…Auf Wiedersehen…adieu! It seems amazing to think that I have been blogging over here at the ALSC blog for 8 years now. But like all good things, it’s time for my regularly scheduled blogging here to come to an end. It has been a wonderful experience that has led to great connections among other librarians and educators, as well as an opportunity to reflect on my own practice. I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the folks who work on the back end as well as my fellow bloggers. The ALSC blog is a fantastic resource that has truly grown over the years. I know that I look forward to checking it everyday, and even more often during conference time. I’d also like to encourage readers to take the opportunity to become regular posters. Reflections of everyday practice, sharing out of program successes and challenges, talking…
Author: smdillon
I am a School Librarian at LREI in NYC. I am an avid reader (surprise!), and I love kidlit. There is nothing as satisfying as getting the right book to the right student at the right time. I also blog over at Welcome to my Tweendom.
Being In the Room!
You can feel the anticipation in the air! So many fans of books in one room. Soon the tweets will be flying so make sure you are following the hashtags #alamw16 and # I cannot wait!
Taking Advantage of the Resources at #alamw16
I found myself circling the exhibits a few times while I was on the lookout for the ALA Joblist and Career Development Placement Center. Now, before you excitedly google my job, no I am not in the market, thank you very much. I love my library. So why the placement center? I wanted to take advantage of the amazing photography service. It’s been awhile since I have had an actual headshot taken, and let’s face it – sometimes that selfie just won’t cut it. So I found the placement center (it’s right near the post office on the exhibit floor), checked in at the desk, paid my $20 and headed over. There were 2 professional photographers there and we took several shots. The photos will all be sent to me digitally as raw files so that I can filter them up to my heart’s delight! This is a great opportunity,…
Reading Resolutions
It’s that time of year when our thoughts turn to our “to-read” piles. How do we decide what we are going to read in the coming days, weeks and months? In our field, we often come across many different kinds of reading challenges. When we are reflective in our practice, we will notice to holes in our own reading lives, and many of us will feel like we need to do a better job to round out our genres/authors/styles. This year I have decided NOT to give myself a reading goal. This has less to do with the fact that I am entering into a committee year as much as it has to do with cutting myself some slack. There are so many books to read. I happen to be a member of goodreads and sitting in my “to read”queue are 379 titles. This is an unreachable number, and there will…
Favorite Bits
Let’s face it…we all have favorites. Favorite authors, favorite bits of curriculum, (favorite patrons…shhh!). I am at a favorite point of teaching with my second graders right now. We have been embarking on an American Tall Tale Study. I use Mary Pope Osborne’s American Tall Tales, as well as several stand alone picture books, including Osborne’s New York’s Bravest, and Isaacs’ Swamp Angel with the children. We talk about geographical truths and wild exaggerations. We talk about humor and fear. We talk about who tells the stories and who is represented. At the end of our study, I ask the children to create their own tall tale character who would fit into the world of Paul Bunyan. Fun, right? Turns out, in the past, it has been super hard for some students, and I figured out that I wasn’t being clear enough about world building. 7 and 8 year olds…
PD Outside of the Library World
Over this past weekend, the Progressive Education Network (PEN) held their biannual conference in Brooklyn New York. Our school was fortunate enough to be able to attend en masse when our Director decided to close school on Friday and send everyone. It was my first non-library conference, and I have to say that it clarified a few things for me. One of the main take aways is that we need to build bridges and trumpet our skills further and more widely. A highlight of the conference for me (for obvious reasons) was the “Authors as Activists and the Importance of Diverse Book” panel featuring Jacqueline Woodson, Andrea Davis Pinkney and James Lecesne. All of the authors had so much to say (see my twitter feed and the hashtag #NYPEN2015 ) but what struck me the most were many of the questions that the educators in the room were asking. They were…
Important Resource
I consider myself a bit of an old hand at blogging. While I may not be as on it as some of my peers when it comes to frequency of posting and such, I have been at this since 2005. I have seen many blogs come and go, and I have seen many trends come and go. But for the first time in a while, I got excited about a blog because of its message and its timely nature. The blog I am excited for is Reading While White : Allies for Racial Diversity & Inclusion in Books for Children & Teens. I have high hopes for the conversations this blog will be starting. It is clear from initiatives like #weneeddiversebooks , and the #blacklivesmatter movement as well as the political climate, that discussions of race are on the forefront and are necessary. The mission of Reading While White states in part- “We…
Comic Book Club — Help Please!
I am writing this blog post hoping for a little help. My school has a very active after school program, and I am proposing starting a Comic Book Club. The audience will be quite young — most likely 1st and 2nd graders. I have quite a few ideas for the sessions, but I also know that students aged 6 and 7 are consuming media at home that varies widely in content. Part of my charge as a school librarian, is keeping kids in a range (content and ability wise) that is close to grade level. I have the tried and trues down like the Toon Books, Babymouse and Squish, Starwars as well as Tiny Titans. I am learning more about superheroes myself, and am hoping you all can pitch in with some ideas for superhero series that are in synch with students of this age. I appreciate any insights you…