Disclaimer: The author of this article is a library intern and works with Chris regularly.
There are people in our lives that, whether we know it or not, we couldn’t function without. One of those people can be found at the Franklin library’s front desk. Seated at a computer, wearing her reading glasses, she’s often the first face that library visitors are greeted with. She’s kind and hysterically honest. Whether you’re an educator, a library aide, or have read an assigned book from our school — essentially, if you’re a member of the Franklin community — you’re in the debt of Chris Hamilton; sorry, but somebody had to tell you. With substantial staff cuts across Portland Public Schools (PPS), Chris and many library assistants are facing unemployment.
Chris, Franklin’s library assistant, has been serving Franklin since 2017. “I got here right when we came back from the [remodel],” she recalls. “[I] had to wear a hardhat to be in the building, because they were still actively doing construction.”
Sandra Childs, Franklin’s previous teacher-librarian, and Chris worked together following the Franklin remodel. Childs recalls feeling lucky to work with Chris. “I was grateful for her flexibility [and] compassion … We would have never been able to grow the Franklin library program without her.” In the last seven years, Chris has assisted visitors, orchestrated book processing and circulation, and ensured that you receive your English textbook — and, if you leave it at home, that there’s always an extra copy available. “She serves Franklin more than most staff and students realize,” Childs adds. “She is a public service goddess.”
Throughout her time at Franklin, Chris has endured her share of rough transitions: the Portland Association of Teachers’ Strike; reassembling the library post-remodel; and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. “When we first shut down in March, we were told to stay home,” Chris says. “But at some point you have teachers asking to get books to families.”
Seniors might recall picking up their plastic-wrapped schedules and class materials during Franklin’s COVID-safe registration — all of which were printed, checked-out, and packaged by Chris and then-textbook clerk Beth Azar. “[We] even hand-delivered materials to houses if they were on the way,” Chris says, recalling a delivery she made to a home in Clackamas County after work. Because Chris was in the building, book requests continued as well. “I was here the whole time … students and teachers needed materials, and we [wore] masks and made that happen.”
“[Chris is] always busy with something, and everything she does is vital,” says Franklin teacher-librarian, Ayn Frazee. While you may primarily associate the Franklin library with Frazee, she and Chris are equal partners — together they oversee every function of the library.
In addition to her role as library assistant, Chris is essentially serving in two positions at once. “We lost our textbook clerk last year, so Chris has been filling in [for that role],” Frazee says. Chris ensures that Franklin educators receive their materials — like textbooks, novel sets, and calculators — and that these materials are returned and prepared for their next use. Just know, the next time you return a textbook with spaghetti stains, doodles of Bart Simpson, or contraception devices, Chris will find it — and sympathetically judge you.
Including her time at Franklin, Chris has served PPS as a library assistant for over 25 years. Prior to her first position, Chris hadn’t ever considered working in a library. “I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she recalls. She’d entertained young adult counseling, teaching English, and even anthropology — an ambition unfortunately cut short in college. “[The] first thing the professor said was, ‘Tomorrow we’re going to the morgue; if you can’t handle that, drop the course now.’ I dropped the course.” She eventually majored in creative writing at Linfield University, composing poetry that she’s, unfortunately, yet to share with me. She named her son “Austen” after one of her inspirations, Jane Austen.
It was her father, a PPS employee himself, who persuaded her to consider an open library assistant position at West Sylvan Middle School. “When I went there, the librarian was actually there over the summer — watering her plants, tidying things up, putting through a book order.” After a short interview, Chris got the job.
Her career in the years since can best be described as a decades-long round of musical chairs. She’s been bumped from school to school so frequently that, when asked to recall them all, she referred to a Google Doc. Beginning at West Sylvan Middle School in 1998, Chris has since been tossed from the Metropolitan Learning Center, Binnsmead Middle School, Lincoln High School, Beverly Cleary School, Grant High School, Grout Elementary School, and finally to Franklin.
While she’s always remained a library assistant, her position adapts to the needs of each school. In addition to having been Grout library’s sole employee — at that time, the school had no librarian — Chris assumed many roles: “[I walked] kindergarteners to the bus after school; [I helped] call families to remind them to pick up their children; I put Band-Aids on knees.” She supervised recesses and held storytimes, introducing young learners to the benefits of reading. Chris cites seeing the growth of her former Grout students as one of the things she’ll miss most about her job.
Regardless of grade level, she feels the library should be a sanctuary for students. “[The library] is a space for students to come when they need a quiet place,” Chris says. “Any library I’ve worked at, I’ve always tried to [create] that space for any child, no matter their age, to [be able to] come and ground themselves.” While the library is an essential space for learning, it’s also a space for pause.
Chris hopes to foster a friendly, inclusive atmosphere: “If the space doesn’t feel that way, I am that way for [students].” She points to having diverse stories and authors on display, providing games and puzzles, and even the soft seating as being ways in which the Franklin library works to achieve this goal. Chris mentions her plant collection as another contributor to the library’s friendly environment: “[They] bring a little bit of happiness,” she says. “The downstairs plants all came from me and my previous libraries … they go with me to my next library, always have.” Many of her plants were gifts from students, and have been with her since as early as 2005.
