School Library Media Impact Wiki A Letter to my Colleagues As I begin to think about the start of the school year my focus is on how to create positive momentum. I like to make sure that my colleagues view the library the same way I do. A few years back, one of my mentors, Cheri Dobbs (@CheriDobbs) suggested I write a letter to my colleagues to explain my vision for the library. Another teacher librarian had shared it with her and had found it successful. This letter was not meant to change all mind-sets, but it did open up some doors. I have a slightly different version for faculty that is new to our school. Dear Friends, It is always nice to see you! The librarian doesn’t own the library. I hope your year will be a positive one! See you soon! Author: Kelly Hincks I am the librarian at Detroit Country Day Lower School in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Categories: Blog Topics, Community/Teacher Collaboration Tags: advocacy, beginning of the school year, co-teaching, collaboration, school librarians, school libraries
Giving Data Some Soul | Project Advocacy Carolyn Foote At the 2014 Internet Librarian Conference, held in Monterey, CA (October 27–29), EBSCO user experience researcher Deirdre Costello shared the company’s efforts to delve into the research habits of teens. EBSCO researchers conducted one-on-one interviews, and they also sent video cameras to students so they could create their own research video diaries. The shared results could have been interesting, but dry. Those analogies demonstrated the power of using data persuasively. At the conference, Ken Haycock, research professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, acknowledged that the way librarians present data often doesn’t resonate with decision-makers. Typically, we gather data about how many students or how many classes we serve. In a presentation at Internet Librarian, I shared some of our findings. Also, despite a great deal of library publicity, students aren’t very aware of the ebook collection.
Ten Things Your Administrator Needs to Know as the School Year Begins 10. That you are a teacher who teaches not content but process. You teach children to be information literate, digitally literate, media literate, and visually literate. The skills that you teach, the dispositions that you help children to develop, the responsibilities that you foster, and the self-assessment strategies that you instill will serve children not only in school but also in life. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. If your administrator already knows these things, wonderful! Author: Audrey Church, Leadership Development Committee Chair and 2017-2018 AASL Past President Like this: Like Loading... Categories: Advocacy/Leadership, Blog Topics, Community, Presidential Musings
School Library Marketing 101: It's About Students Not Stuff. Librarians are not born horn tooters. At least, I'm not. I know that might sound contradictory for someone who a) calls herself "library girl" and b) spends most of her time running around the countryside spreading the gospel of library. But it's true. Tooting my own horn does not come naturally. In fact, it wasn't until the world started to turn upside down and libraries became a frequent flyer on the fiscal chopping block that I decided I needed to learn how to advocate for kids by promoting what I did to support them. Let's face it. The problem, however, is that most marketing is focused on tools: the slogan, the brochure, the newsletter, the infographic, the wiki, etc. I know. And that's the problem. School library marketing has to begin and end with impact. Step 1: Set some goals. I cannot stress this enough: marketing is meaningless unless you have a product worth selling. Step 2: Seek alignment. Step: 2.5 Do the work. This is the tough part. Step 3: Pick some tools. Aaaah!
Advocacy What Is Advocacy? Definitions developed by the AASL Advocacy Committee. Events Information on AASL sponsored events including Banned Websites Awareness Day and School Library Month. Intellectual Freedom AASL-created resources and contact information in the event of a material challenge. Legislation Information on school library specific legislation and the ongoing legislative efforts of the ALA Washington Office. Resources Information to facilitate the school librarian's role as advocate for their program - this includes position statements, AASL developed professional development, relevant reports, and research and statistics. Tools Materials to facilitate school library program advocacy - this includes advocacy brochures and toolkits. Six Ways To Become More Indispensable Six Ways To Build Your PLN Using Twitter Since becoming active on Twitter over the past year and a half, I have noticed some best practices that users with a large following seem to have in common. There are many benefits to having a larger professional personal learning network (PLN). More connections equals more information coming across your Twitter feed. Before you can attract followers in your profession, be sure to have a photo of yourself on your Twitter account. Let's examine some of the methods that tend to draw Twitter users to follow you:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Final Thoughts These simple practices will help you find followers and continue building a strong PLN that will constantly recharge your education "batteries". I have an email newsletter for the subscribers of the Library Media Tech Talk blog.
Information Prescriptions: Tools To Support Students’ Library Skills Have you ever had a student arrive at your desk and your gut tells you they need more help than they are letting on? If so, information prescriptions may provide a remedy. Our inspiration came one evening after we caught a news feature about a local university teaching hospital offering information prescriptions, which doctors give to increase their patients’ understanding of a diagnosis or condition. The patient and family librarians at the hospital began offering information prescriptions as a targeted method for providing patients and their caregivers research-based information related to their illness or injury, treatments, and care. Always seeking ways to diversify and enhance our services at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, VA, we were intrigued and wondered how we could bring a version of this service to our school. In our school, information prescriptions are special passes designed to use with a class that has already received library instruction.
Why We Still Need Libraries and Librarians Powerful Roles ---> Powerful Impact Those school librarians who hold stubbornly to a 1950s definition of the job are likely to pass and be forgotten - extinct before their time. While many of the tasks that were important back then remain important in this decade, new challenges must be firmly placed at the core of any survival strategies. By embracing these new challenges and offering expertise not held by any staff members, teacher librarians can make themselves indispensable. School librarians who embrace these roles will create what I have called, "The Techno-Savvy, Book-Rich Media Center" (November/December 2003 issue of Library Media Connection technosavvy.html) and will make sure that the school qualifies for the label, "information literate school community." This article will not repeat the content mentioned in the above articles, but the chart below does a fairly good job of laying out the challenge. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
School Library Snapshot Thank you for participating in School Library Snapshot! Now more than ever, school librarians are critical to student success and it is equally critical that we showcase that value. The Library Snapshot is a project that originated with the New Jersey Library Association and New Jersey State Library in 2009. It was developed for public libraries and has been used across the country. This personalized infographic will help you demonstrate the many ways that you support learning in your school. Get Started While we can never document every important thing that school librarians do, this Snapshot is aligned to provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) so that decision makers can see how school librarians are essential to student success—and how school librarians should be at the table when districts and states develop literacy, digital literacy and community schools plans. We recommend completing the Snapshot over a weeklong period. Instructions for Completing the Snapshot 1. 2. 3.