Why School Libraries Matter: Insights from Williamston’s New Librarian

In the latest episode of the Hornet Hive podcast, Dr. Christopher Lewis introduces listeners to one of Williamston Community Schools’ newest and most passionate staff members: Alexis Thune, the new elementary librarian. This engaging conversation provides a unique window into the crucial role school libraries play in shaping young minds, fostering creativity, and building community.

Alexis, who moved from Iowa in 2019 when her husband began graduate studies at Michigan State University, brings both teaching experience and heartfelt enthusiasm for books to Williamston. She shares how her love for literature and libraries guided her back to education, describing the new librarian position as her “dream job.” Alexis’s genuine excitement to help children discover the joy of reading shines throughout the episode.

One main theme is the importance of libraries as spaces of exploration and imagination. Alexis notes that “these kids are getting free books to read. They don’t have to pay a thing for them,” underscoring the library’s unique ability to expand students’ worlds at no cost. She passionately defends libraries as “one of our best assets as a society,” offering children the chance to discover stories and perspectives that both reflect their own experiences and introduce them to new ways of thinking.

Another central point is Alexis’s personalized approach to motivating students—by getting to know their interests and connecting them with the perfect book, whether it’s Minecraft guides or stories about axolotls. She emphasizes the value of creating a welcoming, safe space where every child feels confident to explore new ideas.

The episode also explores how technology is reshaping the library experience. Alexis highlights the importance of e-readers, audiobooks, and even closed captioning as new ways for children to engage with reading and the written word, reflecting the dynamic, evolving nature of modern school libraries.

Collaboration also takes center stage, with Alexis expressing her readiness to work closely with teachers and parents. She invites families to ask their children about the books they’re reading and to get involved as library volunteers—a tradition she’s eager to continue.

If you’re passionate about education, literacy, or community, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in to learn more about Alexis Thune’s vision and the transformative power of the elementary library. Her excitement is infectious, and her message is clear: together, we can inspire the next generation to love reading and learning.

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:20]:
Welcome back to the Hornet Hive. I'm your host, Dr. Christopher Lewis, one of the members of the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education. Really excited to have you with us this week. As always, I thoroughly enjoy having an opportunity to talk to you about the amazing things that are happening in our schools. And as a part of that, I love being able to introduce you to the staff behind the scenes, the people that are working with our kids on a daily basis, because I know not everyone in our school district you will have had a chance to meet, and that includes some of our newest staff that have joined the district. And today I've got another great guest with us. Alexis Tuney is with us today.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:00]:
And Alexis is our brand new elementary librarian. And for many of you who have had kids in the elementary schools, I am sure that one of the high points of their week is an opportunity to go to the library to get books, to be really engaged with reading. And Alexis is our new person that's going to be leading the charge and working with our kids in that way. So I'm really excited to have her here today and to introduce her to you and for you to get to know her a little bit better. Alexis, thanks so much for being here today.

Alexis Thune [00:01:33]:
Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:35]:
It is my pleasure having you here today. And I guess first and foremost, I really want to turn it over to you for you to tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you to education and specifically what brought you to this role as a librarian.

Alexis Thune [00:01:48]:
So fun fact about me, I'm actually originally from Iowa. My husband and I moved to the Michigan area in 2019. He's going to grad school at MSU, so we're staying for that here. And then I just really fell in love with teaching. It's what I originally went to school for. I changed majors a bunch of times and then, ironically enough, ended up back in teaching. I've got a bit of experience teaching art in second grade, but my true passion has always lied with the books. I've always loved the library myself.

Alexis Thune [00:02:16]:
I'm a bit of a bookworm, so getting to have that opportunity really to provide that for the kids is really kind of my dream job. Not to be too corny about it, but it just, it makes my heart so happy to see kids love books the way I grew up loving books.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:28]:
So in looking at this position, I know you said your husband's at Michigan State right now, what excited you most about joining our school in our community.

Alexis Thune [00:02:37]:
We step through the doors of the school and it is so welcoming. Everybody here is just so kind and inviting. It's that sense of the environment that just feels open, it feels welcoming. I can tell the kids are going to be very, very happy here just based on how happy I've been here so far. You know, it's just a very, very welcoming environment.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:55]:
So talk to me about. You said that you loved being in the library yourself. You love books. Why do you believe that school libraries are so important in a student's educational journey?

Alexis Thune [00:03:05]:
I have always been a huge defender of libraries. I think they are one of our best assets as a society. In schools and just the general public. These kids are getting free books to read. They don't have to pay a thing for them. And it is really a great way for them to be imaginative and be creative. Expanding their worlds, getting to see characters that look like them or maybe don't look like them. Really an opportunity for them to experience all these really amazing things.

Alexis Thune [00:03:27]:
And again for free. It doesn't cost them a thing to get to grow their brains and really explore their interests. What they like, what they might find out they don't like. And that's just really exciting for me to watch them explore themselves in that way.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:39]:
So talk to me about your personal connection to reading. Do you have a favorite book from childhood or from another age that you're hoping to share with kids?

Alexis Thune [00:03:47]:
I was a huge Harry Potter kid growing up. You know, I read all the books by the time I think I was 12. So I definitely would love to connect with the kids about that. I was also a big fan of like the Percy Jackson series, a big fan of Rick Riordan and currently reading some more adult content. You know, the Acotar series which you know, can't really bond with the kids over that. But that is my, my latest book series here. But yeah, I also going back even further, I love the Junie B. Jones series.

