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.
Toolkits
Open Educational Resources (OER) Toolkit School librarians have observed open educational resources (OER) take root in higher education and have grappled with how to translate the OER movement to K–12 educational settings. The AASL OER Implementation Task Force’s charge was to position school librarians in OER efforts that will help extend their role as leaders within their schools, align with the AASL Standards, and provide professional development and make school libraries Future Ready. This toolkit can be used to help school librarians understand the process of curating and creating OER for their school, district, and/or state. Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens Activity Guide To aid school librarians in nurturing inclusive learning communities, AASL tasked a 2019 ALA Emerging Leaders team with developing a guide of reflection activities and resources based on the Include Shared Foundation in the National School Library Standards.
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.
Donalyn Miller
This week, Scholastic announced its new global reading initiative, Open a World of Possible. Through education programs, print and online resources, and literacy events, the Open a World of Possible campaign promotes the importance of independent reading for children and provides tools to support and sustain independent reading initiatives in our home and school communities. On the Open a World of Possible website, you can: Watch the inspiring literacy campaign video written by National Student Poet, Sojourner Ahebee, and narrated by actress and mom, Sarah Jessica Parker and videos from kids, parents, and teachers celebrating their love for reading. Register for the November 6th Bigger Than Words webcast with Usher.
AASL Advocacy Resources
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.
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.
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.
CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries
Jump to navigation CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries revised in 2012 to include a section on e-books! CREW: Addendum on e-books addendum to CREW 2008 edition
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.
