A million years ago (okay, it just feels that way), I wrote a blog post about in-services for early childhood educators. I also have the good fortune to work with educators in our public schools. In an outreach visit, I get to teach the teachers about our databases.
I love collaborating with our public school librarians. Whether it’s providing booktalks and storytimes to the elementary school students or making connections with the middle schoolers, it’s always a joy to be out and about in our community. One of the middle school librarians recently invited us to “teach the teachers:” tell her staff about our databases. It was a great opportunity to collaborate and to promote our resources.
First, we began by discussing with the school librarian which databases she wanted us to highlight. Most important were our resources that tie into projects the students will be assigned. We also took some time to remind teachers of our e-book and e-audiobook resources.
- CultureGrams Online
- Gale Biography Resource Center
- Scholastic Go!
- ProQuest
- Hoopla and Libby
Secondly, we partnered with two colleagues from other departments to create a bookmark that promotes the databases. The bookmark features links and brief descriptions. The teachers can share the bookmarks, available in both digital and print formats, with students and their families.
Finally, we gave the presentation to the middle school teachers. Lasting about 30 minutes, we covered a few databases and then played our infamous Stump the Librarian game! We’ve played this game with both students and teachers, and it’s always a hit. Challenge: can they name a person who we can’t find in our databases? It’s fun and truly highlights how amazing our public library resources are!
When we promote these resources to teachers, we see good things happen. Primarily, we see database usage increase exponentially! Students get to see how helpful our resources are and have an easier time doing their research. Teachers and parents see the value of our public/school library partnership. Win-win-win!
I’d love to know what presentations you do for your teachers, whether it’s early childhood, elementary, or middle school educators. Share in the comments below.
This ALSC blog post addresses these core competencies: I. Commitment to Client Group and V. Outreach and Advocacy.