I’m not sure how it got to be December of 2025. It’s been a whirlwind of a year. It was my second year being full time in higher education, I was co-chair of the national conference, and I started my term as co-chair of the 2025-2026 Standards Committee.  And in there, my youngest graduated from college and started his work life, we adopted two dogs from the shelter, and we found some time to travel in our camper.

As with every year, the idea of a new year brings with it a sense of possibility. For those of us working in school libraries, around school libraries, studying to be a school librarian, or employed as an educator of pre-service school librarians, this season offers a special kind of gratitude and joy.  It is like we take a blend of reflection, restoration, and hope that that is a part of our profession, and we put it into overdrive or warp (if you are a Trekie).

School librarians spend their days helping learners discover what is possible, fostering a sense of wonder, curiosity, learning, and literacy. Honestly, a new year gives us the chance to do the same for ourselves.  And I’m not talking about a resolution.  Those never stick.

There is something calming about taking a breather, pausing and reflecting before the year ahead gets started. We so often move at a fast pace: barely having time to gobble down lunch or run to the bathroom during our day.  It’s easy to lose sight of what has happened that brings you joy in your work when we are moving at a constant speed of the day. The new year invites us to look back with gratitude and to look forward into 2026 with optimism.  Take the time over winter break to reflect!  I promise you will feel a sense of joy and be renewed for what the new year brings.

And that brings me to things we can look back and reflect upon with gratitude in 2025:

  1. Relationships. We build them every day. It might be a student who shares with you a book they liked or the classroom educator who collaborates for the first time. It could be your bestie from down the hall who also lives for the drop of a new Taylor Swift album and the joy you both shared on October 3rd. The point is, when we build relationships we can make connections that bring us gratitude.
  2. Creativity. Our role is so different than that of a classroom educator or anyone else in our buildings.  We have so much creativity that we can give.  It might be a makerspace activity that our students are thrilled to experience, a zoom with an author, or some really fun way to make literacy more accessible to all.  The point is that we are not constrained by the demands of the classroom in the same way and we can find gratitude that we can flex our creative wings!
  3. Impact. We have it whether we realize it everyday or not. It might be the student we smile at during hall duty, or the kid who comes to the library for that next in a series after connecting with a character. It might be showing a teacher a digital tool that they can use in their classroom and makes their work that much better.  We might not see the long term effects of this, but trust me, you are having an impact.  And we should give ourselves permission to have gratitude for that.
  4. Stories. Savor the new stories. Look look forward to the new stories that will enter our libraries as 2026 begins. And I’m talking about the ones that live on our shelves and the ones our students bring with them every day.

So, for 2026, let’s step, no let’s skip, into the new year with a sense of excitement. Fresh starts are a gift. There is always something to look forward to as a school librarian or an educator of school librarians, or student learning to become a school librarian.

Take the time to recharge over winter break. Read a book that you want to read!  Watch the Taylor Swift documentary. Listen to holiday music. The coming months will offer a chance to rethink our goals and set our intentions that bring meaning to our work in the school library.

Lastly, I want to remind you to find the joy.  Find joy in the moments before students arrive and bring the hustle and bustle to each day. Find joy in the excited voices of a busy class visit. Find joy in helping someone solve a problem. Find joy in setting up a display that makes a student pause and grab a book.  Find joy in knowing that your school library, or if you are an educator of school librarians, your graduate classroom is a place where everyone feels welcome, seen, and inspired.

Here’s to a restful winter break and a joyful beginning that leads with gratitude, and to all that awaits in the year ahead.