Michelle Morris: The Children’s Librarian

If you happen to find yourself in Goulburn Mulwaree Library on a Wednesday morning, your business might be conducted to a soundtrack of nursery rhymes and children’s laughter. Leading the revelry is Michelle Morris (nee Stuart), the Young People’s Services Coordinator at the Library.

Michelle moved to Goulburn about seven years ago, after spending a year commuting from Wollondilly for her job as the Education and Public Programs Officer at the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery. Having drifted between a few career paths after high school, including make-up artistry, archaeology and high school teaching, it was the role at the gallery that first allowed Michelle to amalgamate her love of fine art with a natural aptitude in education.

It also opened her up to the incredible imaginative power of young children, and the importance of exposing young minds to art, literature and creativity. Michelle would show children artwork and, without telling them anything about the piece, ask them what they saw. Astonishingly, “…they would tell me the most amazing stories… that is what I really love about working with children, they teach you so much more”.

“We would look at an artwork and…I would say “What do you see?” and they would tell me the most amazing stories”

Michelle Stuart

When the Young People’s Services Coordinator position became available at the Library it seemed a natural next step for her.  “Every day is different. You get to see new people, you get to meet new children, you get to help people in different ways. So it is always a challenge, it is never static…I like to have that bit of a challenge, something to make your brain work.” Michelle puts that brain to work creating an engaging and popular program of activities and events for babies, pre-school and school-aged children. She stays on top of the latest trends, especially for school kids, by trawling through Pinterest and Facebook. But, most importantly, she listens to and observes the kids in the Library to see what they are talking about and interested in.

As any parent can attest, young children delight in singing and acting out nursery rhymes – over, and over, and over, and over again. Repetition is crucial for their comprehension and development, but it can drive the parents a little crazy! So my burning question for Michelle was how she copes with singing those same songs day after day? “I love it, I am so into it…I could do it fifty times…I just really like the interactions so as soon as I see that their faces are excited then I just feed off them”.

Some have questioned the efficacy of children’s librarians and have dismissed their nursery rhymes and craft activities as just being a bit of fun rather than contributing to literacy development. Recently, the State Library of NSW and Macquarie University, have undertaken a project to explore the role libraries play in literacy and language development.  They have created a context-sensitive framework to support the delivery of literacy programs through libraries that respond to the specific needs of their individual socioeconomic and cultural settings.

“Learning in the Library does so much for little brains and our role is really important in the community”

Michelle Stuart

Michelle has seen first-hand the impact of her programs, firmly believing that “learning in the Library does so much for little brains and our role is really important in the community”. She is particularly passionate about the craft elements, designing activities that require parents to get hands-on, work with their children and create something together.

“A drawing is just another way of expressing yourself, and that is usually what children do before they have even had the opportunity to talk…craft is really important [for] not just getting their own ideas or feelings out but learning fine motor skills and patience and understanding colours and shapes” Michelle advocates. “I think [craft is] great for imagination too, I think that’s something we have to foster…as children grow, their brains change and imagination starts to fade away a bit and keeping that at the forefront is really important”. She is a big believer in promoting dreaming and imagining.

“…as children grow, their brains change and imagination starts to fade away a bit and keeping that at the forefront is really important and that is something I really like to promote…dreaming and imagining things”

Michelle Stuart

Michelle is taking her own philosophy to heart, bringing her own creativity and imagination to life through writing and illustrating a children’s picture book. The rhyming story follows a little bumblebee who is out at sea, with pictures created using cut paper art. She certainly has an inside track on the type of stories that capture children’s attention. On her new blog, Little Bookfession, Michelle reviews children’s and young adult books with playful intent but informed by her love of literature and imagination. She tells her readers “I am always searching for the underlying myth retold or a fairytale made modern, reworked or given new life”.

A love of history also runs deep within Michelle – studying ancient religions; visiting the castles of Germany; understanding the mythology referenced in Harry Potter; and reading historical fiction (Phillipa Gregory being a favourite author). It is also one of the aspects of Goulburn she loves most; “I love the main street; I love that whole entry into this beautiful town and the beautiful big buildings around it…it’s got that nice little quaint feel.”

“I love the main street; I love that whole entry into this beautiful town and the beautiful big buildings around it”

Michelle Stuart

She and husband Sam enjoy tinkering at home, keeping busy with the many projects a 1920s house brings along. One of Michelle’s current endeavours is the creation of a secret garden their border collie, Harry, can’t dig up. And yes, the dog is named after Harry Potter 😊 Harry often accompanies Michelle on walks through Goulburn’s parks – the rose garden in Victoria Park being a favourite.

When I first came across Michelle, taking my son to Rhyme Time a few years ago, there was something about her that captured my attention. Partly it was her fantastic retro style dresses (“I bought one dress and I just loved the feel, and that’s it, I was addicted. [If you] have seen 27 Dresses, the movie, that is my wardrobe!” Michelle confesses, “I try to match my dress to whatever the storytime theme is.”). There was also a familiarity – it turns out we both grew up in the same area (Wollondilly) and went to the same primary school.

But more than that, her passion for promoting literacy and imagination was like a shining light – one that is reflected brightly in the smiles and laughter of her audience.

Check out Michelle’s reviews of Children’s and Young Adult books on her blog Little Bookfession

The Library’s program of events can be found here.

More information about the State Library of NSW Early Literacy Project can be found here.