Tag Archives: School Librarian

Books, Children's services

A Peek into the Future School Library

Library

I love thinking about the future – things will be wonderful there! Full funding for libraries! Programs are always filled! Funders fall over themselves to talk about the great things we provide!

So I was happy to see this article from Hannah Byrd Little, thinking about the future of school libraries. You can read an excerpt below, and click here to read the whole thing.

“During the school year, I focus my time almost completely on curriculum, collaboration with faculty, and working directly with students. But during the summer I turn my focus on the immediate future of my library space and the library collection. I tend to be more of a big-picture person. Many librarians are detail oriented but details are not my strength. So, I have my lists.

 “Summer to-do-list” for the big-picture librarian:

  • Analyzing Use — Walk into the front door of your library and pretend you are a student. Or, walk into the front door of your library and pretend you are a campus visitor.
  • Summertime Weeding  — I use tools like Follett Titlewise, and I also like to invite faculty to participate like they do in Pennsylvania Libraries. There is also the Continuous Review Evaluation and Weeding acronym MUSTIE that can help start the process.
  • Editing Furniture — Less is more, streamlining the library shelving can make for an open, inviting space.
  • Updating Technology — Think about low cost or no cost options like improving the self check-out, or adding instructions and helpful signage in the technology-rich areas.
  • Updating the Virtual Library — Work to improve online research guides and the library’s web presence.
  • Create Positive Signage — Change any negative language; for instance instead of “No Food or Drink” try “Food and Drink Free Zone.”
  • Make a Tickler List/File — A monthly list of what celebrations and events happen in the library space and of course, what bills are due each month

My big-picture side automatically thinks about library use and function over the next 10, 20, or even 30 years. I think of the library space as a place of information access and literacy development. A place where students still want to visit and a place where the librarian is still available to guide students in their information quest.”

Communication, Conference

Thirty AASL members receive Bound To Stay Bound grants to attend first national conference

Image result for bound to stay bound

Contact:

Jennifer Habley
Manager, Web Communications
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
312-280-4383
jhabley@ala.org

CHICAGO – Thirty members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have been awarded a $750 travel grant to attend their first AASL national conference. Generously sponsored by Bound To Stay Bound Books, Inc. (BTSB), the grants will allow recipients to secure housing, transportation and/or registration for the AASL National Conference & Exhibition taking place Nov. 9-11, 2017, in Phoenix, Ariz.

Grant recipients include:

  • Lisa Beal, West Liberty Elementary, West Liberty, Iowa
  • Susan Bloom, Peabody Primary School, Washington, DC
  • Sherri Bryan, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara, Ca.
  • Tracey Cain, Reams Road Elementary School, Midlothian, Va.
  • Janet Hamilton, K-8, Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District, Wilbraham, Mass.
  • Amy DeNomme, Harrisburg Explorer, Sioux Falls, S.D.
  • Melanie Downie, Auburn Elementary, Auburn, Kansas
  • Christine Drysdale, Somers High School, Lincolndale, N.Y.
  • Valerie Ehlers, Gladbrook-Reinbeck/Grundy Center, Reinbeck, Iowa
  • Terri Gaussoin, Janet Kahn School of Integrated Arts, Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Susannah Goldstein, Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice, Bronx, N.Y.
  • Brenna Greer, Robertsville Elementary, Morganville, N.J.
  • Rebecca Gullans, Albert Einstein Academies Elementary School, San Diego, Calif.
  • Anastasia Hanneken, Indian Mills Memorial School, Shamong, N.J.
  • Julie Hengenius, Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School, Corfu, N.Y.
  • Erica Leu, Pflugerville Elementary, Pflugerville, Texas
  • Joan Maybank, Lynnwood High School, Bothell, Wash.
  • Christina Northrup-Thompson, Ritenour High School, St. Louis, Mo.
  • Alexandra Quay, Sinai Akiba Academy, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Emily Ratica, Arroyo Valley High School, San Bernardino, Calif.
  • Kate Ricter, Bridge Point Elementary, Austin, Texas
  • Lea Roberts, Hollywood Hill Elementary, Woodinville, Wash.
  • Camille Rodgers, Pontotoc High School, Pontotoc, Miss.
  • Alicia Rogers, Christensen Elementary, Tacoma, Wash.
  • Leslie Roy, Maury High School, Norfolk, Va.
  • Jennifer Sharp, John Overton High School, Nashville, Tenn.
  • Georgina Trebbe, Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham, Mass.
  • Paula Tonn, Lodi Middle School, Wis.
  • Stacy Udo, Tumwater High School, Tumwater, Wash.
  • Laurie Vitt, Firgrove Elementary School, Puyallup, Wash.

“At Bound To Stay Bound we recognize the value of the professional school librarian in our schools and take pride in being able to offer these grants to help further their knowledge and give them an opportunity to share their experiences with other professionals,” said Bob Sibert of Bound To Stay Bound Books.

“AASL is so grateful to Bound To Stay Bound Books for their continuing support of the first-timer grant,” said AASL President Audrey Church. “Through their generosity, BTSB is allowing thirty school librarians a chance to see ‘beyond the horizon’ and attend the national conference where AASL’s new ‘National School Library Standards’ will launch. These professionals will be among the first to explore the new standards and will return their schools ready to implement them on Monday.”

