) the kids are going to be into it. Even if they are just making fun of you, they are still listening.
Q: What is the worst part of the job?
A: Being mean and having to tell a child that they cannot get a book because they haven't brought the books back. It just kills me, but they have to learn responsibility.
Q: What type of books do you prefer to read?
A: Just a variety. I like historical fiction. I took a class last year and it was young adult books and I was very surprised at the quality of reading. The reading material for that age group is really interesting. Some of the books I read that I really enjoyed were The Thirteenth Tale and The Book Thief .
Q: What was your favorite book growing up?
A: I didn't really have a favorite book growing up. I don't like to read a book twice, and I don't like to watch movies twice. I know that's why I don't have a favorite book or a favorite movie. I have favorite children's books I like to read to the kids: Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book , Why Epossumondas Has No Hair , Sweet Tooth and Big Chickens .
Q: How do you choose which books to have at the school?
A: I consult lots of lists. I look at award nominees; also the state of South Carolina has books that they put up for nominations. They are both fiction and non-fiction. First I look at those lists and then I'll look at reviews. We have a set of standards that we have to have a certain number of books in a certain age group. I do a lot of analysis to see what my ages of my books are and based upon that I'll go out and look for books that have been reviewed by professionals to see if they meet the standards and criteria that I am looking for. And then I pray I have money to buy those books.
Q: Has teaching how to use a library changed as technology has changed?
A: It has, historically speaking. A lot of my national standards I go by is teaching how to locate information, how to problem solve, how are you going to go about answering the questions that you need, and it's teaching students not just to find a book on a shelf but to find the best source to answer their question. Using computers of course is vital in today's society. We want quality sources from reputable people so I have to teach how to get onto a Web site, how to find a database, how to evaluate whether that information that Web site or database is providing you is correct, what to do with that information and how to properly cite it.
Reach Crystal Garcia at crystal.garcia@northaugustatoday.com.
