Letters assemble, conversing amongst themselves to create words, who form sentences fighting, tackling each other to be the first in line, that once sorted group together, and become paragraphs that eventually, after much struggling, collectively agree to form a whole work, a book. Words are the genetic makeup of a book, they craft intense fantasies, lively adventures, and safe havens. They immerse you into their worlds of mystery, adventure, romance, and horror. Armijo’s school librarian, Ms. Denise Monegato expressed her long love for words with.

“My sisters would play with all the clothes and they liked to dress up in all the bridesmaids and bridal gowns up there, but I would go over by her library and read all her books,” she said about visiting her grandmother. Ms. Monegato’s love for reading planted a seed she had not anticipated to bloom into her career as a librarian.

Living her childhood and adolescence in a family full of readers, Ms. Monegato was always surrounded by books. Consistently visiting the library with her father, coupled with quickly making her way through her grandmother’s library, Ms. Monegato was immersed in the vast oceans of literature. She explained that her grandmother’s library exposed her to the possibilities that lie in books. In that library, nestled on a shelf, stood the novel Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Ms. Monegato described this book as the best she had read until that point, but stressed and encouraged the individuals that claim to not like reading to find their version of Gone with the Wind.

Through working part-time at a library, Ms. Monegato realized that she wanted to be a librarian. After having her daughter, she felt like she needed a job that was flexible or worked with school hours. The job of a librarian combined Ms. Monegato’s love for reading and time for her family.

She worked at a multitude of libraries before she finally arrived at Armijo. She’s been the Armijo librarian for seven years. Upon her arrival, the school library had been organized and formatted in a completely different way than what we know today. During the COVID pandemic, Ms. Monegato, along with Ms. Anderson, changed the former library into its current arrangement. According to Ms. Monegato, she wanted to create a “youth-centered library.” She did so by displaying the young-adult fiction at the entrance of the library and by arranging the library so that it resembled a bookstore. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed, as many of the readers of the month mostly read young adult fiction, manga, or graphic novels.

Unfortunately, Ms. Monegato’s time as the Armijo librarian will soon come to an end. At the end of the school year, she plans on moving back to Illinois, where she was born. Once she retires, she hopes to continue sharing her love for words through writing. Although she has moved across the country, one thing remains constant and consistent; she will forever love words.