Former Winthrop library technician urges New London Board to restore Library Media Technician role

Vicy Giordani, who said she served as the Library Media Technician at Winthrop from 1994 until retiring at the end of 2023, told the New London Board of Education on Sept. 23 that the district should restore the dedicated library position at Winthrop.

Giordani said the role historically has been in the secretarial contract and that “they were not hired as secretaries,” adding she was the third of five LMTs to be hired. She told the board that the middle school’s library closed years ago and that when positions were lost, library duties were folded into other jobs. “It is important for kids to be exposed to the physical touch of a book,” Giordani said, arguing that a staffed library room and access to digital resources are not substitutes for children browsing and checking out books.

Mary-Kate Caruso, a parent, told the board that literacy development is “significant” and that Winthrop needs adequate resources to support student success. Katherine Trejo-Thorpe, who said a previous Library Media Technician worked at Winthrop for 29 years, urged restoring a dedicated library role so students can check out books and learn library skills; she said she was not asking the board to require full certification of the role but to reinstate the technician position to provide personalized support.

Speakers noted a grant mentioned earlier in the superintendent’s report and said they hoped that funding could be used to reopen or better staff the Winthrop library. No motion or vote on staffing or budget changes related to the library occurred during the meeting.

The public comments were recorded during the board’s public comment period; board members thanked the speakers but took no formal action on the requests. The superintendent’s written strategic-plan and fall data reports are available upon request from the district office.