According to librarian Denise Soto, Archer students, no matter the grade, find comfort in the quiet and cozy atmosphere of the library. The Library Ambassador program began two years ago when three seventh-grade students were looking for something to do, and it has now become a way for students to apply their leadership and organizational skills in a low-pressure environment.
Freshman Sophie Herbert often found herself spending a lot of time in the library with her friends as a middle school student. Given her admiration of the space, she and two other students asked former assistant librarian Sarah Boehm and Soto if there was anything they could do to help out around the library. Soto said she was inspired by their appreciation and dedication to the library and decided to begin the Library Ambassador Program.
“In seventh grade, [we] just helped put away books during some lunches, in our free time. And then in eighth grade, Ms. Soto decided to make it an official program,” Herbert said.
Students of all grade levels can join the program by completing an application. There are currently 20 ambassadors who volunteer in the library during lunch and after school — 14 upper schoolers and six middle schoolers. Herbert, like other ambassadors, spends one shift in the afternoon or at lunch time volunteering in the library. Current ambassadors spend their shifts organizing books on shelves, checking books in and out, helping students find a good read and coming up with monthly display ideas.
The program has inspired students like Natsnet Habtu (‘25) to grow their leadership skills in a place where they feel comfortable taking on new roles. Habtu volunteers at her local public library, and she said she wants to share her love for reading, tutoring and teaching kids with her school community.
“I also wanted to bring [my passion] to the Archer library, add more tutoring programs [for] reading and writing and, possibly, include a program where seniors could read to sixth graders,” Habtu said. “I think forming those relationships is important.”
Every month, library ambassadors create themed book displays that act as outlets for them to express personal creativity and imagination with other library-goers. Recently, volunteers made a “let’s cook up with a good book” display — a feature on cookbooks. In honor of Valentine’s Day, they also created a “blind date with a book” display, where students pick a mystery book with only a theme written on the wrapping paper.
“The ambassadors have really awesome ideas, and I’m really excited for them to put them out there,” Soto said. “They really put in a lot of thought, and it’s genuine … They do it because they want to. I try to put the ball in their court so [if] they feel anything they want to try, they know they’ve got my full support.”
The program is intended to give students a sense of ownership and leadership, Soto said, along with lessons in being a role model for other students. She observed students in the program take the role very seriously, demonstrating genuine care for the books and the space they have helped to create.
“I think that [the program] satisfies a genuine interest or curiosity for those students who do spend a lot of time in the library. For those students, it acts as a low-stakes job experience that they can get in a safe environment,” Soto said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the depth of their ideas and how much they think about what they could put out into their community. They have a lot of really great insight. I lean on these kids for ways to relate to the student community as an adult.”
Soto plans to expand the program as more students express interest in becoming volunteers.
“This is a unique space, and I’m just excited to see what they do because I think that the program will continue to evolve,” Soto said. “It’s definitely going to be what the students make of it.”
