Fatima Husain, Wafia Saruwar, and Abyan Ali contributed to this article.
Libraries are a significant component of student’s lives as they offer literary materials for class, allow them to explore their creativity or pick up a riveting book, and serve as a place for friends to hang out together.
For the past seven years, Stephen Nedell has been the K-8 Traveling Librarian for the Malden Public Schools and finally came to a stop as the permanent librarian at Malden High School following the retirement of the previous librarian, Mary Liberge.
“He’s very organized. He very much wants the kids to be in the library, but he’s also been in the district for a long time, so that was actually kind of an easy one [to hire] because of all the things we have to teach new teachers about Malden, he knew everything…He’s a funny guy, by the way. He has a very, very good sense of humor,” Principal Chris Mastrangelo proudly stated.
Nedell has been a part of Malden for over a decade, delivering unrelenting support specifically to the academic community. Seven years ago, he organized the collection of books at the K-8 schools to make it easier for students to access and process the necessary books.
“I was struggling with reading, and he helped me pick up a book that was just right for me,” said his former student Sofia Rivera.
Pasquale DiBenedetto, an English teacher at Malden High, described a memorable interaction between Nedell and his students: “He was very inviting when we first came down [to the library]. One particular time when seniors were working on their college essays, he was willing to help me check in with my students, which I thought was really cool.”
Left to right: Stephen Nedell pointing at an artwork he bought by Keith Knight for the library. FATIMA HUSAIN; Stephen Nedell organizing books and board games. WAFIA SARUWAR; Stephen Nedell reading a spin-off of his favorite book trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. WAFIA SARUWAR
After some layoffs in 2017 in the district, librarians were among them, and the district would not continue to employ five professional librarians. Instead, they decided to have one librarian alternate between all the K-8 schools and build the library program. Though he enjoyed having the opportunity to visit all of the libraries and took pride in organizing them, the constant change in location five times a week made it difficult to merge into the different school environments and build relationships. “It was very frustrating because I was only there one day a week, so it was very much what library services the student could get, and there was not a lot,” Nedell said.
In 2017, The Blue and Gold conducted an interview when he first started his journey, and he explained in thorough detail his plans, motives, and sentiments about the libraries. To hear more about this interview, read here: “Revamping Malden’s K-8 Libraries”
Comparing the interviews from 2017 and 2024, it can be said with utmost confidence that Nedell’s view of Malden Public School libraries was fulfilled. He vowed to bring unity to the libraries and was successful. He did not want the students in the district to think of themselves as separate but instead as a part of a whole. “I want to make sure that there is a connection between the K-8 schools and that they don’t necessarily see themselves as separate islands but as branches of one whole,” Nedell explained.
“From seeing his interaction with students, I can sense how much students feel supported and seen by him, and I am very grateful that someone in the building is giving that to students,” Anne Mooney, another English teacher at Malden High, remarked.
During 2017 – 2019, three more librarians were hired to help with his visions. The following librarians are Ms. Touit, Ms. O’Toole, and Ms. Liberge. The four of them worked dedicatedly to refurnish the literature community of Malden and welcome interested students. A major bump in the road occurred when COVID-19 hit. The pandemic posed multiple challenges, including the inability to continue with the organization process. Nedell remarked that “COVID caused enormous obstacles, of course”; however, it also “helped build greater connections between me, Ms. Touit, and Ms. Liberge.”
Nedell has not only been a part of the Malden community as a teacher but also as a parent. His son graduated from the Malden Public Schools and Malden High. At first, he and his son rarely crossed paths during school hours, but when he became a parent and teacher at Beebe, he had to draw a line that would allow him to fulfill both roles. Nedell shows the importance of maintaining professional boundaries. When asked about his experience as a parent rather than a teacher, he reminisced, “I did know that I had to be very careful because I had to be both a parent and caregiver, but also a teacher.”
Nedell himself did not know he wanted to become a librarian until much later in his life. From his early childhood, he had shown a passion for reading and shared how his mother often found him in the bookstores at malls. “If you would have told me in high school that I would be a high school librarian, I would’ve never expected that to happen,” Nedell commented.
Originally, Nedell had planned to become a social studies teacher, then shifted his major and became a scholar of Soviet history. He went to Russia, studied Russian East European Studies, and planned to get a doctorate when he realized that was not the course he wanted to take. Back at his university in Indiana, there was a function at a strong library program. He considered it, applied, and was accepted. “By the time I graduated, I had two Master’s degrees, one in Russian East European Studies and one in library science,” Nedell said. From there, his journey began, and he eventually landed in Malden.
Freshman Sabrina Bhattarai enthusiastically said, “Mr. Nedell is kind, energetic, and always eager to help people.”
When asked about his first impression of the students of Malden, Nedell commented, “I really like working with the kids from kindergarten to the seniors in high school…one thing I find impressive about the students here is how diverse they are, and how willing they are to advocate for themselves…Students here are self-assured.”
Additionally, Nedell happens to have a talent for being on stage and acting. He explained how acting and being a librarian can collaborate. For example, the younger students are much more engaged in read-alouds when Nedell uses different voices to act out a few of the scenes. Nedell enjoys the experience of being on stage and the close relationships formed with the cast and crew members. 35-millimeter and Puffs are among the plays he has been involved with. For further information on his acting career, check out the blurb he wrote on the Library Page of the Malden Public Schools website: “Meet your new librarian, Mr Nedell“
