October is an important month, especially in the library! There are so many fun things that happen in the library, such as raffles, new incoming books, a new genre section, and much more! Each month, the sweet and welcoming librarian, Mrs. Di Geronimo, creates a monthly newsletter, displays posters, and tries her best to let others know what is going on in the library. To spread the word, the Clarion felt it was important to let students know what October in the library will look like, so the Clarion interviewed the school librarian, Mrs. Di Geronimo.
The Clarion first asked Mrs. Di Geronimo, “What are different halloween or autumn activities that are happening in the library?” Mrs. Di Geronimo informed us and stated that there was a raffle that the library does. What the raffle includes is giving a ticket to each student every time they take a book. So when the time comes, they will put in their tickets and raffle the bucket, giving the option for students to win prizes, making the library a fun learning space, while also having exciting activities.
While on the topic, the Clarion then asked Mrs. Di Geronimo “What books are available that are related to the theme of autumn or halloween? What books are popular during October that students enjoy?” Mrs. Di Geronimo informed us and said that she provides a horror genre section in the library that will display spooky stories, murder mystery books, mystery books and more! Mrs. Di Geronimo also informed us that students have really fancied the series A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and any novel from the author, Stephen King.
Even though October is known for its spooky season, there are also other events that are happening, such as the continuation of Hispanic Heritage Month, Diwali Indian Festival, Indigenous Peoples Day, Italian Heritage Month and more! In the library, these events are mentioned around the room. Specifically, in the library, there is a section all about Hispanic Heritage Month! To hear all about Hispanic Heritage Month at the Hawthorne High School, students can see the section of hispanic related topics, in the library. It provides a poster with Hispanic countries and books, such as How the Garcia Girls got their accents by Julia Alvarez, 100 Hispanic Americans Who Changed American History, and Latino Cuisine and Its Influence on American Foods by Dr. Jose E. Limon. There are more ways to hear about Hispanic Heritage Month in the school because there are digital monitors in hallways, spoken on the morning announcements, and the library talks about events, such as this, on social platforms, specifically, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
For Italian Heritage month, they have similar things up, and similar ways to spread the information. Some Italian books relating Italian authors, characters, culture, food, art and more. These include Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan and more. These books, and more, are currently available in the library and are waiting to be read! Upcoming sections in the library will be banned books week. Soon, the library will be putting up a large collection of banned books, available to students to look through and read! Since week of respect is also on its way, Mrs. Di Geronimo will be working with guidance to help spread awareness about the week of respect!
As clearly seen, the library provides information on plenty of topics and cultures. The Clarion was only able to mention and briefly talk about some events going on in the library in October, however, there is so much more that the Clarion encourages students to go check it out for themselves! Mrs. Di Geronimo thankfully let us interview her and helped further spread the awareness of the library’s books and activities, stating “A library is a place for awareness.” If you’d like to help the library, take some time to go and help out because the library needs crew members, especially when months are switched! Students can go help out anytime they would like! The Clarion thanks Mrs. Di Geronimo, and heavily encourages students to check out the Hawthorne High School library!