Laura Giunta ’09G
As Children’s Librarian, Alumna Continues to Draw upon St. John’s Education
Laura Giunta ’09G brings the community spirit she experienced at St. John’s University into her role as a children’s librarian at the Garden City Public Library in Garden City, NY. When she decided to pursue her Master of Science in Library and Information Science, Giunta chose St. John’s because of its “reputation for academic excellence”—and the part-time assistantship that allowed her to work alongside St. John’s librarians while pursuing her studies.
“One of the major assignments I had during my assistantship was organizing the books during the renovation of the Chin Ying Asian Library,” said Giunta. “Although it was a lot of work, being a part of such an intensive project allowed all of the graduate assistants and library employees to really bond and form a connection.”
Giunta also helped Blythe Roveland-Brenton, Ph.D., university archivist and associate dean, during the renovation of the Rare Books Collection. The volumes, part of the St. John’s University’s Archives and Special Collections, include works that date back to the 1400s. “At some point,” said Giunta, “I’ll probably have to help in renovating the Garden City Public Library, and my experience from my assistantship will make me prepared when that time comes.”
With the help of James Vorbach, Ph.D., associate professor and director of Library and Information Science, Giunta and the Nassau County Library Association helped organize the first annual Long Island Libraries and Pop Culture Conference at St. John’s University’s Oakdale location in April 2015. The event examined the importance of incorporating pop culture, such as video games and comic books, into libraries and will be held again this spring.
Since graduating from St. John’s, Giunta has served on various library committees. For the past three years, she has also been a speaker at New York Comic Con. At the 2015 event, she spoke about “cosplay” which entails dressing up in costume as a specific character. “I try to integrate cosplay into the Garden City Library because it makes learning more exciting,” she said. “It heightens interaction among the children and gives them the power of expression.”
