Mindfulness through books – the story of the high school library staff

Making+friends.+Library+staff+members+Barbara+Caracciolo+and+Danielle+McNelis+pose+for+a+picture+before+going+back+to+work.+

Madison Aboud

Making friends. Library staff members Barbara Caracciolo and Danielle McNelis pose for a picture before going back to work.

Through the years, the library has been a place of safety for students. The library currently has three librarians. Barbara Caracciolo, Tanya Lucas and Danielle McNelis.

Barbara Caracciolo

From pharmaceuticals, to mom, to aide,  Barbara Caracciolo  worked  many jobs before she started working in the high school library. 

“After I graduated from Penn State, I got a job at a pharmaceutical company. I stopped, had a family and started working in the Altoona district as a Title One aide in Kindergarten. That job evolved into reading groups and helping kids learn to read and write. I was looking for change and now here I am,” Caracciolo said. 

Caracciolo worked at Juniata Gap for 14 years before coming to the high school in October. 

“It is quieter over here [at the high school],” Caraciolo said. 

Caracciolo has always been a lover of books and teaching. Often, students will find her sitting at the front desk lost within a good story. 

“I like to read because when things are stressful, I can just get lost in a book. It is important for kids to do that as well because it is a good escape from the phone and social media,” Caracciolo said. 

Over the course of her career in the district, Caracciolo has had many moments she remembers. Her personal favorite is when she had her students in fifth and sixth grade read “Refugee” by Alan Gratz. 

“Refugee” is the story of three different main characters in alternating timelines throughout history. One from present-day Syria, one from 1990s’ Cuba  and one from Nazi Germany. 

“From the start, they [the kids] loved it. They kept wanting to read ahead. After we finished the novel, I had them write letters to the author. To my surprise and theirs, he wrote back. They were super excited,” Caracciolo said. 

Caracciolo knows what it’s like to feel lost coming into high school. She wants students to feel comfortable and know they don’t have to be afraid of the library.

“I’m learning just as much as they are. They don’t need to feel intimidated because I’m learning as well,” Caracciolo said. 

Since working in the library and making connections with fellow librarian Tanya Lucas,  Caracciolo has learned many valuable lessons. Not only for her job, but for life as well. 

“Slow down. Things can always change tomorrow. I’m used to run, run, run, so I have had to train myself to enjoy the moment,” Caracciolo said.  

A library may be just one room, but it holds many stories. It is the perfect place to get lost in someone else’s adventures. 

“Get lost in a good book. The library is a place to find an adventure or knowledge, or if you need to, just take a breath,” Caracciolo said.

 

Tanya Lucas 

Tanya Lucas never wanted to be a librarian. 

“As I reflected through my life, I spent many hours frequenting the library. When I was a child, I would walk to my public library in a little town called Beaverdale. I would sit on the floor and explore books. My grandmother was a library aide, and I would go with her,” Lucas said. 

For many years, Lucas worked as a teacher at Milton Hershey High School. She loved working with students and taking them to the library. 

Lucas left Milton Hershey when her husband got a job in Altoona. For a few years, she worked as an English teacher at high school before she was asked to take over as the librarian. 

“I was pestered by the former librarian to think about becoming the new one when he retired. That sparked the seed, and I thought, ‘why not?’ It seemed like a door was opening, it might be a good time to walk,” Lucas said. 

Since then, Lucas has been the librarian, loving every moment of it. 

Lucas doesn’t just teach in the library. She works with mindfulness as well. From the Morning Mindfulness club to teaching health and gym classes the importance of mindfulness, large parts of her job and her life focus on the training of the brain. 

“It [mindfulness] is the creative programming I am able to bring to the library. It is just about being able to befriend your brain. Understanding how it works and helping it. It is helping you learn and learn about yourself,” Lucas said. 

Throughout Lucas’ time as a teacher and a librarian,  many colleagues and students have left a mark on her life. None quite like Jessica. 

