To kick off day two of #alaac26, I attended a session* called “Sustaining Your School Library Community Throughout the Summer: A Beginner’s Toolkit,” presented by DoMonique Arnold and Harrison Price. Start with Three Determining Factors My biggest takeaway from this session was the list of three determining factors for a successful summer program: 1. Student Interest If you’re going to go through all of the trouble to create a summer program, it’s crucial that you choose a direction that suits your community. Find out what could be the best fit through discussions or polling with your advisory group, library regulars, and/or book clubs – wherever your community is gathering, you can have a conversation! And, don’t feel like it has to be a big deal… feel free to add in your question(s) alongside any announcements you’d normally make. 2. Student Capacity Although, it may feel like some things slow down…
Category: School Library Media Specialist
Expanding Novel Studies into Research Opportunities
This Spring, my 4th and 5th graders are spending the bulk of their library classes doing a novel study of a book that I loved and devoured in 2024–A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hdoing aall by Jasmine Warga. This quick-paced chapter book, which clocks in at just over 200 pages, is full of relatable coming-of-age characters, family dynamics, and of course…the theft of a piece of art. Let me tell you about how this book revitalized my library teaching this semester.
5 Things I’m Doing Differently In My Elementary School Library
As December roared to a close, I looked at my curriculum tracking document with all my check boxes and wanted to exhale, but I was already thinking about the next six months ahead. By the end of the fall semester, I had gotten into a good rhythm with my teaching in the school library, and I was happy with what we had accomplished. I knew I needed to make a few changes though—not just to make my life as a school librarian easier, but to better serve myself and my students in the months ahead.
Yo! Book Fest: The Young People’s Book Festival
At the end of October, I had the pleasure of attending the first Young People’s Book Festival hosted at Black Rock Middle School in Southeastern Pennsylvania. This free event was hosted by the middle school librarian, student ambassadors, and a local bookstore to highlight some amazing local authors and illustrators. Below are highlights from this year’s inaugural festival.
How to Manage Behaviors in the Library
The toughest thing about working with kids can often be setting expectations and managing behaviors. Most articles available to librarians about “classroom management” include advice such as follow the rules of the institution you work for or build rapport with patrons/students. While this is good advice, it does not leave room for questions, especially from those who may not have an educational background. As someone with this background, what kind of librarian would I be to not help others build their background knowledge?
How Being a Children’s Librarian Changed My School Library Sub Plans
When I made the jump from the public library to the school library in January, there were a lot of adjustments. I went from preparing for a maximum of 80 storytime participants to seeing 400 students a week. I pivoted from asking nannies to turn off white noise machines to asking students not to unsafely climb on top of furniture. I went from toddler crafts to 5th grade research projects, and it was an almost dizzying whiplash at first. But as I eased into my new role, and as my first semester turned into my second, I realized there were so many ways that being a children’s librarian had prepared me for being a school librarian in unique ways that my colleagues didn’t have. Then, in October 2024, I got pneumonia, and being a former children’s librarian became VERY useful.
Reimagining Book Fairs that Align with ALSC’s Core Values
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. But I can remember only one book fair experience as a child: pacing a fluorescently lit room and asking the cashier, “How much is this with tax?” to see what I could afford with my lunch money. This eraser? This bookmark? Certainly not a book. Later, as a classroom teacher at a Title I school, I would witness many of my students experiencing much the same thing.
AASL @ ALA Annual
Here at #ALAAC24 one of the biggest challenges I faced was deciding how to spend my time. There are so many things I want to do, I feel pulled in twenty different directions. There are so many sessions to attend, people to speak with, meetings to attend, and swag to collect.