Benefits of teamwork helped draw media specialist to career

Everything is relative for Anna Olliff, the Columbia County school system media specialist of the year.

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Olliff, of Evans Middle School, credited her mother-in-law, Jody Olliff, a former media coordinator for the Richmond County school system, for encouraging her to pursue her career.

The benefits of teamwork also persuaded the former teacher to move from the classroom to the media center.

"I had worked with some really good librarians, and I saw how the library could be utilized when teachers and librarians work together," she said.

She spent seven years as a seventh-grade language arts teacher in DeKalb County and a literature instructor at Hillcrest High School in Greenville, S.C.

Olliff, who is in her sixth year as the Evans Middle School media specialist, was honored at a banquet Thursday at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

Olliff said the way children search for information has changed in the eight years she tool off between her teaching and media specialist careers.

"Kids today just want to Google everything," she said. "They just want to push a button and get the information right there."

She said helping children find information and seeing them get excited about reading are her job's biggest rewards.

"I think reading is still popular. I think there are a lot of great authors out there for young adults," she said.