The school library is often described as the heart of a school. But too often, that heart is underfunded, underrecognized, or misunderstood.
With the launch of Thinkering Voices—our field-facing interview and exploration series—we’re stepping outside the studio to listen and learn from the educators shaping learning in real time. This edition features a vital voice: Carolyn Vibbert, veteran teacher-librarian, mentor, and quiet force for educational transformation.
In a conversation led by Thinkering co-founder Evin Schwartz, Carolyn gives us more than a tour of her job—she gives us a lens into a role that too many systems have failed to fully see. This isn’t about books. This is about belonging.
“We are curators of humanity.”
Carolyn doesn’t start with a defense of libraries. She doesn’t need to. Her work speaks for itself. But she does name the myth:
“We’re not just the card catalog. We’re not just story time. We’re instructional partners, mentors, and ethical guides.”
Carolyn’s vision of the modern school librarian is powerful:
A model of media literacy in a world where truth is contested
A builder of brave spaces in a time when students feel increasingly disconnected
A mentor to the whole child, not just the reader
Her belief? That the librarian may be one of the last generalists left in a system driven by silos. And that this generalist role is not outdated—it’s urgently needed.
“Sometimes, we’re the only ones left.”
Carolyn shares that many school librarians are stretched across multiple buildings—often serving as the only person in their district role. That isolation is real. But so is the community that can grow around it—if we’re intentional.
“You want to be a mentor because you know how hard it was when you didn’t have one.”
That’s why Carolyn mentors others. That’s why she shows up in Slack channels, at conferences, in inboxes. She knows that the job description doesn’t capture the emotional labor, the invisible leadership, the coaching, the late-night website updates, the hallway check-ins, the moments where one conversation with a kid might be the thing that gets them to come back tomorrow.
This is the human side of education. And it’s hiding in plain sight.
“We are architects of joy.”
One of Carolyn’s most striking observations? That school librarians can be the counterbalance to burnout. To over-standardization. To the play gap.
“We don’t have a reading gap. We have a joy gap. A play gap. A connection gap.”
Carolyn’s ideal library is sensory, responsive, living. A place with class pets. Plants. Cozy corners. Author visits. Journaling walls. 3D printers and story circles.
A place where children don’t just learn to read—they learn to feel safe doing it.
And if a student doesn’t feel that in elementary school, she warns, they won’t go to the library in middle school. Or high school. Or with their own kids.
Why Thinkering Collective Is Listening
We don’t just believe in innovation. We believe in investing in the humans behind it.
That means:
Listening deeply to the people at the margins of systems
Creating storytelling platforms for educators like Carolyn
Building a Fellowship where teacher-librarians are not guests, but leaders
Mapping the ecosystems where real change already exists—and amplifying them
This isn’t about saving the library.
It’s about recognizing the librarian as a systems thinker, emotional guide, and builder of public trust.
If You Are a Librarian
We want to understand you. We want to support you. And we want to build with you.
If you have a bold idea for a capstone project, a system change, a way to engage students in media, belonging, or ethical literacy—we’re here for it.
📌 Apply or nominate someone to join the Thinkering Fellowship!
Follow Carolyn’s wisdom—and future interviews with educators on the ground—at:
thinkeringmedia.substack.com
This isn’t about learning behind closed doors.
It’s about opening the library—and the system—to the people who have always kept it human.
