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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eva Emhoff, Student at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, on the Importance of School Libraries
3:13:45
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94 sec
Eva Emhoff, a student at LaGuardia High School, testifies about the significance of school libraries and librarians, sharing her personal experience of finding solace and connection in her school's library. She emphasizes how the library and the librarian, Miss Healy, positively impacted her social life and educational experience.
- The library provided a quiet, comfortable space for Eva during lunch periods when she struggled to find a place to eat
- Eva developed a strong bond with the school librarian, Miss Healy, who taught her about library systems and the Dewey Decimal system
- The library offered various benefits, including a free book section and opportunities for involvement in events like speaking at City Hall
High School Student
3:13:45
Hello.
3:13:46
My name is Eva Emhoff and I'm a student at LaGuardia High School.
3:13:49
I'm here to testify to the importance of libraries in schools.
3:13:52
To talk about the importance of libraries and librarians, I first have to talk about lunch.
3:13:57
I'm not a very social person.
3:13:58
If I'm in a room with people I don't know, chances are I'm not saying a single word.
3:14:02
Going into my sophomore year, I found myself in an odd social situation of not knowing where to eat lunch.
3:14:07
My friends hated going outside but I hated having to scavenge the school for ten minutes trying to find an empty quiet place for us to settle into.
3:14:15
So one day when I wandered into the school library and found everyone with headphones in and many people sitting alone, I figured it was a good escape for the forty minute period.
3:14:24
Through those forty minutes of me connecting with the library, I was also given the opportunity to bond with miss Healy, our amazing librarian.
3:14:32
From the small waves when I began entering to my finally asking if I can volunteer, something she quickly accepted and started with teaching me the combination of library systems we utilize, I knew miss Healy as someone who truly loves the Gordie community and our library.
3:14:46
I've never seen someone light up the way she did when teaching me Dewey Decimal and it made me so much more passionate about respecting the library and its contents.
3:14:54
This has only strengthened as time passed.
3:14:56
From this free book section that has saved my family hundreds from Barnes and Noble trips to opportunities that get me places such as City Hall, a librarian is someone who a librarian who cares is someone that can make the biggest change in schools.
3:15:09
Though over time my friends eventually began joining me and now in my junior year I spend time connecting with my friends in the cafeteria, I will never forget what public libraries have done for me.