Welcome to the LJHS Library!

Description: The activities in the library are centered around student needs... Learn More about the La Junta High School Library in this Article by Dineah Moreno...

Welcome to the Library!

By Dineah Moreno

Former president Barack Obama once said, “At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we can change their lives forever, for the better.” This idea is one that La Junta Junior/Senior High School librarian Jennifer Ritter takes quite seriously.

Ritter became the librarian because the position opened up here at LJHS, “and since I love books and reading and students and teaching, I felt it was a perfect fit.” She has taken some library courses online and continues to learn more to help her become an even better resource for students and staff.

I asked Ritter for book recommendations. She said she has read so many books that it is hard for her to choose just one book. The book she read most recently was called “The Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros. She recommends this book to readers of the high fantasy genre. She also really loved reading “Under the Whispering Door” by T.J. Klune and would highly recommend it as a very lovely story. However, she has many more recommendations if those don’t quite fit your kind of book genres.

The activities in the library are centered around student needs. Some of the varied activities that happen in the library include a library orientation for the junior high students at the beginning of the year, Hi-Teens club meetings, and after-school junior high Tiger Academic Center tutoring and work sessions. Students also use the back room with a green screen for making videos and recordings for their classes, the teachers’ book club often meets in the library, many seniors spend their free periods here, and of course, book recommendations and browsing, book borrowing, and monthly highlighted books are available. Ritter has also created and continues to maintain the library website at: https://sites.google.com/lajunta.k12.co.us/ljhslibrary/home to encourage students and teachers to use the library.

Ritter loves to help kids find books about subjects that interest them. She recommends that students browse our library catalog on the website and review different books. When students come in, she encourages them to look around at the book covers and different genres. If you would like to get into reading, Ritter guarantees you that she can help you find a place to start.

She would also love to start a student book club if that opportunity becomes available. The number of students in the library varies depending on what the teachers are assigning. If the teacher assigns book reports, for instance, Mrs. Ritter will have a large influx of students looking for books. Generally, she would estimate that she has at least 10-20 students every hour who use the library for studying or projects. Approximately 5-10 students come in to borrow and return books each day.

Ritter absolutely would love to get recommendations from students for book purchases. She already has some recommendations for our next school year and she is looking forward to receiving more from students before the order is placed. There is a place on her website for student recommendations.

Come and check out the library soon!

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