It wouldn’t be a stretch to compare Susan Loy’s job as library media specialist at Foley Elementary School to that of an air traffic controller.

“I see every class in the school twice a month,” Loy says. “That’s 1,400 kids coming and going. It’s just constant traffic in and out of here throughout the day.”

Loy, who is in her fifth year as the school’s librarian, says 400 to 600 books are checked out of the library on any given day.

Before she took the job at Foley Elementary, Loy had a similar position at Pine Level Elementary in Prattville for six years.

Loy said she works together with an assistant to handle the day-to-day work in and around the school’s library.

“My responsibility is to oversee everything that goes on here at the library, and she has been a big help to me,” Loy says. “It’s a big balancing act with a lot of give-and-take between the two of us. It’s just teamwork to get everything taken care of.”

Loy says she find joy in helping the school’s 1,400 students enjoy new books and improve their reading skills throughout the year.

“I just love to see the students getting the books,” Loy says. “I enjoy teaching classes and library skills, but I love watching the students get excited about a new book. To be able to provide them with new books and see them improving on their learning skills throughout the year, is what makes any year a success in my mind. I just love watching their progress.”

Whether introducing students to new books or helping them research a project on one of the library’s computers, Loy says she just wants to pass on her love for reading to her students.

“I just want them to not only know how to read, but I want them to love to read,” Loy says. “Growing up, I always loved to read. I would read cereal boxes, billboards, road signs — anything. I want all of these kids to love reading as much as I do.”

TEACHER: Susan Loy

SCHOOL: Foley Elementary School

SUBJECT(S) TAUGHT: Library media specialist