Meet The Librarian

The contagious smile behind the Waukee Northwest library doors belongs to librarian Ms. Rechkemmer. She is originally from Omaha, Nebraska, and had previously taught middle school Language Arts for seven years. This year is Ms. Rechkemmer’s first year as a school librarian.

Ms. Rechkemmer loves riding horses and credits that to the reason that she is in Iowa today.

Her trainer moved to De Soto, Iowa and Rechkemmer followed, only expecting to live in Iowa for one year. However, things did not go as planned, and five years later, she resided in Des Moines, Iowa.

Rechkemmer loves her job. “It’s the best of both worlds. I get to work with students, I get to work with teachers, and I get to be surrounded by books all day!” she exclaimed. “My favorite part is interacting with students and hopefully getting some conversations in about books we’re reading” She also (hesitantly) admitted to being thrilled whenever a student challenges her with the words of ‘I don’t read.’ Ms. Rechkemmer wants students to know that reading any text makes you a reader, even Mangas!

Contrary to popular belief, being a school librarian is an eventful job. An average day in the life of a school librarian is different every day. Rechkemmer explained how just an hour into her Friday morning alone had gone: “This morning I had a teacher who came in who was in extreme distress… a lot of times I’m working with teachers or even substitutes on trying to get technology to work.” Essentially, Ms. Rechkemmer is a built-in IT Tech, instructor, and planner all in one. She added more to her story, “I just taught a lesson on how to use one of our databases. I have another teacher who’s coming in to use the library,” Rechkemmer also explained that she awaits book check-ins and check-outs, as well as students who spend a lot of their time in the library commons each day.

A great librarian always has notable book recommendations, and Ms. Rechkemmer had just that. Dune by Frank Herbert and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin are Rechkemmer’s classic picks. She also loves Long Way Down by Jason Renolds, despite the mixed feelings amongst her students about the ending of the book.

Ms. Rechkemmer is happy about her position at Waukee Northwest. “I always have liked Waukee. I always loved this community. I was very blessed and lucky enough to get the job here.”