Her official title may have been youth services librarian, but to thousands of children, she was simply the library lady.
And now that she’s started a new job with the Okanagan Regional Library, Monica Gaucher has left behind some big shoes to fill. After 11 years at the Vernon branch, Gaucher has hung up her blue “jammies” emblazoned with silver stars and put away her felt puppets, to begin a new chapter as area librarian covering branches from Golden to Falkland.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Gaucher’s original plan as a student at the University of Regina was to be an elementary school teacher. But graduating with a bachelor of education in the ‘80s was no guarantee of a job in the classroom. The economy was bad and the only job she could find was at an independent school in Fort St. John, B.C.
After studying French in Quebec under a government grant, Gaucher found herself teaching core French at an elementary school in Swift Current, Sask.
“That was when I came to the realization that there were aspects I love about teaching, and others I didn’t like, so I was wrestling with it because I had spent all this time in university but hadn’t quite found my niche.”
Meanwhile, some upheaval in her personal life provided the impetus she needed to make a major change, which included leaving teaching behind.
“I didn’t know what I could do, but I moved to Saskatoon and applied for jobs all over the place, and the one I got was in the children’s department of the public library downtown, and once I started, I knew I had found my niche.
“And I was lucky that the staff realized my potential, and they encouraged me to go to library school.”
Gaucher earned her master’s of library science at the University of Alberta, where with her life-long interest in children’s books, she specialized in children’s literature.
She said those who pursue library science degrees have a wide range of specialities from which to choose, such as working in a law library, an academic library or a parliamentary library.
“One of my classmates works for an oil company in Calgary because everything has to be catalogued correctly, so there are many different avenues to go, but I chose public libraries and children’s literature.”
After time spent as area children’s librarian in the Fraser Valley, Gaucher and her husband, Greg, moved to the Okanagan.
Hired in Vernon in 2000, Gaucher brought a wealth of ideas, one of which was a focus on community outreach, to make the community aware of the library and all it had to offer. She worked hard to develop good relationships with principals and teacher/librarians.
Reaching out to the community was a way of exposing children to reading, to books, to the library.
Gaucher enjoyed going to the schools, where she would go from class to class, pushing for books and the library and try to bring in books that would get kids excited about the topic or the author, and do it in a way that was entertaining.
“My goal was to connect the community with the library and to connect children to books, but the kids can’t get there on their own. There are a number of reasons why people aren’t using the library, and the biggest one I found when working with my outreach groups, was transportation. That’s a big barrier for some to physically visit the library.”
After visiting a school, Gaucher said she took particular pleasure in having a child bring his or her parents to the library and introduce them to her.
“You don’t know the difference you make in a child’s life, and it was a way to keep the link with the kids.”
A special thrill for children that Gaucher introduced in her school programs was for each child to get their own library card.
“We issued probably 300 cards a year to kids. And then I’m in the schools, so teachers get to know me and we keep each other connected. The school district and the teachers were just fantastic.”
Gaucher said by simply doing storytime for the parents and children gathered for groups such as Ready Set Learn, Soup’s On and Strong Start, it gave them a chance to see what she does.
“And then I’d have people saying, ‘I didn’t know the library had storytime.’ Time and time again, people have told me they didn’t know the library did this, or they didn’t know the library had videos.
“I knew we were successful with our outreach when I’d be at a school and I’d be walking down the hall and a child would say, ‘Hi, Monica,’ and these are Grade 7 kids saying hi to the library lady.”
Gaucher, said it’s the energy of the children who visit the library that inspire her, but anyone who has taken part in her storytime sessions knows that the children are also inspired by her energy: from the opening song of pyjama storytime, to the teddy bear song, where children are encouraged to select from a giant bag of tiny stuffies, to hearty applause for every story, little ones are introduced to the joys of reading in a fun and interactive way.
“I love feeding off the kids, that’s what any performer enjoys, and that’s where the satisfaction comes in, and the families that came in on a regular basis, there is such intense gratification from that.”
Gaucher said one of the biggest changes she’s noticed over the last few years has been a downturn in the number of students who use the library for research.
Where at one time, librarians could pinpoint what was going on in the schools based on what the kids were asking for — science fair time, ancient history time — now they’re doing much of their research online.
“Things are changing, and the thing I notice is that people still come in, the circulation is as busy as ever, but the Internet has changed the way kids do their research.
“And that’s the reality of the Internet. But the fiction is moving like hotcakes. The shift is that we’re moving away from being an information source to more of a reading advocacy role. They come in and ask for recommendations, and that’s a big part of your day.”
As for her own recommendations, Gaucher admits most of her reading has been in the world of children’s literature.
“I have such a passion for children’s books, and right now I’m finding myself at a loss when it comes to adult fiction, but in the world of children’s literature, I read everything.”
As for trends in children’s literature, the graphic novel is particularly popular right now, which Gaucher supports as a way of getting kids to read.
“It’s bringing non-readers back to reading, and whatever brings kids to read I’m in support of. You can’t force anyone to read, you need to tap into whatever they’re interested in, so if they say ‘I like skateboarding,’ then I start with that. So non-fiction becomes the hook. And the digital format may be the hook because they are born texters.”
While Gaucher is enjoying her new job, she misses the connection to the community, the children and to children’s literature.
“I knew it was time for a change, although it was a bit of a wrestle to begin with. I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I had such a passion for the job but it was time for a change. It was also time for some new blood and (new youth services librarian) Stephanie is so much younger and will bring something new to the job.”
In addition to tackling the learning curve of her new job, Gaucher has another immediate goal in mind.
“I’m purposefully going to try and find books in the adult world. I’ve tried a Grisham, tried a Ludlum, but I just haven’t found my author yet.”