Alexis Thune [00:04:11]:
Those were my go to as an elementary student. So I'm really hoping to bond with the kids over shorter stories like that or bigger stories like the Harry Potter series.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:04:18]:
Now moving into this new role, you have an opportunity to really foster that love of reading. So what do you do? What do you do to foster a love of reading in students? For students of all ages and abilities.

Alexis Thune [00:04:30]:
I think it really down to getting to know the kids. Once you find out their interests, you can find a book that pertains to it. Maybe this kid really loves Minecraft so we have Minecraft books for them. Or maybe this other kid really loves Axolotls. We have a ton of books on axolotls. I think it comes down to finding out what sparks them. What might they want to learn about or what have they learned about and what more about. We're connecting.

Alexis Thune [00:04:50]:
Oh, I know you like this. This is similar. Maybe we can keep branching you out into things.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:04:55]:
Now, I know that you're early on in your tenure in the school district. As you think about this year, what is your vision for the library? This beyond.

Alexis Thune [00:05:03]:
I want to really incorporate it into that welcoming environment that this whole school has. I want kids to be able to feel like they can come in and find those books that interest them. I want them to be welcomed here and feel like they can come up and ask me anything when trying to figure out what they want to read. I really want to be able to give them that space that they feel safe and they feel confident in finding things to expand their knowledge.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:05:23]:
Technology has become a much larger component to the lives of all of our kids and our families. How do you see technology playing a role in the modern school library?

Alexis Thune [00:05:33]:
I mean, there's no getting around it. The printed words is absolutely a necessity, but incorporating it into technology is just as vital. Things like Kindles and E readers, those are very imperative. I have one myself, and it's a good way to also have reading while incorporating it into technology. I know things like audiobooks and things such as that are also great use of technology. Even having like closed captionings on shows or movies for kids, it still incorporates that essence of reading while they're watching something. Anywhere you can really touch that reading aspect in technology is so vital right now in our society.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:06:07]:
This position is going to be integral to working with teachers and working with others across the school. How do you plan to collaborate with teachers and support classroom learning, especially being.

Alexis Thune [00:06:18]:
You know, the new face on the block? I'm definitely open to any and all advice and input the teachers have. They'll obviously know their students best. They see them every single day. So really, really being able to listen and figure out, okay, what works best for this class may not work best for another. So really hearing each individual teacher and taking note of what they're noticing and maybe what I'm noticing in the library and talking, I think listening to each other is a rarity nowadays. So really coming in and being open and willing to listen to these teachers who know their students is going to be really essential.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:06:48]:
Families are also really critical for that continuity of reading from school to home. What can families do to help foster a reading culture at home?

Alexis Thune [00:06:59]:
Kids will get to bring these books home. Checking and seeing like, hey, what book did you get from the library this week? Even as going as far as hey, do you want to read the book together? Or asking about the books that they know their students are interested in, like, hey, did you finish a chapter of such and such book? Just really taking an interest. Kids really reflect what their parents are paying attention to. So if they can pay attention to their students reading and make that an integral part of their home life, it makes it even better in the school life as well.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:25]:
And are there ways that parents can get involved with the library at the elementary school and or support its programs in any way?

Alexis Thune [00:07:34]:
Yes. My predecessor has told me all about our wonderful parent volunteers, so I'd love to continue that program. We will be sending out information to the families about that and how they can sign up. We're always looking about volunteers with, you know, just day to day things as well as the book fairs and the sales and things we have. So keeping those volunteers and keeping the connections with the parents is going to be a huge help to myself and to just connecting with people.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:56]:
Now a couple of fun questions. If students asked for a book recommendation, what's one title that you love that you would suggest?

Alexis Thune [00:08:05]:
The Magic Treehouse series is a great one for any level reader. You know, kids just getting into reading or maybe kids who are that higher level can look deeper into the text. I think that's a really, really well rounded series that can really has a lot of different avenues kids can get interested in. Again, that Junie B. Jones series is also a great one I think a lot of kids can relate to. For some of our higher readers, there's like the Aragon series, there's Harry Potter. So really just depending on the child, I would love to get them interested in fantastical worlds or even just the more realistic depending on their interests.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:34]:
What's something students might be surprised to learn about you?

Alexis Thune [00:08:37]:
You know, I think they will be shocked to find out that a lot of them are probably taller than me. As 5 foot 2, I come to figure out which kids are getting that growth spurt ahead of me. But they also might be shocked to find out that I am from Iowa. You know, it might expand them. Okay, not everybody is from the same town as you or the same state as you. So it's kind of fun to meet people from new places.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:55]:
Now you talked about some of the authors that you love. If you could have lunch with any author, living or not, who would it be and why?

Alexis Thune [00:09:02]:
I think Tolkien would be a great one just based on his writings. I think it would be a very long lunch, but I think it would be a fantastic one to get to know him and just pick his brain about his series.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:09:13]:
Finally today, what message would you like to share with our students, family and staff as you start this new year together?

Alexis Thune [00:09:20]:
Just a huge thank you to inviting me into the school. I'm very excited to meet everybody and get to know the families and the students. I'm just really looking forward to this year and getting into the system and getting to know everybody.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:09:31]:
Well Alexis, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for all that you are going to do to engage our kids in so many different ways with the love of reading, with the love of books and I completely, completely encourage you and send you all the good wishes as you start the brand new year and wish you all the best.

Alexis Thune [00:09:51]:
Thank you so much again. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.