Winds Of Change At The Library: an interview with Mariam
November 30, 2022
Article by Anano Mrelashvili
Edited by Lizi Schierman
Source GZAAT Gazette
All students have spent at least some time at the Donald Thomas Library. It is a popular hang-out spot at GZAAT, and for good reason. The library is a very cozy place to be, with its shelves full of all sorts of books: novels, short stories, non-fiction, plays, and more. Besides this, it is the perfect place to finish up some extra work or add on the last few touches to an upcoming presentation. But the most important aspect of the library that makes it as great as it is is the staff. Tamuna Gvaramadze, the library director, Nato Dvaladze, the library assistant, as well as Anamaria Sukhitashvili and Mariam Ketiladze, the librarians, all work very hard to create the most comfortable atmosphere possible. However, there have been some recent changes.
Unfortunately, a very friendly and intelligent librarian, Anamaria Sukhitashvili, will be leaving the library. On Monday, October 31st, she sent out an email to the school, wishing everyone a happy Halloween and writing that it was her last official day as a librarian at GZAAT. She informs students that she left in order to continue her studies at university, but promises to visit often. The whole school will miss her. However, there is a new, enthusiastic member who will be joining the team: Mariam Ketiladze!
Mariam started working at the library this school year. She found out about the job vacancy from a friend and, after doing some research and exploring the GZAAT website and Facebook page, she decided that this was a job suited for her. Choosing to work here was quite a brave step for her, considering that unlike Anamaria, who is a GZAAT alumna, or the other librarians who have been a part of the community for years, Mariam has never studied or worked at this school in the past. Additionally, it is her first ever job as a librarian. Despite this, she doesn’t lack knowledge or experience. She studied in France, where she got a masters in business and administration, as well as a bachelor’s degree in teaching and English literature. She actually worked as an English literature teacher in one of her previous jobs. And on top of all that, quite impressively, she is currently studying political administration at Ilia State University.
Mariam is a very knowledgeable young woman, but besides this she is absolutely obsessed with reading. To explain her relationship with books, Mariam compares herself to a fisherman. A fisherman uses a fishing rod to catch many different types of fish swimming in a river. Mariam feels like she’s always fishing around, constantly discovering an unexpected variety of new ‘fish’, all the time (the fish referring to books of course). Her adoration for books is partially why she chose this job in the first place.
Along with this, Mariam enjoys communicating with children, advising them what books to read and receiving suggestions on their end as well. One of her all-time favourite authors is Franz Kafka, and her most adored of his works is Metamorphosis. She also loves Charles Dickens’s A tale of Two Cities.
Mariam explains that working at a school library has taught her a lot about kids and their interests. She has fun observing the students and their habits, and comparing them to various fictional characters from some of her favourite novels and stories. Another reason why Mariam thinks this job is suitable for her is because it helps her to develop her skills as an administrator.
Even though Mariam is very competent, she does face some hardships. She remarks that the main problem is replacing Anamaria. Mariam explains that the students were already quite close with Anamaria and had a special connection and friendship with her. It is hard for Mariam to get the students used to her. In addition, she finds keeping certain children under control a bit difficult. It is very important to abide by the library rules while spending time there, and not everyone keeps this in mind. One of the least entertaining aspects of this job is having to remind students of the rules, because they tend to take such things at heart, and Mariam doesn’t want to upset anyone.
It is clear that Mariam is a very interesting and enthusiastic person who is willing to put lots of effort into her job. Even though everyone will miss Anamaria, it is safe to say that Mariam is the perfect candidate to take up her position and become a part of GZAAT.
