Washougal librarians share their love of reading with students

A passion for books

Contributed photo
Washougal elementary school librarians are happiest when surrounded by books.  They are (back row, left to right): Marlene Leifsen and Tammy Asbjornsen, (front row, left to right): Holly Vonderohe and Kathy Stanton.

Contributed photo Washougal elementary school librarians are happiest when surrounded by books. They are (back row, left to right): Marlene Leifsen and Tammy Asbjornsen, (front row, left to right): Holly Vonderohe and Kathy Stanton. Rene Carroll

A Chinese proverb says that ‘A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.’

And planting those love-of-reading seeds is the goal of librarians at Washougal elementary schools.

Recently, they got together in a Professional Learning Community meeting to discuss streamlining teacher book needs to support common core curriculum, managing and maintaining the volumes of books on their shelves, the emergence of e-books and e-readers, and ways to engage young students while nurturing a love of books and reading.

Marlene Leifsen, Gause Elementary librarian, has always loved books. When her young children became school-aged, she found work at the Washougal High School library so their schedules would align. That was nearly 30 years ago.

For more of this story, see the Camas-Washougal Post-Record print edition.