Adjusting to the time difference between New York and San Diego has been a bit of an adventure. I keep forgetting to call my family to let them know things are okay. When I look at my watch and see 8:00 pm and then reach for my phone I realize it is 11:00 in NY, I promise to call first thing in the morning. The time change is kind of cool though. Waking up 7:00 in the morning San Diego time when your body thinks it is 10 is just heavenly.
Tag: planning
Summer’s Over… Now What?!?: Tips for Planning for a Year of Library Programming
As a school librarian member of ALSC, I have a programming hiatus thanks to our summer break. I enjoy the break and time off to refresh and renew. As the new school year approaches, though, I am beginning to look ahead to programming for this year. This will be my sixth year in the library but only my second year as a full-time school librarian, and I know that thinking about a year of programming can be daunting. So, for this ALSC SAPS blog, I thought I’d offer a few tips for my fellow librarians who are similarly in the planning stages for a year of programming! My first tip is for those of my fellow librarians who are also relatively new to this profession: Remember that you don’t have to do it all all at once! When I began work as a librarian, I had So. Many. Ideas! …
5 Questions For Better Storytime Planning
5 questions to ask when planning the perfect storytime for your library audience.
Serving Students and Families: A Collaborative Literacy Model in Support of Student Achievement
Much of my work as a public librarian centered on collaborating with school districts in an effort to connect with literacy and technology initiatives. This work was rewarding when we were able to center the needs of students and families, but building capacity to improve student success could also prove elusive. When I joined ALSC’s Children and Technology Committee one of my aims was to lift up stories of collaboration and achievement, so when I had the privilege of hearing about the efforts of the library and technology services staff at Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and how they utilized their infrastructure support systems with the Nashville Public Library (NPL) during the pandemic, I knew it was a story worth sharing.
Thoughts on Graduation
This is the time of year when you can’t avoid the evidence-it’s graduation time. You either know someone who is graduating or someone you know is going to a graduation. A friend’s child barely made it across the finish line and there’s relief. Others are in the throes of meeting final requirements, getting signatures, and making arrangements for the big day and beyond.
Babies, books – the birth of a plan
We have a new City Librarian and, joy of joys, he cares deeply about school readiness and early literacy. In fact, he stated in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday that he wants to offer a Books for Babies program here. Well, heck – you bet we can do that! It’s a service offered by many libraries in all kinds of ways; a simple Google search brought up all kinds of nifty examples and models. And it goes along perfectly with the Every Child Ready to Read 2 parent workshops and early literacy-rich storytimes we already provide. On to creating a plan. Hmm, suddenly I’ve got dozens of questions. Here are some of them: Do we use a ready-made kit or create our own? Should there be just books and brochures – or should we add educational toys and other items as well? How do we get the books and whatnot…