With substantial budget cuts across PPS, libraries’ ability to continue benefiting students in the ways they have in the past will be limited. According to information Frazee received from the district teacher-librarian, Julie McMillan, 34 library assistants — including Chris — are set to lose their positions. “If we’re not placed within the next 15 months, we’re terminated,” Chris says. Unless they officially resign, these library assistants can still be reassigned by PPS if a position opens — however, there’s no promise that every assistant will be placed at another school. In Franklin’s case, this reduces the library staff to one. “[It’s] an extreme reduction in services,” Frazee says. “When we’re talking about cutting the library staff by half, I would expect that I’d get about half as much done.”
In addition to managing library materials, Chris and Frazee are responsible for supervising the physical library space. Students can’t be in the library without at least one staff member present, which means that, without Chris, shorter library hours are inevitable. “Frazee is a certified teacher … she’s given a planning period. She has meetings with the principal, she does curriculum planning with teachers,” Chris explains. “[When] she leaves the space to do that, I supervise. And [next year] I won’t be here to supervise.” During our conversation, Frazee temporarily left the library; Chris remarks that, when this happens next year, Frazee will likely have to lock the doors and ask students to leave.
Chris’ absence will be felt by educators as well. According to data from Destiny Discover — the online library catalog used by PPS — the Franklin library loaned over 9,000 textbooks and novel sets for students’ use in the 2022-23 school year. Without a library assistant or textbook clerk, teachers likely won’t receive the materials they need as efficiently.
“Chris is an integral member of the library,” says Fanny Ortega, a Franklin English teacher. Ortega recalls how, earlier this year, she struggled to pick up materials for her sophomore English classes. “[Chris] was patient and accommodating despite my many blunders.” Dana Vinger, another Franklin English teacher, expressed similar sentiments: “[She’s] always there to get me out of a book bind … [She’s] a compassionate and caring person, and I appreciate [her] so much.”
Having been displaced by district cuts before — recall musical chairs — Chris wasn’t necessarily surprised by the decision. “I brace [myself] for [being unassigned]. When they start talking budget cuts, I know it’s coming.” Because they aren’t a class, libraries are especially vulnerable to funding cuts. However, Chris hadn’t expected such severe rollbacks. “[Having] this many kids and such a huge [circulation of materials], I was quite shocked that my position had been completely cut. I figured [many library assistants] would be cut to [part-time],” she says. “All libraries, if given the chance and the funding, are going to do an amazing job and support their school community, but you have to give them the space, and the money, and the time.”
Chris has been an invaluable resource for the entire Franklin community. “When you think of a person who, I would say, everyone in the building has interacted with or interacts with regularly; Chris is that person,” Frazee says. “She’s wickedly funny, [and has] the biggest heart. She brings in food for students,” — as a library intern, I can confirm that Chris is an excellent baker — “she’s brought in clothes that her kids have outgrown.” Frazee especially appreciates Chris’ flexibility: “I come up with a lot of crazy ideas. I’ll come back from a conference with some wild [idea] like ‘We’re getting fidgets for the library!’ And Chris will say, ‘Okay … [if] it’ll help the students.’”
Chris feels these “crazy ideas” have expanded her perspective on what a library can provide. “I’ve worked with a lot of great librarians [and they’ve] shaped my growth over the years, but this is probably the [most significant]. [Frazee’s] helped me see a bigger picture.” In the face of district rollbacks, however, Frazee feels this flexibility will be limited. “My whole platform is like, ‘say yes’ … I think I’m going to have to say no [a lot more] next year. And that feels heartbreaking.”
Chris describes her time at Franklin as her most enjoyable. “Ms. Frazee, Ms. Grassman, and I have this really great friendship,” she says. “I’d call us the three musketeers … we balance each other out really well.” When asked what duo she thinks her and Chris best represent, Frazee hesitated. “I’ll ask Chris. As with everything else, I’ll ask Chris and she’ll know the answer.” She later suggested Shaggy and Scooby.
In addition to losing professional support, Frazee is losing a companion: “The library can be kind of isolating,” she says. “I don’t have a department. English teachers can talk to other English teachers, social studies teachers can talk to other social studies teachers; I have Chris.”
For staff across PPS, the coming months are uncertain. For now, Chris is considering her options. “I’d love to go and get my Master’s in library science. But I’ve got a kid in college and can’t afford both of us.” Few schools have managed to allocate their personal budgets in order to retain their library assistants. Being a library assistant in a district cutting many of its available positions, Chris can’t help but consider leaving the educational field. “I’m hopeful but scared. I always like to keep a little bit of hope … I don’t know that I have any, but I put on a good face.” Throughout our conversation, Chris repeated a mantra. While not necessarily comforting, it’s often the only affirmation we can justify: “We’ll see!”
