BY JIM BISSETT
Morgantown is home to an internationally known research university and a medical hub recognized for the same – meaning the city is a pocket of diversity in a state not necessarily known for it.
To date, 53 native languages are spoken in the classrooms and hallways of Monongalia County Schools, with some 60 countries represented.
Thanks to Charlotte Chung, books printed in those languages are now available to Mon students via an interlibrary loan system.
Chung, a media specialist at Suncrest Elementary School, is being recognized nationally for that effort by the American Library Association.
She is among 10 librarians from the U.S. receiving the association’s “I Love My Librarian Award” for 2025, said Cindy Hohl, ALA president.
“Librarians make positive impacts on their communities every day,” Hohl said.
“The inspiring stories from this year’s recipients prove how transformative their efforts can be in the lives of their patrons.”
That includes the bookmobile librarian in Hawaii who literally brought the printed word and other informational materials to parents and students displaced by wildfires that ravaged towns up and down the coast of Maui last year.
And the high school librarian in Texas known for her work with low-income families in Laredo’s district.
Chung, meanwhile, got the notice of the ALA when she used grant monies from an earlier recognition to celebrate that diversity in Morgantown and Mon County.
Numbers of students in the district are English learners – and English learners can sometimes make for reluctant readers, she reasoned.
She began purchasing books printed in first languages as a way to bolster their confidence and reading fluency.
“By providing books in first languages, we as school librarians can help support the literacy and educational goals of all of our students,” Chung said then.
She’ll receive a $5,000 cash prize, plus complimentary registration and a travel stipend to attend the upcoming ALA “LibLearnX” event in Phoenix.
The award is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with additional support from the New York Public Library.
