Master librarian

Jesuit’s Gregory Lum earns a big bookish title with magazine’s honor

By Ray Pitz

The Beaverton Valley Times, Apr 26, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Ask Gregory Lum what the best part of being the librarian at Jesuit High School is and he’ll tell you that it’s that each day is a little different.

“I get to guide students in a research project, give a presentation on online subscription databases, collaborate with a colleague, give book talks and more,” said Lum.

Lum, who has headed up library services at Jesuit for four years, oversees more than 18,000 items and 50 up-to-date computers with wireless technology.

As a result of shaping his school’s library and his involvement in numerous library activities and organizations throughout Oregon, Lum was named to Library Journal’s 2007 Movers and Shakers list, sharing the distinction with only 49 other librarians throughout the country.

He will be honored at a luncheon at the American Library Association’s annual conference set for June in Washington, D.C.

No stranger to awards, Lum was named the 2003 AECT National School Media Specialist of the Year, receiving the award at the annual American Library Association conference.

“I love going to the ALA conference,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy there.”

He estimated that anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 media specialists attend the annual event.

“As a school librarian, Gregory is an educational whirlwind in constant motion, influencing and serving not only his students at Jesuit, but also his library colleagues throughout the state,” Kelly Kuntz, coordinator for instructional technology/library services for the Beaverton School District, said of her colleague. “His boundless energy and enthusiasm for reading and learning and his willingness to pursue every opportunity to improve library services for all Oregon students through his leadership with the Oregon School Library Association is truly amazing.”

A ton of work

Recently, Lum was named a member of the American Library Association’s 2007 Best Books for Young Adults selection committee where he joined public school and college librarians to come up with a final list of 81 books to recommend to libraries nationwide.

“We’re the ones who select quality teen literature for young adults, both fiction and non-fiction,” he said.

Lum said both he and many other librarians use the list when making their annual book purchases for their respective libraries.

In the end, he went through more than 300 books, snatching every chance he could find to read, including such locations as his kids’ soccer games and even while filling up his car with gas.

Sometimes he would receive four or five books from publishers each day, he noted.

“It was enriching professionally,” Lum said of the book selection undertaking. “It was a ton of work.”

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