Librarian Rachel Braun Instills a Love of Reading in LEAD Neely’s Bend Students
Read Across America Week, celebrated March 2-6, 2023, is a national celebration of the love and joy of reading! In honor of Read Across America, we’re spotlighting our media specialists across the network!
At LEAD, Neely’s Bend Media Specialist Rachel Braun sees the importance of reading year-round and knows first hand just how much one book can impact a person.
Braun always knew she wanted to work in education, but realized she wanted to become a librarian while reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean.
“I realized how special librarians can be and the impact they can have,” said Braun. “Being able to interact with every student in the school allows me to instill the love of reading and show students that reading can be more than just analyzing text and answering comprehension questions.”
Mystery has always been one of Braun’s favorite genres. Growing up, she read every single Nancy Drew book and would try to solve the mystery before she did.
“What I love most about reading is immersing myself in another world,” said Braun. 
Chris Van Allsburg, Pete Oswald, and Rick Riordan are a few of her favorite children’s/young adult authors that she recommends to students.
“My favorite part of my job is when students tell me they loved reading a book I recommended to them,” said Braun. “It makes my heart incredibly happy to know that I helped a student have a positive experience with reading. I also love seeing students recommend books to each other and getting to witness their excitement for someone else to read a book they really like.”
Braun shares that there are so many reasons why students deserve access to libraries, but the most important thing she says is that libraries provide students with an opportunity to learn for themselves.
“I firmly believe in the power of libraries and the support they provide to students,” she said. “I hope my students know that they matter and their stories deserve to be shared. I hope they find books and authors that showcase their culture, lifestyle, and families in a way that makes them feel seen. Most of all, I hope my students know that I will always protect their right to read.”
