Katherine Harrison, library services coordinator for El Paso ISD, traces her career back to a single, persistent influence: her sister. Watching a family member navigate the rhythms of school libraries ignited Katherine’s curiosity and eventually steered her into the profession. Today that sibling partnership — a daily exchange of ideas, lessons learned, and program strategies — fuels a new districtwide reading campaign centered on mentorship, local stories, and practical classroom-library collaboration.
Origins and mentorship
Katherine describes mentorship in plain terms: accessible, ongoing conversations with seasoned colleagues make the difference between good intentions and effective programs. Her advice to new librarians is concrete — find someone who will let you observe, ask questions, and troubleshoot alongside you. Those informal relationships, she says, sharpen programming ideas and smooth the path from concept to classroom implementation.
“It Starts with a Book”: a district initiative
The siblings’ collaboration inspired a pilot that has since expanded into a coordinated effort across elementary and middle schools. Branded “It Starts with a Book,” the campaign emphasizes book access, teacher-librarian co-planning, and simple measures to track participation.
Key, scalable practices include:
– Weekly planning time for teachers and librarians to integrate library titles into lessons.
– Age-graded, locally relevant reading lists.
– Teacher toolkits with lesson plans, rubrics and read-aloud strategies.
– Author visits (in-person and virtual) and family reading nights.
– Take-home book bundles to put books directly into students’ hands.
Rather than complicated dashboards, the initiative focuses on easy-to-use tools — sign-in sheets, checkout tallies and brief reading logs — so schools can see what’s working and iterate quickly.
Engaging readers where they are
The campaign targets students at every grade level, classroom teachers, librarians and families. It places programming in familiar community spaces — school libraries, community centers and neighborhood family nights — and centers local writers and illustrators to make stories feel immediate and relevant.
Program components are intentionally concrete: rotating spotlight titles, small-group discussions, age-appropriate listening options (audiobooks), and templates for peer mentoring so experienced librarians can coach classroom staff. Early benchmarks the district plans to monitor include library checkouts, minutes spent reading in class, and participant retention across semesters. Those markers will guide future selections and partnerships.
A reader’s journey: Katherine’s influences
Katherine’s personal reading trajectory illustrates why variety matters. R.L. Stine captured her early switch from occasional reading to eager engagement; Louise Penny opened the door to long-form listening and a habit of consuming books via audiobook; and teaching Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God reinforced how canonical texts provoke enduring classroom conversations. Today she’s focused on nonfiction curation — currently reading Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming — because well-told factual narratives can spark curiosity in young readers and strengthen school collections.
Professional community and balance
Katherine’s first Texas Library Association (TLA) conference and the Texas Bluebonnet Award Luncheon remain vivid professional milestones. She credits statewide and local library networks with providing practical selection guidance, programming ideas and advocacy strategies. If a full conference isn’t possible, she urges new librarians to join their local TLA district and attend small regional meetings: they’re efficient sources of mentorship and immediate, actionable advice.
Outside work, Katherine plays tennis again — a way to recharge physically and mentally. She sees that balance as part of a sustainable career: passion for books, grounded by community ties and a few routines that restore energy.
Origins and mentorship
Katherine describes mentorship in plain terms: accessible, ongoing conversations with seasoned colleagues make the difference between good intentions and effective programs. Her advice to new librarians is concrete — find someone who will let you observe, ask questions, and troubleshoot alongside you. Those informal relationships, she says, sharpen programming ideas and smooth the path from concept to classroom implementation.0
Origins and mentorship
Katherine describes mentorship in plain terms: accessible, ongoing conversations with seasoned colleagues make the difference between good intentions and effective programs. Her advice to new librarians is concrete — find someone who will let you observe, ask questions, and troubleshoot alongside you. Those informal relationships, she says, sharpen programming ideas and smooth the path from concept to classroom implementation.1