Category Archives: Libraries

Libraries, Middle School, Professional Development, Self-Study

Librarian, Focus!: Organizing a Self Study

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http://media.finedictionary.com/pictures/103/53/13671.jpg

As I said in my previous post on this topic, school librarians often find themselves wearing the hats of “actor, caretaker, clerk, crafter, event planner, manners police officer, meeting goer, paper cutter, professional developer, sympathetic ear and window dresser.”  Add to that list magpie, as we are always picking up and exclaiming over every shiny object we see, whether it be a new piece of hardware or a glossy coffee table art book. (Which is a myth, apparently.) We change direction constantly, depending on what the new trend, app, or gadget is.

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1st Post, Libraries, Middle School, Self-Study

Librarian, who art thou?: Embarking on a Self Study

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I am a Middle School Librarian. I also answer to “media specialist,” “teacher librarian,” “book wrangler,” and “lion tamer.” Some days I am a stand-alone stalwart, but most days I am an embedded collaborator with my laudable and erudite colleagues. I juggle the shelving of stacks, the circulation of materials, the teaching of research, and the matching of kid to book. I look longingly at my Raspberry Pi codebook and pine for the day when I can actually use it, write book reviews and evaluate databases. I read, read, read and read some more.

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Libraries, Lower School, Social Justice

Changing Up The Curriculum

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imgres-1One of the best things about working in a school like LREI is having control over my own curriculum.  I am free to change and tweak things as I go. Last year I decided to make a change in my 2nd grade curriculum.  In the past I had done a Caldecott study with my students. We would learn what the award is about, and read some winning titles and honor titles from years past.  We discussed the art and criteria at length and the culminating event was the 2nd graders voting on their “Caldecott of Caldecotts”.  This was a fun and interactive study, and while there was great enthusiasm and nothing wrong with it, I felt I needed to shift the study. Continue reading Changing Up The Curriculum →

Libraries, Technology

Giving It All Away and the Importance of Collaboration

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Creative Commons search, Carlos Maya
Creative Commons search, Carlos Maya

The Library Department is about to host a NYSAIS conference with the EdTech department around the importance of collaboration between librarians and technology teachers. As the field of school librarianship continues to grow and change, librarians are discovering that a successful partnership with technology faculty is not just a good idea but vital to creating young digital citizens who know how to evaluate information, protect privacy, and form healthy online communities. It should be easy, but sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to sharing curriculum and classrooms. We are often too quick to say, “But I can’t give up time to collaborate, or I’ll never get through my curriculum!” or “Our schedules just don’t match, it’s hopeless to try and plan something,” or “But I love teaching this topic, I don’t know if I want to share it with anyone!” These all too human responses remind me of a blog post I wrote for Library Lost & Found about giving it all away. Even though it can sometimes feel counter intuitive, the only way to improve, advance and grow is to share, share, share. When we give it all away, we quickly discover that we get it all back–with interest!