For 25 years, Jolanta Robertson has shaped the heart of two libraries at St. Michaels University School. As Library Technician for both the Junior School and Middle School, she has built the spaces students move through every day, curating collections, designing displays, producing the yearbook and maintaining three library websites she taught herself to build from the ground up.
After completing her library technician training in Poland, Jolanta moved to Canada, living in Quebec and Ontario before settling in Victoria. Eleven years at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific shaped her path in education and deepened her love for libraries as places of connection and community. In December of 2000, she joined SMUS in a part-time role supporting both the Junior School and Middle School libraries. The role grew with her, expanding gradually into a full-time position as the needs of the school increased and the scope of what she brought to it became clear.
Looking back, Jolanta says the years have done nothing to dim her enthusiasm for the work.
"I was very enthusiastic, very optimistic, and 25 years later I'm still very passionate about what I'm doing," she said.
Two Spaces, Two Visions
Junior School Teacher-Librarian Thea Wilson-Scorgie and Middle School Teacher-Librarian Sarah Bailey each spoke warmly of Jolanta's contributions to their respective libraries. Sarah, who has worked alongside Jolanta for 14 years, describes her as the "creative director" of the space, someone whose warmth and steadiness show up in the details every day: thoughtful displays on the bulletin boards, images curated for library slideshows and the steady calm she brings to a space that is reliably unpredictable.
"She is calm in the face of any challenge," said Sarah. "She is steady, she is supportive, and she is unwavering in her dedication to our community."
Thea, who works alongside Jolanta in the Junior School library, shares that admiration.
"She welcomes change, is excited by learning new tools and perspectives, and is always ready to re-label the collection," said Thea.
That same care and creativity has extended well beyond the shelves. Since 2012, Jolanta has played a central role in building and maintaining three library websites, teaching herself Drupal from scratch to get it done right. With her working hours already full, she found her own solution: early morning treadmill sessions at the gym, working through YouTube tutorials at 5 a.m. to learn what she needed.
"I feel like I built three beautiful websites," she said. The goal, she explained, was to create a digital platform available around the clock, one that could serve students and teachers whether they were researching in the library or at home at midnight. The result is a set of visually rich, carefully organised sites that feel less like library catalogues and more like invitations to explore.
Energy That Doesn't Quit
Outside the libraries, Jolanta brings that same energy and curiosity to everything she does. A watercolour painter, she sees creativity as inseparable from who she is. She is also deeply committed to her fitness, competing in a school-wide walking challenge and logging 450 kilometres in one year to finish first among women overall. These days she can be found playing pickleball at courts across the city, building new friendships at each one. It is the same pattern wherever she goes: show up, dive in, connect.
A Home Away From Home
That instinct to connect extends to the SMUS boarding community in a way that goes well beyond her job description. For about 15 years, Jolanta has opened her home to boarding students during long weekends and holidays, cooking meals, organising bike rides and picnics and making sure students far from home had somewhere to belong. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel restrictions meant some students could not return home for Christmas, she welcomed three of them into her house for three weeks.
"Some of the relationships and friendships between students were created in my home," she said.
It speaks to something at the core of how Jolanta approaches her work and her life. She describes herself as a lifelong learner, someone always looking for new ways to serve the people around her, always ready to take on something new.
"The library is the heart of the school," she said. "It's a place where people can come and grow. It's safe. It's a sanctuary."
After 25 years, it is a conviction she shows no signs of abandoning.
"Even if I make a difference in one person, it's still worth doing."
Jolanta Robertson was recognised for her 25 years of service at the annual Staff and Faculty Appreciation dinner, hosted by the SMUS Board of Governors on April 30, 2026. Alongside Jolanta, the school highlighted the 25-year mark for Becky and Eliot Anderson, Directors of the Junior and Senior Schools respectively.
