Virtual Tour Guide 

Four days after her school closed due to COVID-19, Amanda Jones, Teacher-Librarian at Live Oak Middle Library in Watson, LA, launched her first virtual trip for students and their families. To date, she’s completed 50 such trips, with topics ranging from the Renaissance and the Mars Perseverance Rover to Uganda and Nepal. “As a school librarian, I not only aid my students in the acquisition of print texts, but am a ‘wonder defender’ and ‘knowledge cultivator’ that helps them grow in the digital age,” she says.

Jones worked with teachers to make sure each trip met grade-level standards. She also organized virtual author chats and created parent resource boards with learning resources to help families coping with the pandemic isolation.

Demonstrating the drive that made her—along with Diane Mokuau from Molokai, HI—School Library Journal’s 2021 School Librarian of the Year, Jones also acts as a mentor on a large scale.

“I am passionate about freely sharing my knowledge,” she says. “I started a webinar series with my friend Heather White, and we have had educators and other librarians from over 15 countries and all 50 states attend.” The hashtag she uses for the events, #BetterTogether, makes her mission clear.

Lafayette School Librarian and mentee Kelsey Baudoin says, “We met through a Facebook group and she has volunteered repeatedly to mentor and assist me with various library projects. I could list one hundred things Amanda has done that are perfectly amazing…she is the most talented, hardworking, helpful, generous, and knowledgeable librarian I have ever met.”