The AASL National Conference & Exhibition is the only national conference dedicated solely to the needs of school librarians and their roles as educational leaders. “Beyond the Horizon,” taking place Nov. 9-11, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona, will feature preconference workshops, concurrent sessions and an exhibition featuring companies relevant to the profession. Those communicating about the national conference are encouraged to use the official hashtag, #aasl17.

For more than 95 years Bound To Stay Bound Books, www.btsb.com, has supplied children’s and young adult library books, both fiction and nonfiction, to school and public libraries. It provides books that stand the test of time in both content and durability and services exceeding your expectations.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.

Children's services, Conference, School Media Specialist

School library professionals invited to attend AASL’s virtual membership meeting

American Association of School Librarians

Contact:

Jennifer Habley
Manager, Web Communications
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
312-280-4383
jhabley@ala.org

 

CHICAGO – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will hold its annual virtual membership meeting at 5 p.m. Central (6 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Mountain, 3 p.m. Pacific) on Sunday, June 4, 2017. The annual membership meeting provides AASL members with a “state of the association” update via reports from AASL leadership.

As the membership meeting requires no official vote of AASL membership, all members of the school library profession are invited to attend. RSVP here to receive an email with a link to the online meeting space. AASL leadership encourages active participation in the meeting and will be available for questions via the chatbox during the presentation.

In appreciation of their attendance at the meeting, three AASL members will be drawn at random from the attendee’s names and gifted with either a tour during the AASL National Conference & Exhibition, a year of AASL membership, or a copy of the new “National Standards for School Libraries” when it launches in November.

Continue reading School library professionals invited to attend AASL’s virtual membership meeting →

Advocacy, Children's services, School Media Specialist

Woodbridge School Board President Explains Vote To Fire Librarians

Fired stamp

From the Woodbridge Patch By Carly Baldwin (Patch Staff)

“WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The president of the Woodbridge school board talked to Patch Wednesday and defended the board’s unanimous vote last week to eliminate the district’s remaining librarians.

“I will candidly admit I did not anticipate how much backlash there would be on this,” said school board president Daniel Harris. He said the board received “dozens” of emails from people upset with the library changes, many from Woodbridge residents but some from all over the country. About 15 parents attended last Tuesday’s Board of Ed. meeting, causing one Board member to remark that she’d never seen the room so packed.

There are only three librarians left in the Woodbridge school system, and all three are at the high school level. Two have teaching certificates and will be offered teaching jobs in the district, Harris said. At least one librarian will be kept as a traveling librarian between all three high schools, Colonia, JFK and Woodbridge High.

It’s part of dramatic changes ahead for Woodbridge school system’s libraries.

With the librarians gone, Woodbridge school libraries will be transitioned into “a more flexible space for the district,” Harris said. “I don’t want to use the word ‘lounge,’ but it will be a place where students can work on projects together. You’ll see it look more like a college library, with couches and a coffee-shop style set-up.”

“A lot of the books will be recycled or donated,” he said. “Especially the encyclopedias and atlases, those are very outdated. The more popular books will be sent to classrooms or kept. We’ll probably look into an electronic method of allowing students to borrow books.”

And expect these changes to be happening very soon: The library at Colonia Middle School will be converted into a computer lab this summer. The new look for the district’s libraries will be in place by the time students return in the fall.”

(Read the rest of this article here!)

School Media Specialist, Services, Training

New eCourse: Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job

Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job eCourse
Contact:
Colton Ursiny
Administrative Assistant
ALA Publishing
cursiny@ala.org

Chicago—ALA Editions announces a new iteration of our popular eCourse, Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job. Hilda K. Weisburg will serve as the instructor for a 6-week facilitated eCourse starting on July 10, 2017.

Estimated Hours of Learning: 30
Certificate of Completion available upon request.

School librarians are worried about their jobs, and with good reason. Budget cuts have taken many jobs, and those who have retained their jobs find their resources stretched thin. In this eCourse, respected authority Weisburg gives school librarians concrete strategies for demonstrating and proving their worth through clear, focused leadership.

Showing you how to focus and strengthen your programs and articulate those strategies in ways that build support for yourself and your library within your institution, she leaves no stone unturned. This eCourse teaches you how to lead; how to identify the people you need to influence; and how to influence them on paper, in person, and during meetings.

Learning outcomes

  • Making the case for the vital role school librarians play in learning
  • Identifying your mission/vision in order to focus your program and be able to prioritize efficiently
  • Building a solid base of support among stakeholders who hold the power over your future
  • Creating and preparing to carry out plans targeted to strengthen your programs

eCourse outline

Part 1: Positioning Yourself

  • Qualities of a leader (your strengths and weaknesses)
  • Mission and vision statements
  • Core values and tag lines

Part 2: Reaching the Power Stakeholders

  • Connecting with administrators (superintendent, principals, BOE, and the central office)
  • Connecting with the community (parents, business owners, the public library, and others)

Part 3: Reaching Priority Stakeholders