LISNews: Librarian News

The Miami Herald has this article about a childrens librarian who has had a huge impact on the children she serves.
\"As the head children\'s librarian at the Helen B. Hoffman Library in Plantation, Ostendorf, also known as ``Miss Miki,\'\' has been a bright light for children and families who say she has a way of making young people feel at home and excited about reading.

``I love the library, and I love Miki, too,\'\' said Eileen Hanley, who visits the library with her children Katherine, 4, and Allison, 2. ``She knows each of the kids by name.\'\'
\"Miki Ostendorf grew up in a community in Columbus, Miss., where TV sets were scarce, but kids\' imaginations were vast.

``Everyone would read and make up stories and tell stories,\'\' she says with a soft twang and an infectious laugh. ``Southerners are that way.\'\'
\"Ostendorf, 55, who taught schoolchildren for 22 years in Plantation and has worked at the library for five years, said she always lived within walking distance of libraries. The librarians who made an effort to know her, she said, kept her coming back.

``I know how very important it is for a kid for someone to know their name,\'\' she said.\"