A Renewed & Updated Library at Alamosa Park Elementary

The library at Alamosa Park Elementary School has been undergoing an exciting transformation under the new Library Tech, Elizabeth Clemons.

Clemons has been at Alamosa since 2024 and has already revamped and reconfigured the library to both engage students and help them discover more of what it offers. She had previously volunteered in the library at Casita Center Elementary for a few years while her daughter attended.

“I fell in love with the library there, and I would go in every Friday while working as an office manager in a dental office. I've been raised by books myself, so I love books,” she smiles. “It was such a great match that the librarian there said, “You should probably quit your job and be a librarian. So that's kind of what I did!”

After substitute teaching in VUSD for a year, the Library Tech job came up at Alamosa, and Clemons knew it was the perfect fit. “I jumped on it. I'd subbed here, liked the staff whom I'd met, and heard the library needed some help.”

Designing an Inviting Space
She quickly got to work. “There were 10,000 books in the library,” she recalls. “But as I was going through the collection, getting ready for school to start, I realized how old a lot of them were.”

“There were great books on the shelves, both new and older, but they were all lost within the obsolete material, so kids weren’t even looking at them. My goal was to get kids interested in new things while also pulling out the hidden gems.

“I also got rid of outdated material, like science books that still list Pluto as a planet and say the Chargers are still from San Diego! All of it needed to be updated for our kids.”

Clemons also updated the décor with help from PTA funds. “I think I got a lot of people's attention by implementing this new plan, and they sensed things were going to be different,” she says.

Feedback from both students and parents was great. “One [parent] told Dr. Ruggles that their child has not stopped talking about the library and how cool it is!” she laughs.

Making The Library Easier to Search
In addition to students enjoying read-aloud times and checking out books, Clemons has focused on teaching them about how the library works and encouraged them to seek out books beyond familiar titles.

“I teach them how to navigate the library,” she explains. “A library should be discoverable and searchable - so you can walk in not knowing what you want, but then discover something that is maybe on display that catches your attention. It should also be searchable, so if you know what you want, you can find it.

“My ultimate goal for this library is for kids to be able to discover new things and to be able to find things they need, all while establishing a love for books.”

Every Child, Every Week
Every class from TK through fifth grade, plus two special ed classes at Alamosa, has a library lesson for half an hour a week, which consists of read-aloud time, activities, and checking out books depending on the grade level.

So beloved has Clemons become among students that for her recent birthday, a whole class of 4th graders gifted her individual birthday cards. “I was wearing a little birthday tiara my 10-year-old daughter insisted I wear because students get to wear one on their birthday,” she remembers. “The TK class was so excited and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. It was such an overwhelming feeling of being seen and loved.”

The appreciation extends beyond the students. “I have been extremely appreciative of the work that Mrs. Clemons has done in such a short period of time in the Alamosa Park library,” says Dr. Kyle Ruggles, Principal of Alamosa Park Elementary. “Mrs. Clemons is highly organized and works closely with our students, teachers, and community to transform the Alamosa Park library into a hub of learning for our students. It is an honor to have Mrs. Clemons as the Library Technician at Alamosa Park.”

Book Clubs and Non-Fiction Spotlights
One new initiative that will be launching soon is a book club for fifth-graders. The club is modeled after one that Clemons observed while volunteering at Casita. Participating 5th graders will be reading the three books nominated for the California Young Readers Medal and will vote on their favorite.

The student's books are funded by the community through Donors Choose. Students will discuss what they are reading during lunchtime meetings. Interest in the club has exceeded expectations and may necessitate hosting two groups to accommodate all of the young readers.

Clemons is also teaching fifth graders about the decimal system and how to navigate through the nonfiction section alphabetically. Prior to this, she says, there was such low circulation for non-fiction books that some titles hadn’t been checked out for 20 years.

“Now students are discovering non-fiction books on subjects like origami and sign language,” she says, “whereas before I think they thought non-fiction was only animal books.

“My role is all about opening up these new worlds to the kids, not just of the imagination with fiction, but non-fiction, too. It’s about much more than just reading them stories. It's been such a great experience and I love it.”