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.
Tag: school outreach
Building Public and School Library Partnerships During Covid-19
Working through the Pandemic has forced all of us to reevaluate, alter, and adjust to new ways of working. With so many uncertainties, and lack of information, it has also stagnated some of the decisions in how to move forward. As many states have closed schools for the remainder of the school year, both school and public libraries need to strategize ways they can best serve displaced students. Cultivating and deepening partnerships between the two is essential, now so more than ever. As many vital teacher librarian jobs have been reduced and deprioritized in systems all across the country over the last few years, public library staff need to recognize the vulnerable positions that teacher librarians are in, and the potential of one’s teacher librarian job outsourced is upsetting. Public libraries need to find ways to support school libraries and staff, and to share resources, so that we can all…
Poetry in Action!
In one week, I will be launching a rocket, watching out for rattlesnakes, dancing ballet, singing like animals, toasting marshmallows, snapping like a shrimp and more! What? You guessed it! April is National Poetry Month! I’m excited to visit schools in Central Oregon with interactive poems and introduce children to new children’s poets.
Class Visit Idea Round Up
We get class visit requests often here in Nevada County, CA. We have nine school districts, nine special or charter schools, and 4 private schools scattered around our rural county, where 68% of residents live in unincorporated areas. It makes it really special for kids to get to the library, so I feel a lot of pressure to make their school visit great. The image above is an easy one – make a special display focused on the classes’ interests or recent project. I spent a while researching good class visit templates, but unlike storytimes, there aren’t a lot of them out there. So here are a few ideas. I’d love to hear what you do in the comments! Preschool and Kindergarten visits: My goal with these is to get kids feeling like the library is a place for them. I have some quick sketches featuring different things you…