Ariel Birdoff (‘12) is an elementary school librarian who loves to read teen novels in her free time. Her father started his undergraduate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and was a huge fan of the campus environment. The New York native remembers hearing about her father’s experience on campus when she was growing up. Years later, while looking at master’s programs, Birdoff joked with her father saying, “Wouldn’t it be really funny if I went there?” However, she didn’t consider the idea until she realized how great the School of Information Sciences program at UT was.
Birdoff received her undergraduate degree in English at Muhlenberg College in 2004.
“I wanted a master’s degree because I liked school and wanted to get a master’s in linguistics because I like language and books. Then a family friend said, ‘Oh, that’s funny. I just always thought you’d be a librarian.’ and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re right.’,” she laughed.
This started her search for an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited information sciences program. With only a few programs fulfilling her academic needs, UT landed at the top of her list.
“Even though I know UT is a big school, all the classes I was in were so small, and through the help of Facebook and other social media, it ended up being a really nice community. I didn’t do any specific concentration but tried to do as many youth classes as I could,” she said. “To this day, I’m using the storytelling techniques that I learned from Dr. Welch in class.”
Birdoff worked in publishing and public libraries before working for her local school system. In 2023, she received the SIS Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater.
“When you’re alone in a school, it’s sometimes hard to realize you’re doing a good job because there’s no frame of reference. You have no colleagues who understand what you’re doing,” she explained.
She said receiving this honor reminded her of all the hard work she’s put into the field.
Birdoff is heavily involved with the library science community. She is a member of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the American Library Association (ALA), the New York Library Association (NYLA), and the Association for Jewish Libraries (AJL).
“The Youth Media Awards held in January every year are my favorite things. I either attend in person or watch the live stream,” she stated.
She’s been on several committees in YALSA including the summer learning task force committee, and the William C. Morris YA Debut Award committee. Birdoff has been on the YALSA 2023 Printz Award Committee and the 2024 Odyssey Award Committee. She’s applied for multiple awards throughout her career and was recently named YALSA Member of the Month for April.
“You have to advocate for yourself, which is something I’ve always had a huge problem doing,” she said.
She said once she began advocating for herself, she received multiple opportunities she thought she could only dream of attaining.
Birdoff recently received a scholarship for the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center to attend one of their symposiums and one day she hopes to write her own book.