BRENDA STROUD

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

I was born in El Paso, Texas, and with the exception of four years spent in Kansas and Kuwait, I have lived here ever since.  My husband, Terry, is also an El Paso native.  We have two children, Adam and Katelyn.  It was while volunteering in my son’s elementary school library that I began to consider becoming a librarian. Currently, I am enjoying my second year as a librarian for a small school here in the El Paso Independent School District.

Outside the library, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading and creatively expressing the written word through calligraphy, an art I have studied for twenty years.    

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

M.S. Candidate School of Library and Information Sciences
University of North Texas
Denton, TX

Graduate Academic Certificate In Youth Services in Libraries and Information Settings
University of North Texas, Denton, TX
Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences

BA Interdisciplinary Studies
University of Texas at El Paso

STORYTELLING INTERESTS

My first exposure to formal storytelling was at a Texas Library Conference where I attended a session that presented the benefits of storytelling as an instructional tool for children.  Afterwards, I cautiously added storytelling to my program, and to my delight, the students were very receptive.  Storytelling has since become an integral part of my library program.

As I continue to formally study storytelling, I become more aware of its importance for children, both educationally and in terms of self and social development.  Although these reasons validate my efforts to include storytelling in my students’ library experience, what keeps me telling is that it is just plain fun!