Mrs. Anne Bainbridge, Library

I have been teaching since 1975 when I started teaching eighth grade at St. Ignatius School. In 1982 I moved to St. Athanasius and began teaching fifth grade. For most of that time I taught language arts and social studies. In 1999, I began working in the library while earning my degree as a library media specialist. Since then I have had the pleasure of developing and implementing a library and research skills program here at St. Athanasius.

I earned my bachelor’s degree to teach German and history to grades 7-12 from the University of Louisville. In 1984, I earned my master’s degree with an endorsement as a reading specialist. In 1989 I added an endorsement in social studies, grades 5-8. Finally, in 2001, I completed by sixth-year program at Spalding University to earn my professional certificate as a school media librarian, all grades.

I am an active member of national, state, and local librarian organizations and regularly attend conferences and workshops to keep up-to-date and to improve my skills as a school librarian. I have served on the board of the Jefferson County School Media Association and the Kentucky School Media Association, as well as presented at the state librarians conference several times. I have been named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers twice.

As a teacher, I have always felt that the most important thing a student can learn is the ability to reason logically and think creatively. This carries over to my librarianship where one of my roles is to help children learn how to research. As a librarian, one of my most important goals is to expose children to the pleasures of reading a variety of books. Sponsoring book clubs and collaborating with classroom teachers on projects are two means of accomplishing these goals. I also am the I-SAFE coordinator at St. Athanasius. I-SAFE is an Internet safety program sponsored by the US Dept. of Justice.

In the library I am responsible for helping the students check out books to read for pleasure and for research. I read to every class and I teach research and library skills. Although I do not give a separate library grade, I do collaborate with classroom teachers on projects, parts of which I evaluate. As librarian, I have tried to make the library an attractive place to come. The first grade of 2002-2003 created a weaving as part of a unit on Tomie dePaola which hangs in the library too. The library has also been automated since my tenure as librarian, making library materials more accessible to students and teachers. Computers have been added to the library allowing for lessons on and the use of CD-ROM reference materials and the Internet in research.

Born and raised in Louisville, KY, I was one of eleven children. I am married to my wonderful husband since 1976 and have two children, a boy and a girl, of whom I am very proud. I am active in my parish in a number of ways including lectoring on Sundays. I enjoy reading, biking, hiking, and camping in my spare time.