Librarian shares love of reading

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jarrod Grammel
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Dressed in a ruffled shirt, bandanna and eye patch, a librarian stepped into the storytelling room that was filled with eager children. The librarian, a mother of two, knows the extra effort makes a difference. For the next few hours, she is a pirate.

Although Emily Enderle has only worked at the Moody library for three years, she has loved books since she taught herself to read before kindergarten.

Her goal for the children at story time is the same as for every other person who walks through the double doors of the Moody library. She wants to share her love of reading.

"I love sharing books with patrons of all ages," said Enderle, 23d Force Support Squadron library technician. "... I love sharing that love of reading with people."

As a mother of two children, aged 9 and 12, Enderle has a very maternal demeanor. The well-spoken librarian wears black, thick-rimmed glasses and has a soft, reassuring voice.

"She has a wonderful personality," said Anthony Duncan, Enderle's co-worker. "She's very happy-go-lucky. I knew from the beginning that we would make a great family here."

Enderle got her start as a librarian in Germany, working as a volunteer. After noticing there was only one person who could do story time, Enderle volunteered to fill in if needed. Soon she was also volunteering to check books in and out, and helping in the reference section. Enderle said she would've most likely gotten a job there as an employee if her husband hadn't gotten orders to Moody.

"I took a careers course and that narrowed down jobs that would fit me well," said Enderle. "I had always loved being in a library, so I decided to apply when I saw the job opening here."

Whether it's dressing up as a pirate for story time or emailing a patron to make sure they got everything they needed, Enderle enjoys helping and interacting with people.

"She's a hard worker and knows the library very well," said Duncan. "She goes out of her way to do more than what's asked."

While not working in the library, Enderle's favorite books to read are historical fiction and fantasy fiction, for both teens and adults. Although she stresses the importance of getting children to read more, she says reading is just as important for adults.

"A lot of times you can't advance your career unless you have done a lot of studying, which requires advanced reading skills," said Enderle. "So when you're reading for fun, you're actually studying and helping yourself along professionally as well."

Enderle is currently working on her master's degree in Library and Information Science and will graduate in July. She currently has a bachelor's degree in history and enjoys reading about different time periods.

"I really, really feel like we can prevent future mistakes from happening by studying the past," she said. "I also found it very interesting to put myself in a different time period and learn how people lived.

"A lot of the problems that we are facing today, we've faced before," Enderle added. "We can learn how to better deal with them by learning from the mistakes of the past."

After finishing up her master's degree, Enderle would eventually like to be the director of a military library. She also hopes to one day write stories.

As the spouse of an A-10C Thunderbolt II crew chief, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Randall Enderle, Enderle has traveled and seen a lot of Europe. Her husband recently received orders to Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, so the couple and their two kids will be moving back overseas in May.

Enderle said she loves to travel and is excited to have an opportunity to explore Europe again.

"I've seen a lot of Europe and gotten to visit countless castles, Paris and many battlefields, which was very exciting as a history major," she said.

As military dependents, her children have also been able to travel a lot and see more than most children their age. As her children got older, Enderle continued to share her love of reading with them. She is currently reading a Harry Potter book aloud in the evenings with her two sons, Jackson and Andrew.

"If you want to guarantee your child's success in life, encourage them to read and come to the library," she said. "Reading is the foundation of their education."

However, Enderle recognizes that some children will be resistant to reading, a problem she faced with her younger son, Andrew. She kept presenting new books to him until she noticed he commonly chose non-fiction books about things he could see and relate to in real life.

"I think the most important thing is to find books that interest them," said Enderle. "I encourage all parents to bring their children to the library, because we are actually trained to find books they will like.

"Don't force them to read what you think is interesting," she added. "Make sure to pay close attention to what interests them."

Even after a day at work surrounded by books, Enderle goes home only to open up another book. But this time it's a little different. It's with her two boys.