Librarian tops in state

Not a single book was on the shelves when Candy Ranney became the library media specialist at Mountain View Elementary School in 2006.

The books had been packed away for a renovation that didn't happen when funding fell through. Without books until the second semester, Ranney turned to her lifelong passion for science and engaged the kids in identifying animal skulls and examining owl feces for fur and bones. In the ensuing years, she founded a Reading Buddies program for first grade students and their stuffed animals and gave them the opportunity to watch salmon eggs hatch in a library tank.

She also sets up Zoom appearances with authors. Every student in grades one through four received a copy of Jerry Pallotta's book "Who Would Win" as part of the author's appearance.

The most rewarding part of the job is "the connections with the kids," Ranney said. Also, "it's matching kids with their favorite books."

"We have them for five years," she said. "I see them from kindergarten through the fourth grade. I know their siblings. I probably know their parents and grandparents."

The Washington Library Association recently announced Ranney is the state's Elementary Librarian of the Year. She was nominated by the author Mary Boone, who spoke to Mountain View students via Zoom. Ranney will receive the award at the Washington Library Association's annual conference April 10-12 in Tacoma.

Ranney said her reaction was "disbelief at first. You don't expect people to notice ... It's very gratifying."

"Candy Ranney is someone who brings learning to life and inspires students to read every day," Mountain View Elementary Principal Greg Woods wrote to the Journal.

"While she does an amazing job managing our library, where she really shines is teaching our students and sharing her love of books and reading. She is one of our specialist teachers and sees students of all grades every day, working hard to connect what she does in the library to what is happening in all of our classrooms. She works closely with all of our classroom teachers to enrich what is happening in all grades and is part of our specialist team that plans all of our assemblies and celebrations," Woods said.

He added, "In addition to sharing her own love of reading with Mt. View students, Candy goes out of her way to secure grants in an effort to provide additional experiences for our students. She routinely secures author visits to Mt. View and recently organized our Read Across America activities, inviting community members in to read to our students. In short, Candy is an inspiration for our students, spreading the love of reading across our school community."

Ranney was born and raised in Shelton on a Christmas tree farm across the street from Sanderson Field. She attended Mountain View Elementary School and Shelton Middle School. At Shelton High School, she was the ASB president, president of the German Club and the editor of the yearbook. She graduated in 1981.

Ranney enrolled at the University of Puget Sound with the intention of becoming a biologist. She had internships at a fish hatchery and with the Department of Natural Resources. She also rowed on the college's crew team.

"Science was my thing, as it was in high school," she said. "And foreign language - it got me out of the lab."

At UPS, she met her husband, Scott.

After they married, they moved to Scott's home state of Alaska. Scott worked as a commercial fisherman and Ranney was a deckhand. Scott later joined the U.S. Coast Guard. Both taught.

They moved to Shelton in 1997, back to the Christmas tree farm. All four of their children graduated from Shelton High School, and all four majored in science in college.

With the Shelton School District, Ranney began as a substitute teacher with kindergarten students. "They're just so eager and excited to learn - it was so much fun," she said.

Then she studied library science through the University of Idaho. In 2006, she became Mountain View's librarian.

She said she works hard to acquire updated books and weed out books that don't meet current sensibilities, such as "Fat Elliott and the Gorilla" and "Oliver Button is a Sissy."

"I get a lot of support from teachers and my team."

And what does she hope the kids get out of it?

"I hope they realize that later in life, the library is the place for them to not only get books, but to explore and get help with things they need ... You want to be able to give them tools to better themselves."