At Pine Hollow Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kristen Ziller sees the library as more than a place to find books. After more than 20 years as a librarian, she has watched students embrace the library as the heart of the school—and she uses Follett Destiny to help make that welcome personal, useful, and centered on student choice.

“I love it when students visit the library with no other purpose than just to be in this space.” — Kristen Ziller, Library Media Specialist, Pine Hollow Middle School, Wake County Public School System

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A library designed around student voice

Ziller’s approach starts with a simple idea: students should be able to find what they need, make choices for themselves, and see their interests reflected in the library experience. At Pine Hollow, Follett Destiny Library Manager is at the heart of that work, supporting a student-centered program that uses Collections by Destiny to help librarians, teachers, and students collaborate and share both free and purchased resources.

Destiny Discover makes that experience easier to navigate. Ziller uses its homepage as a one-stop landing page where students can find the school website, the public library catalog, research resources, and a form to request a library book purchase. The “Topics and Collections” feature gives students another way into the catalog, especially when they are not sure what they want to search for yet.

“I am focused on empowering students by giving them a voice. I’m also dedicated to sharing what I discover and learn on Destiny with our other librarians.” — Kristen Ziller, Library Media Specialist, Pine Hollow Middle School, Wake County Public School System

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Discovery feels better when students can see their next step

For students, the value of a digital discovery experience is practical. Destiny Discover shows whether a title is available, where to find it, and whether it is already checked out. Students can place books on hold, save titles to “Favorites,” review what they have read, and use reviews to decide which book fits their interests.

That clarity changes the way students move through the library. Instead of arriving and hoping a particular book is on the shelf, they can search before they go, understand their options, and get to the right resource more quickly. Students have also shared that Destiny Discover helps them explore new genres and saves time when they are searching.

The platform gives educators room to build on that curiosity. Pete Caggia, Library Media Coordinator at Salem Middle School in Apex, North Carolina, describes Destiny Discover as a dynamic library experience that lets him rotate fresh content while students manage their own accounts from school devices. Carmen Brennan, Library Media Coordinator at Alston Ridge Middle School in Cary, North Carolina, uses Destiny Discover collections to curate research topics and support projects and leisure reading throughout the year.

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Better tools make the librarian’s work more efficient

A student-centered library still needs dependable systems behind the scenes. Ziller credits Destiny Discover’s user-friendly interface with making her work easier and more efficient, while Destiny Library Manager brings the broader library program together across print and digital resources, circulation, inventory, reporting, and student discovery.

That combination helps Ziller keep the focus on people rather than process. A supportive administration and a student population that consistently uses the library give her the foundation to make a difference; Destiny helps her organize the experience, share resources with colleagues, and extend access beyond the physical shelves.

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The library becomes a safe space for every learner

For Ziller, improved student outcomes are inseparable from the environment the library creates. She wants students to come in for reading recommendations, to find materials that reflect a variety of perspectives, and to build empathy and understanding by learning about others.

Her goal is not simply to increase circulation. It is to cultivate a nourishing space with free access to reading and informational services—one where students feel comfortable spending part of every school day and where technology helps them act on their own interests.

“At the end of the day, it’s vital that libraries are safe spaces that offer resources on a variety of perspectives, where all individuals see themselves represented in the materials there and gain empathy and understanding by learning about others. Destiny helps our library at Pine Hollow be the heart of the school and a safe space.” — Kristen Ziller, Library Media Specialist, Pine Hollow Middle School, Wake County Public School System

At Pine Hollow, Destiny helps turn student voice into everyday action: finding a title, exploring a new genre, requesting a resource, sharing a review, or simply choosing to be in the library. That is how a library becomes the heart of a school—one student choice at a time.