Michelle Scarborough couldn’t fool the students at Elbert County Primary School – even if she intended to pose as a secret “guest” reader at her library. “I dressed up as Darth Vader and read a cute little sweet book as an oxymoron,” she says. “They guessed who I was right off the bat. I believe it’s because they hear my voice so often.”
Scarborough, a library media specialist for 14 years, had a decade under her belt as a classroom teacher before that. She knows the city of Elberton – just outside of Athens, Georgia – and its small, surrounding communities well, especially since she serves as her school’s community liaison too. “It’s a quiet place, with a lot of fishing and outdoor recreation,” she says. “We are also called the Granite Capital of the World because our financial trade and business was in the granite industry. And we’re known for the Granite Bowl, which is a very large [district] football stadium, and all the seating is granite. It’s a cool place.”
Scarborough is known at her school for her creativity in getting students – the Bullfrogs – excited about the school library. “We’ve just had national Library Week, so we’ve been celebrating that with fun games,” she says. “I’ve trained a smart speaker to sound off buzzers and bells and applause and give out random prizes for students that come in to check out books.”
But Scarborough says nothing compares to the excitement generated by her book fairs. “It’s like a carnival or the fair that comes through your town with all the rides and the lights and the bells and the whistles,” she says. “They’re so excited and their eyes light up, and they just cannot wait to get in there to take a look at what’s in the book fair this time.”
For Scarborough, the fairs have recently gotten even more attention after she switched companies and chose Literati to provide the books, the fair’s theme, decorations, and all the other setup that she says makes the events so magical.
The book fair is like a carnival or the fair that comes through your town.
“I heard about Literati and just decided to take the leap and see what they’re about,” Scarborough says. “But, oh man, I was so nervous about going with a different book fair company because — you’ve been with the same outfit for so long and you get used to it. But when the fair came, it was amazing. The carts are wonderful, stocked with a wonderful collection and a big variety of literature.”
Scarborough says she especially likes the way Literati themes and decorations transform the library into another little world – like last year’s “Story Safari” with a giant arch of balloons patterned with leopard spots and other African animals, as well as animal masks for the kids and visiting parents. The fairs also include fun, online video previews with cartoons and fair guides that let students and parents get a good look at what will be available.
Finding titles for early readers has always been a challenge for Scarborough, so she says she appreciates Literati’s wide scope of selections for the younger students. The way Literati handles what Scarborough calls “junkie junk” – prevalent in other book fair companies – also appeals to her. “Our students are still able to get a cute pen and journal to write stories, because that’s what I encourage them to do.” But she says her focus remains encouraging the students to read. “They always get a really good book and Literati is always good value – a number of books that are $5 and under.”
“I’m a book lover and I wholeheartedly believe that reading makes you smart,” Scarborough says. “And I encourage our students on a daily basis to read as much as possible because you can learn so many things, expand your vocabulary, and grow in learning.”
She says the fairs bring out what she enjoys best about being a librarian – a slightly different role than a teacher. “As a classroom teacher, I was like their daytime mama, you know?” she says. “The teacher is a mother for a very large amount of hours in a student’s life. And so, I always mothered and helped take care of them and made sure they learned.” Now she says she’s proud to be like a grandmother that gets to invite the students into her world with the mission of using fun to encourage reading. “It’s a sweet spot,” she says.
Literati has made her spot as a librarian even sweeter, she says, and she feels like she has “grown with the company over the years.” “I’m in love with this company, and I’ve told all the media specialists in my county to take that leap and change over to Literati.”
