Category Archives: Check this out:

Check this out:, General, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended App: Content Creation: Office Sway

November 16, 2016 Angie

In June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.

Sway is an easy-to-use tool that creates interactive reports, presentations, newsletters, and more. Sway is able to suggest searches to easily find relevant images, videos, and other content that the user can then simply drag into their project. The app even features a design engine that formats the layout for you (with the possibility to customize, of course). The finished project is able to be shared through a URL that doesn’t require a login, and there are privacy controls available. Sway is a good tool for educators to use to create interactive newsletters to share with parents.

This article from Teacher’s Tuts.com explains how the app can be used, and includes videos and tutorials. You can also check out this article that gives great examples of projects that can be created using Sway.

Cost: Free!
Level: Middle and High School
Platforms: iOS

Academic, Check this out:, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Self-Advocacy (Advocacy Series #4)

November 16, 2016 Mary Jordan

In this series we have spent a lot of time focused on libraries and how we can advocate for our libraries and our profession. Of course this is important, and if you have not told someone today about a great thing your library does – get on that!

We also need to talk about advocating for ourselves! As library people, we need to advocate for our specific jobs, and we need to advocate for ourselves to move into other jobs, to be taken seriously, and to do the good things we want to do in the library. (You can also advocate for yourself outside of the library; but here we will focus on self-advocacy in the workplace.)

Where do we start? Think about your job now. Do you like it? This is a serious question. Too many people are stuck in jobs they don’t like, or jobs that don’t speak to their skills and professional interests. Sometimes there is nothing to do about that, and then you either decide to just grit your teeth and do it (develop some good outside hobbies!), or you start looking around for another job.

Let’s assume that we are somewhere different, that we are in a job that may not really connect with the things we know we can do professionally, or that we can not see with a strong potential for growth and promotion. It’s not bad enough to leave it, but things could be better.

This is where self-advocacy can really come in handy! Continue reading Self-Advocacy (Advocacy Series #4) →

Check this out:, CMLE, General, Services, Training

Quick overview of the Needs Assessment survey

November 15, 2016 Mary Jordan

Thank you to everyone who participated in our needs assessment survey! The winners of the $25 Amazon gift cards have been notified.

As with all surveys, we wanted to learn more about the needs of our community. In our case, our community is our member libraries; and our need is figuring out what you guys need so we can better serve you. In any organization with a new director, it is valuable to spend this time asking around about things people want so we can keep building on successful partnerships from the past, as well as helping with the new needs a rapidly-changing profession like ours creates. Combining the information we learned here with the information learned in visiting our member libraries gives us a better picture of the things we can do to help support our libraries!

This will be a quick overview of the highlights of the results from the information received. We will be working on this for a while, and using this information to build services and materials we can offer to you. In any sort of partnership, things will keep changing and the work we do today will change too. We will be sending out another needs assessment survey in about a year and a half, to see where we are then, and what other kinds of things we can be doing.

The results here are not necessarily representative of all members, but they are giving us a basis to start thinking about things. People who are really interested in statistical testing and analysis should contact me, because I love to talk about that stuff! But this is designed as an overview, a place to start, and to have other information filled in from visits, discussions, and other sources around the system. So it may not be perfect, but every plan needs a starting point!

Continue reading Quick overview of the Needs Assessment survey →

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, Public, School Media Specialist, Special, Training

Looking ahead: December's topic is Stress Management!

November 11, 2016 Angie

Winter Wonderland — Manage your end-of-year stress!

We know December is still several weeks away, but it is such a busy time of year, we wanted to let you know about this event so you can mark your calendars now!

We decided to make the Monthly Topic for December Stress Management. This is because the end of the year can be a stressful time in libraries. There is so much going on, and everyone else is busy and stressed so they are not helping to calm things down!

But this is not just a seasonal issue. Mary’s research into stress in libraries has shown there is a LOT of stress happening in libraries all over the place – probably including yours! Library people have been embarrassed to admit being stressed at work, even though we have plenty of stressors – but it has not been discussed often enough.

So in this seminar we will look at some common stressors in libraries, and identify some strategies for addressing them. And we will work through some skills for personal relaxation, to help us survive the end of the year chaos, then take our new skills of stress management into the new year!

We will offer this seminar twice in-person on Tuesday, December 6: from noon to 1:30, and again from 4:30 to 6:00. You are invited to attend either in-person session (they are identical). Feel free to bring your food! We will provide beverages. Web material will be available for members unable to attend.

Academic, Check this out:, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Be a Librarian Advisor for ALA's Great Stories Club!

November 11, 2016 Angie

Are you a public or school librarian with experience working with at-risk or homeless young people? The ALA Public Programs Office may have an opportunity for you to be an advisor for the Great Stories Club.

Great Stories Club started receiving grants in 2006 and is a “literary reading and discussion program for underserved and at-risk populations, particularly young adults.” As a librarian advisor, your role would be to “plan, develop, and deliver print, web-based, and in-person programming support and learning experiences for GSC grantees, and also participate in a collaborative planning process involving ALA staff, representatives from funding agencies, literature scholars, and creative artists.”

If you are at all interested in this opportunity, be aware that applications are due by 5pm CST on November 18th! Get information regarding desired qualifications and how to apply by clicking here.

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