Jessica was a former student of Lucas’ when she was at Milton Hershey School.

One day, Jessica bought the book “Tuesdays with Morrie,” by Mitch Albom. The book is a memoir about Alboms’ time with an old professor. Jessica read the book and for many months begged Lucas to buy and read it. Finally, Lucas agreed to buy the novel. But, it wasn’t until much later that she got around to reading it. 

“I sat down and started reading the book, and it was amazing. While I was reading the chapter about children, I got this really weird voice in my head telling me to tell Jessica, ‘her mom loves her and is proud of her.’ I told the voice no,” Lucas said. 

Although Lucas told the voice multiple times to go away. It didn’t. In fact, it kept getting stronger. In class the next day, the voice continued to ask her to tell Jessica. Profusely she refused. 

Lucas thought the voice was finally gone, but it wasn’t. After school, Jessica walked back in to see Lucas to find out what homework she had. There wasn’t any. 

“The voice was still there. Finally, I say ‘okay.’ She is sitting across from me and I said, ‘Jessica, your mom loves you and is proud of you.’ Jessica burst into tears,” Lucas said. 

Jessica asked why Lucas was telling her this. Lucas explained a voice came into her head telling her what she needed to tell Jessica. Jessica had a follow up question. 

“What time was it last night?” Jessica asked.

Lucas told her it was around two in the morning.

Jessica said, “I was up last night praying to god for a sign. I hate this school, and I want to go home to Florida. I miss my mom so much, but she died of cancer.”

“The only thing I could do was hug her,” Lucas said.

After Lucas left Milton Hershey, she got in touch with an old colleague. They told her that Jessica had stayed at Milton Hershey and went on to college. 

To this day, “Tuesdays With Morrie” remains one of Lucas’ favorite books. 

Lucas wants all students who come into the library to know that it is a safe place to go and to read. 

 

“If you aren’t a reader yet, it just means you haven’t found the right book,”

— Tanya Lucas

 

Danielle McNelis 

If Danielle McNelis had been asked 13 years ago if she wanted to be a librarian, she would have said no. 

For the past 13 years, McNelis has been working as a high school counselor. Now, she has taken a sabbatical from Bellwood-Antis in order to do her student teaching before moving to elementary schools. 

Although she has been here just a short time, McNelis has already found many things to love about the library and the school itself. 

“I love the students and the change of pace here at AAHS,” McNelis said.

McNelis has worked for six years at Bellwood-Antis high school and has enjoyed seeing the differences between Bellwood and Altoona. They both offer many similar and different things to their students. 

“It’s nice to be in a different setting for a little bit and gain a new perspective,” McNelis said.

There are many differences between being a counselor and being a librarian, but the reason for the work is the same. 

“It is still helping students and collaborating, just in a different context,” McNelis said. 

McNelis wasn’t always a big reader, but she has made sure her two daughters grow up reading. 

“I really got into reading when I read the “Harry Potter Series” for the first time. It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I fell in love with reading,” McNelis said. 

Since having her two daughters, McNelis has begun to love picture books. Reading them to her daughters is one of her greatest sources of pleasure and joy. 

McNelis always wanted to go into education, but when she was in high school, she was persuaded not to. 

“I was discouraged from going into education, so my undergraduate degree is in advertisement and business, and it just wasn’t for me. My master’s degree is to be a school counselor. Even though I veered from education for a little bit, I ultimately came back,” McNelis said.  

One of the things McNelis loves the most about the library is the mindfulness room. 

“It combines both of my worlds. I love to help kids who are struggling find ways to cope. Mindfulness is a great way to do that,” McNelis said.  

McNelis feels the most rewarding part of her job is being able to help students foster their love of reading. 

“The library is a place to go where you can get lost in a book. Students should be able to come to the library and just be comfortable,” McNelis. 

Books on books. The AAHS library is a source of information and inspiration for many students.
(Madison Aboud)