Simmons College

Janis Wolkenbreit's first library job was as a student aide in high school so that she could avoid going to study halls. She never expected that school libraries would become her life's work. After graduating from college she became a high school English teacher in an overcrowded school that operated two sessions per day. She was asked to run the library during the afternoon session and found that she liked it even more than classroom teaching. While continuing to teach English at the high school and middle school levels, Janis worked towards her MLS and then made the transition to full-time library work.

Highlights of her career include designing two high school libraries, design and implementation of a K-12 library information curriculum for her district, district technology plan design and implementation, and mentor teaching on both the elementary and secondary levels. The guiding principles of her work in education have been collaboration and interdisciplinary instruction. Janis has been a school library teacher at both the elementary and high school levels, and currently works as a school library consultant and mentor teacher. She has taught LIS 406 at the Mt. Holyoke campus, and is the practicum supervisor for the SLT program in Western Massachusetts.

Janis Wolkenbreit's resume