Jill Hofmockel is a beloved librarian at West High who has been working at the school for 17 years. As an educator, she has advanced West High’s library program by introducing her fun, quirky, bubbly energy into the building. She’s not only an appreciated teacher, but she’s made heaps of changes that have created the comfortable, welcoming environment of our library today.
Hofmockel initially gained a degree in political science, hoping to be Secretary of State, but towards the end of receiving that degree, she decided to go in a different direction. She got her teacher certification in US Government and US history, completing the program in the winter. Schools weren’t hiring teachers at that time, so she started to substitute teach when an open position at Prairie High School appeared. The decision to substitute teach would change her entire trajectory. Hofmockel long-term subbed for the librarian there, and it opened her eyes to a new path.
“I subbed for her for two months, and it was not very long into it where I was like, ‘This is it, this is the thing for me.’” Hofmockel said.
After working at Prairie for seven years and becoming the librarian after the previous librarian retired, Hofmockel had two young kids at the house.
“Driving to Cedar Rapids wasn’t as fun as it used to be, and the Iowa City Schools have this amazing tradition of a strong library program.”
Hofmockel pointed out a picture in her office showing that the Iowa City School District won the National School Library Program of the Year Award in 1997.
“When you’re a school librarian, you know about the Iowa City School library programs,” Hofmockel said. So when there was an opening here, Hofmockel took it, and she’s been at West for the past 17 years.
The reasons why she’s decided to stay here for so long are due to the culture at West and the staff.
“I love West. I love that we have such a culture of reading. We have a super collaborative teaching staff who let me come into their classes all the time, and there is absolutely a tradition at West of the librarians being teachers as well.”
Hofmockel has created lasting connections with her coworkers. One of the secretaries, Sara Siepker has positive remarks about Hofmockel’s impact. “She’s fantastic to work with, very good at communicating and being clear and she’s very fun and light-hearted,” she adds, “And as a librarian, she’s always got excellent recommendations, and she feels very strongly about what she’s doing and very passionate about her job.”
Christina Hart, another media secretary in the library, commends Hofmockel for her approach to leadership. “She is always up to hear ideas and do fun, wacky things. I actually had her as a teacher when I was in school, so it’s fun.”
As a librarian, books are a significant aspect of the job. While Hofmockel doesn’t have a favorite book, she’s a big fan of the author John Green, even having a John Green license plate on her car. A good book she’s picked up recently would be “Chaos Theory” by Nic Stone.“We have it [in the library], and it highlights mental illness and how it can affect the two main characters, who are both dealing with it in different ways. It’s a good one.”
To many students, the library is a safe and comfortable place. Hofmockel believes that it has become that way due to a couple of factors: the vibe of the entire school and the influence of a past principal, Dr. Arganbright.
“One of the first things that I remember him saying that impacted me was he said, ‘I don’t like to have a rule unless I have to have a rule.’ And so, we kind of, over the years, have just of adopted kind of a live-and-let-live.”
The library has undoubtedly become an environment for all students to feel comfortable in. Andy Ham ’24, one of Hofmockel’s children, comments, “The library staff works really hard to make this a safe space by including a lot of different voices in what they display for books, for example.” Andy adds, “And I think that, despite the laws [SF 496], they’re trying their best to be as welcoming as possible.”
Hofmockel shares her favorite parts of the job. “The thing that I liked the best about my job, and the reason why it was so attractive to me 100 years ago at Prairie was how different the relationship is with students than as a classroom teacher.”
“I think that this library is just a happy place; that’s what I think. That’s what I hope it is,” Hofmockel said.
