Julie Stivers: Creating a Place to Read and Thrive | 2023 School Librarian of the Year

Julie Stivers, Librarian, Mount Vernon Middle School, Raleigh, NC Photos by Natalia Weedy

At the door to the library at Mount Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, NC, students are greeted with a sign.

“You are just the student I hoped would show up! Welcome to your library. I’m glad you’re here.”

Those words encapsulate the library program Julie Stivers has crafted over the years, built through actions dedicated to creating a space that is an incubator of joy and belonging, traits that are particularly welcome for the students she serves.

Mount Vernon is an alternative, public, academic-recovery middle school. The roughly 80 percent Black and Latinx students come to the school from throughout the district, most having fallen behind and been held back for a variety of reasons, from missing class due to illness…