My name is Sara Franks, and I am thrilled to take on the new role as non-public liaison on the KASL board! I am now in the middle of my sixth year working at Louisville Collegiate School as a librarian for middle and high school students, with the title of Learning Commons Librarian.  I grew up in Louisville and was inspired to become a librarian by my mother, who worked as a University of Louisville librarian for over 40 years. She loved her job, and it rubbed off on me!  

In Library school, I developed a passion for research.  I began my career in academic libraries in Philadelphia, where I worked for Saint Joseph’s University. Three years and several trips across the Atlantic later, my husband and I relocated to Belgium, which was a great adventure and changed the direction of my life.  There, I began working as a librarian for an international school as a Middle and High School Librarian, and fell in love with being part of a smaller community and serving younger students. I started to thrive on the fresh energy that middle and high school students bring to school, and I was excited to add the challenge of creating and preserving a reading culture to my already enthusiastic approach to research.  

When the Louisville Collegiate School position opened, I jumped at the chance to return to my hometown and continue the good work I had enjoyed in Belgium. I love my job, and have served in numerous roles for the school, including chairing a committee on Digital Citizenship, teaching a coding course, coordinating a research program called the Guild for juniors and seniors, and seeing our programs through the plans of relocating to a new, beautiful Learning Commons building.

Being an independent school librarian affords me considerable freedom in my own organization, but as the only librarian on campus, my position can also feel lonely, and I know I would benefit from having a larger network of support. One of my major goals in taking on this role is to lay the foundation for creating a real, meaningful community of non-public school librarians in Kentucky. Voicing concerns and triumphs, celebrating each other and learning from each other – these things can add so much value to what we’re already doing!  

If you have ideas, suggestions, or just want to reach out to start building bridges, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at sfranks @ louisvillecollegiate.org

I hope to see many of you at KASL events this year, and beyond!