Booklady masters unknown role at McNicholas

Jill Crawford has the official title of Auxiliary Textbook Clerk, but she says she’s better known as the “book lady.”  Crawford has worked at McNicholas for nearly ten years, and graduated from the Class of 1983.  Her job involves spending and managing the budget that she receives from the State of Ohio to spend on textbooks, workbooks, technology, and fine arts.  Everything that students use in the classroom are all ordered by Crawford: clay, music books, photo developer, and even chemicals for science classes.

Crawford’s workload fluctuates depending on the time of the year. “The beginning and end of school years are always the busiest,” she explained.  A large portion of Crawford’s day involves taking inventory and printing reports.  She works with the Department Chairs to determine which textbooks to order when needed.  Every six years, textbooks are replaced to provide students with updated versions.

Crawford’s office is in senior hall between the women’s restroom and the SAIL room.  There are bookcases with textbooks, boxes of markers, and several spare tablets which Crawford is also responsible for ordering.

One of Crawford’s favorite memories was when she opened a box that had just arrived and it turned out to be a box of cats for science teacher John Chadwell’s Anatomy class.  “It caught me so off guard,” she laughed, “opening that box of cats definitely is a highlight for me.”

Auxiliary Textbook Clerk Jill Crawford sorts through textbooks in her office in senior hall. This is one of her many duties, which includes ordering supplies and creating inventory reports.