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PROFILES DEC. 21, 2018
B E H I N D T H E BOO K S H E L F West High’s library staff has worked hard to greatly expand its resources and create opportunities to bring diverse perspectives to students. Here are the stories of the two women spearheading this project.
BETH BELDING Beth Belding gives a book ta l k o n “J u s t M e rc y ” b y B r y a n S t e v e n s o n t o M r. C o o p e r ’ s English 9 class.
BY LUCY POLYAK
W
est High librarian Beth Belding was born in a suburb of Chicago to a small, quiet family. She grew up in what she described as a, “traditional … conservative, Northern European home.” From that experience, she learned a core set of morals, including the importance of integrity. After moving around Iowa throughout her adolescence because of her dad’s job, Belding wound up graduating from a high school in Mason City, Iowa. Though being rather shy, she spent much of her time working with children and animals. This experience helped spark an interest in a career in education. “I had always been interested in [teaching]. I read a lot of books in high school about kids who had emotional problems and challenges with education, so that’s what I was originally headed to, to special ed. It just sort of evolved,” Belding said. Belding then went on to teach at elementa-
“ WE ALL N E E D TO B E I NVOLVE D AN D DO WHAT WE CAN FOR THOSE WHO DON ’T HAVE ADVOCATES.” - BETH BELDI NG, TEACH ER- LI BRARIAN
ry schools in Minnesota, North Carolina and Iowa. When in Minnesota, however, Belding discovered a different vocational calling. “I realized that I could go to school forever. … I was at a picnic with somebody and they said that they had heard there was a grad assistant opening in the library program,” Belding said. “At the time, I was a grad assistant there, so they covered a lot of my expenses. I taught there and ended up with a degree in library science.” After moving back to Iowa, she got a job working at both Longfellow and Shimek Elementary Schools. Belding received an exciting offer for a new job opening in the West High library after establishing herself as a strong librarian in the district. “I had two girls that were little, and to be with little people all day and then little people all evening, I thought I needed a change,” Belding said. “I was looking at law school and other things when a woman I knew who was here at