Celebrating National Librarians’ Week with Jillian Zarra, Frederick’s Library Specialist
April 23, 2026
National Library Week is April 19-25, 2026, but Jillian Zarra, the Library Specialist for Frederick Elementary School (FES) for nine years, celebrates her passion for growing young readers year-round.
Her library is a place of books, plants, discovery, creation (she has a maker space), and learning well beyond the pages. We talked with her about her calling (and got a few book recommendations):
How she became a librarian: Ms. Zarra, who joined FES when it became a Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) charter school, never intended to become a librarian. In fact, quite the opposite. As a marine biology major at Kutztown University, she decided to change majors as a sophomore to education. Her advisor explained that the only option to complete her education degree in time was to become a library science major. Ms. Zarra figured she would use that classroom-adjacent track to land a teaching job.
The New Jersey native began teaching 1st grade through the Baltimore City Teaching Residency. Her favorite part of her job was taking her class to the library. “I loved the freedom she had with her lessons and discovered my creative side would be able to show so much more as the librarian. I would often visit with the librarian after school.”
Ms. Zarra began volunteering after school and during the summer at the nonprofit Village Learning Place in their library. She made the career switch and received her MA in Teaching and Learning from Notre Dame University with a specialization in library science. Her first job as a librarian was with FES.
What she loves about her career: “I love getting to teach and build relationships with all our students. It’s so fun getting to see them year after year. I love how creative I get to be as the librarian. I get to take lessons to a level that they don’t have the same availability to do so in the classroom. In the library, we have the opportunities to dive deeper and even pivot the learning if other interests arise.”
A few current library projects: Ms. Zarra loved to do arts and crafts as a child, a passion she brings to FES and weaves into book studies. This spring, the 1st and 2nd graders are in the fairytale unit where they create, in small groups, fairytale characteristics castles. “They get to tap into their creative sides to work as a team to use recycled materials to build their castles, followed by recording characters of a fairy tale on the outside.”
She introduces fairy tales from other cultures to the children like Lon Po Po, the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood, and Pretty Selma, the African version. “Nine times out of ten, these fairytales are so much more than the Disney version. We compare and contrast.”
The Pre-K and Kindergarten are learning about signs of spring. They observed five butterflies from the chrysalis stage and will release them on Earth Day, April 22.
Her 1st and 2nd graders also do a research project. This year, they researched habitats and presented their research through group projects, including creating a pond.
Popular library programs at FES: She’s organized two authors visits, including one this past March when New York Times bestselling author, Kate Messner, visited FES and read a chapter of her newest book for her wildlife series, Wildlife Rescue: How to Save a Sea Turtle to the 3rd grade. Read about her visit here.
FES’s two Scholastic Book Fairs, fall and spring, are very popular with students and families. Sales usually hit close to $3,000 each fair.
What she loves about inspiring young readers: “I love helping them find topics they are interested in learning about or exploring different genres. I want them to find what excites them, whether it’s reading different types of books or using materials in the maker space to craft, create, and build. I have a lot of audiobooks in our listening center, too. For our unit on poetry, they write poems. We do a whole mystery unit. I love reading mysteries to them! Sometimes I will turn off the lights, and they get really into the stories. They end up writing their own mystery story in small groups.”
When they are reading and writing in the library, they don’t even realize that they’re applying all of the skills that they learn in their classroom because it looks different from their classroom workbooks. I see them sounding out each letter when they’re trying to read.”
In a world of screens, why are libraries so important, now more than ever? “Books slow kids down in a good way. Unlike apps or videos that reward quickly and provide constant stimulation, books require sustained attention, imagination, and patience, which helps develop comprehension and focus.”
What else do you do at FES? I am our school Green Team Leader through a partnership we have with the National Park Trust. I plan environmental educational field trips throughout the year. The 4th graders head to Marshypoint Nature Center every October for a day canoeing the Chesapeake Bay. This May, 3rd graders are heading to Genesee Valley for a day outdoors focusing on team building and communication skills, and the 5th graders are heading to Oregon Ridge Nature Center where they’ll be able to recall science lessons from their “Save the Bay” unit while exploring the Chesapeake Bay.
I also set up and maintain our school garden of four large raised vegetable garden beds and one raised flower bed. Our garden serves as an outdoor learning space during the school day for lessons, small groups, lunch bunches, etc. Lastly, I teach yoga in our afterschool program.
Her favorite book as a child: I loved the Amelia Bedelia books because she was kind of quirky and funny.
Her favorite author as an adult: Emily Griffin. Ms. Zarra loves to travel and go to the beach in the summer and enjoys “beach reads.”
Popular books with FES students: Graphic novel series: Babysitters Club, Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Bad Guys, and Happily Ever After. Sports books are also very popular. “My favorite children’s author is Patricia Polacco who wrote Thank You, Mr. Falker about her own journey to read and many other titles.
Ms. Zarra’s tips for parents to encourage reading at home:
- Let students be themselves. I see students sitting in strange positions while reading. I know they’re just eliminating their own distractions and when I let them read in their own way they focus a lot more. I used to HAVE TO read under my dining room table with my feet pressed up against the bottom of the table.
- Create shared reading experiences. Reading a book together centered about a theme, such as stories about an animal, and then taking a trip to the aquarium or zoo, or reading about learning to ride a bike or do a cartwheel, and then practicing that skill can motivate the student and connect them to the content making it more meaningful.