Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The moment Ms. Bommarito assumed leadership in July 2005; she made the
improvement of the libraries her top priority. As an avid reader who is not
shy about describing happy memories of her childhood spent primarily as the
school age pet of the librarians in the Culver City Public Library, she
understands how a library functions best for the benefit of the students,
teachers and parents. To accomplish her goals, Ms. Bommarito has spent
much money to decorate, outfit and retool the shelving in the elementary
library to facilitate access to books by students. In July 2007, she bravely
hired a second teacher librarian to work with students and teachers at the
elementary school. She commissioned gorgeous murals for the walls of both
the elementary and middle school libraries that reflect the admonition and
encouragement of our namesake, Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, to “Reach for the
Stars.” She has spent money above and beyond the wildest dreams of most
teacher librarians to fully stock both libraries with materials relevant to the
curriculum in use at the school, as well as encouraging the purchase of
materials to enhance reading for pleasure.
world of the school community. She is acutely aware that for many middle
school students, the library is their refuge from the society of the
playground at nutrition and lunch, and she supports the many activities that
we encourage during those times, above and beyond reading.
Ms. Bommarito believes that all libraries are the foundation of a civilized
society, and she is clearly aware that schools have an opportunity and, she
believes, a duty to maintain the highest standards in their libraries, so as to
add to the civilizing effects of schools on society at large. Daily, she “walks
the talk” and has impressed us all with her commitment to literacy. It is for
all the above reasons, that I am proud to nominate Mara Bommarito for the
LASLA Friend of the Library Award for 2008.
I whole heartedly concur with the above essay written by Ms. Bianchi and
lend my support to the nomination of Ms. Mara Bommarito for LASLA Friend
of the Library Award for 2008.