The crinkling and turning of a book’s page is what new librarian Michelle Wooding has always been surrounded by one way or another. She found comfort in books because it was a constant in her life, unlike her housing situation. Since her dad was in the army they were always moving around to different places.
“Being an army brat, traveling, and never really living anywhere for more than a couple years at a time, I have always turned to books,” Wooding said. “It’s almost like a safety blanket.”
Her love for books opened up a career path in literature for Wooding. Knowing Italian from her mother, she got an idea of what kind of job she’d want.
“I went to a language high school, so originally my dream job was to be either a translator for a politician,” Wooding said. “You know, people who travel to different countries, but then I met my husband and I was like, if I want to have a family, [constant traveling] is not really the best job for that.”
She eventually found a non-traveling translating job, but realized it wasn’t the best fit for her.
“I started with translating engineering dissertations, and I was like this is the most boring thing I’ve ever done,” Wooding said. “Teaching wasn’t originally my first choice.”
She obtained a literature degree and started working from there. She continued to teach English at LHS for 22 years.
“I definitely feel like this is my home and that if I did switch to a different role, that I really wanted it to still be here,” Wooding said. “I just feel comfortable, and I’ve made some really great relationships with colleagues.”
One of those relationships was with former librarian Lydia Campos, who had shared her plan to retire with Wooding last year.
“A light bulb went off in my head and I was like, wait a second, that’s my dream job,” Wooding said.
After all her years of teaching, she decided to take a step and make her dream of becoming a librarian come true.
“I had to go through the application process through the district office, just like anybody else,” Wooding said. “So I applied through their portal, and I want to say they interviewed me and four [other] people.”
While attempting to make this switch, Wooding contacted Digital Learning Specialist, Melissa Brayall, who works in the library.
“When Mrs. Campos decided that she was gonna retire, Mrs. Wooding reached out and said, hey, this is a transition I think I’d like to make,” Brayall said. “She started spending a lot of time up here towards the end of the year last year, just learning. It was really cool to see someone who was taking their own free time to come up to learn about something so that she could be prepared for next year.”
Wooding’s hard work paid off, as she is now the new librarian with this comes with lots of change.
“I love that it’s less stressful than teaching,” Wooding said. “The hours are longer, but if I don’t get something done today, I can just put it on my list for tomorrow. Whereas with teaching, it’s like you have to have your list and plans.”
After doing more research on the job, Wooding realized that she needed a specific degree which she didn’t have. She is now working towards obtaining it.
“Even though I have a master’s degree, I have to get a degree in library science,” Wooding said. “So now I’m back in grad school at Plymouth State. Taking grad classes and having a full-time job is a lot.”
As she continues to adjust to the change, she falls more in love with her new job.
“I feel like it was the best decision I ever made, not because I didn’t like being in the classroom, but I needed a change,” Wooding said. “And now every day, I am just so excited to come into work and it doesn’t really feel like work. I feel like I’m just coming in and doing fun things all day.”
