By JANELLE BECK
Contributing Writer
Either working at her desk or providing assistance to students exploring a treasure trove of educational materials, Roseann Marlett is making the Patricia Standish Curriculum Library a welcoming and stimulating place for future school employees.
Celebrating ten years working at the college, Marlett is the coordinator of the Curriculum Library. This valuable resource is available to The College of Saint Rose community as a place that caters to the needs of future school employees, including those majoring in Education and Communication Science Disorder. From pre-school activities to adult learning materials, the Curriculum Library carries hands-on materials, books, and learning resources that school employees need to work with students at any grade level.
Marlett helps to provide these educational materials for students by taking recommendations from professors, staying up to date with trends and changes in the educational system. Changes within Common Core to current teaching methods determine what is needed in the Curriculum Library. By adjusting what is stocked in the library to the needs of the students, Marlett ensures that they are well prepared to enter schools in the Albany area.
“Our holdings must keep pace with developing standards so that our students are prepared for what they will find in the school districts,” said Marlett. With a strong grasp of what students need, Marlett is able to help them with ideas and recommendations that they can use when they are preparing lessons and school activities.
“It would be very difficult to do this job without a background in Education,” said Marlett.
Earning her bachelor’s from Bowdoin College as a history major and an education minor, Marlett is keenly aware of what is required to study in the educational field. Aftergraduation, Marlett worked with Teach for America, where she taught middle school French in Natalbany, LA.
Marlett also helps to assist students and train new employees. Marlett is currently training six undergraduate and two graduate students at the library. She also works closely with the staff of the Curriculum Library to provide a helpful resource to students and professors.
“Roseann goes out of her way to make sure students feel comfortable and welcome in the [Curriculum Library] so they can get their work done in a friendly place,” said Christina Pfister professor in the Teacher Education Department at the college.
Marlett has plenty of experience being around children. After marrying her husband Jeff, the current dean of Arts and Humanities and professor at the college, they adopted three siblings from Russia at the ages of 3, 4, and 5. Marlett grew up as an only child and wanted to have children who could experience the privilege of having siblings.
After staying home with her children while they were young, Marlett worked as a preschool teacher before stepping into her initial role as a reference assistant at the Curriculum Library. Marlett was a reference assistant for eight years and during that time she helped students find appropriate library materials, helped plan lessons, and recommended books that could be used in the classroom. Marlett has enjoyed growing into her new role as coordinator where she still does these tasks and manages the library day to day.
Roseann is responsible for “answering student questions, working with faculty, managing the collection of resources… and hiring and supervising staff,” said Mary Linder, the cataloging librarian for both libraries at the college.
“Roseann and I also work closely as I catalog new items to be housed at the [library] as well as during collection inventory and weeding,” said Linder. Outside of her work roles, Marlett has developed a strong love for traveling. Growing up, her family didn’t have the opportunity to travel and she was always fascinated by the places her friends would go. Her parents always wished to travel as well but they didn’t have the opportunity.
Marlett caught the travel bug while in high school when she had the opportunity to travel to Chicago and Washington as a Maine 4-H delegate. The 4-H organization’s purpose is for youth development focusing on developing leadership and citizenship for youth.
“Since then, I’ve been traveling every chance I get,” Marlett said. “I would pretty much travel anywhere I have the opportunity to go.”
During college Marlett was able to study in Rome and visit Germany much to the chagrin of her father who “had an absolute fit when he heard where I was,” she said. Upon adopting her children she visited Saint Petersburg and Moscow.
She has also had the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
Her current travel plans include visiting all 50 states with only Alaska and Hawaii remaining. Marlett likes lists and said this goal seemed like a good place to start. She travels with her family when possible and recently took her daughter on a trip to Oregon and California.
Aside from traveling, Marlett also takes any chance to be outside and takes full advantage of living in upstate New York. Whether gardening, kayaking, hiking or camping, Marlett loves to take her family on these adventures. When she is not working, taxiing her children to various activities, or spending time outdoors she loves to read and write suspense adult fiction, having earned her MA in Creative Writing from Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, Pa.
All of Marlett’s experiences have aided her career at Saint Rose. She strives and succeeds to give students a place that is inviting and helpful.
