The power of the library patron is supplied by the librarians who effectively manage and provide educational opportunities in thier libraries. Our libraries in and of themselves are simply buildings or rooms within them. While there is much knowledge and power in education held within the confines of our library walls, without the right leadership and coordination, our libraries are simply book shelves, computers, databases and nice sitting areas. Librarians like Wendy Grojean are the means to which the power of our libraries is distributed and effectively used to grow our education system.

Grojean is the IDEAS Room Coordinator and a Library Science Instructor in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The IDEAS room, thanks in large part to Grojean, is a state-of-the-art learning center and technological wonder within the newly-renovated Roskens College of Education.

Among her duties in the college are the coordination of events in the IDEAS Room, maintenance of a collection of educational resource materials for educators and future teachers, management of a staff of three student workers and four graduate assistants and the offering of various technology-related professional opportunities for faculty and staff.
She also teaches Library Science classes at the college, including one I've taken (and loved), Teaching and Learning in Digital Environments, in which students are made aware of and proficient in the latest technologies that will help them teach their future students.

Wendy is the epitome of success when it comes to the University, its teaching of educational courses and library science program, and the development of functional and educational tools for students and staff.

She received her Bachelor’s degree from UNO in Secondary Education-Language Arts  in December of 2001, her Master’s degree in Educational Administration and endorsement in Library Science from UNO in May of 2007 and will begin pursuing her Educational doctorate in the Fall of 2012 in Educational Administration from UNO.

After beginning her teaching career at Bellevue East High School in January 2002, she taught sophomore English and Creative Writing.  She was also the sponsor for the school’s literary magazine that published student writing and artwork. It was in that first semester of teaching where she says she "learned the most about myself as a teacher.

"It was a challenging, yet rewarding semester. After that first semester, I began teaching 9th grade English and remained at that grade level until I left Bellevue East to become an elementary school librarian." These first steps are important, as she will communicate to any future educator. Also, her journey is far from over. As Dr. Grojean, she will surely continue to impact the educational environment wherever she goes.

Her willingness to continue her education and professional resume is strong and evident by her constant movement and improvement through schools in the Omaha area. There is no doubt her career path has led her to UNO because she understands the importance of education and molding young teachers into the next great generation of educators.

Aside from her pride in her work and affect she has upon her college students, Grojean takes great pride in the fact that she is personable and always available for her students, saying she once had "over 500 individual students as a librarian and knew all of their names." That's a feat in and of itself.

What's inspiring about Grojean isn't just that she helped so many learn and participate in their academic careers, but her message about the importance of the library and the librarian. Libraries have been effected by the expansion of resource material via the Internet in recent years, but that hasn't lessened the library's effectiveness and willingness to further the growth of learners, according to Grojean.

In a recent L.A. Times article, the relevance and usefulness of the traditional library came under fire, but the message was still that the librarian is the core of the library and educational system in America. When presented with the article and asked for her thoughts, Grojean reinforced the idea that the library is still strong, still effective and even ahead of the curve when it comes to connecting the citizenry with library resources and educational information in general.

"Libraries are the constant in the ever-changing world of information and technology," Grojean says.

"People are still reading and gathering information-it’s just in a different format. Libraries have been experiencing changes in format throughout history and have adapted. In the most recent past it has been VHS or DVD, CD or cassette, etc. Formats are always changing and libraries will always be there to support the masses and to equalize access to these new formats and technologies. Newer isn’t always better or accessible to all."

With the ever-changing environment in which we learn and use our informational resources, Grojean says, "The use of the library and the job of the librarian are shifting to serve the needs of the patrons-just as the rest of the world is. The only difference is that libraries have been making these shifts and changes throughout history and have survived. Libraries will survive through this digital shift."

Take that, Bill Maher...

Grojean goes on to say about the importance of librarians: "Because information is so readily available and there is SO much to sift through, librarians are needed now, more than ever. With this 'information overload' librarians lead the charge in teaching patrons how to search effectively and to think critically about the resources that turn up on a Google search. Information literacy is a skill that all Internet users need to practice as they “Google” topics. Google is not the answer-it leads us to many answers and librarians are the ones who teach patrons how to get to the right answer. Without librarians to teach information literacy, there would be many children looking for tree octopuses or Velcro crops-and that is a scary thought."

Do you know what tree octopuses or Velcro-crops are? Check with your librarians. They know...

Grojean's experience, work and mission is clear: Libraries are important. Librarians are important. Education is important. That is what makes her so inspiring and instrumental in helping young educators in her college and that's the mentality they will carry them through their careers as a result of her efforts.

In summary of her critique on the suggested downfall or unimportance of libraries going forward, know this:

"Power isn’t held by the one with the device, but power is held by the one who can effectively analyze the information that the device is distributing." That is; librarians have the power to not only get you the information and technology you need, but are the ones who help you synthesize and use that knowledge to become more educated; thus, gaining the power that lies in the walls and halls of our libraries. Librarians are the ones who give this power to their patrons and that will never change, thanks to people like Wendy Grojean.

Thank you, Wendy Grojean. You inspire all your students (myself included) and your contributions will shape the future of education wherever they go.

*Make sure to check out the IDEAS Room's new Facebook page*