The Book Bus

Statistics state that about 60% of the students at my school are English Language Learners. I would argue that 100% of students in primary grades are English Language Learners; they are all building vocabulary and learning grammar. And what better way to learn than by being read to?

To ensure our students are being exposed to as much literature as possible, I talked to my EL 3-4-5 teachers about bringing the library to their students on a daily basis. Surprisingly, I got a lot of pushback.

"We want the parents to bring their children up to the library." (Me, too! But not many do.)

"We can't spare any more time in the week." (I'm not asking for more time.)

"We want them to learn to use the library." (Me, too.  This is in addition to library visit, not instead of.)

My original idea was to bring a cart of books down either first thing in the morning or at morning recess so students could exchange their books. It has morphed into something different and perhaps even more beneficial.

Meet our Book Bus:

When I purchased this shiny red cart equipped with bins, I never dreamt my librarian partner would convert it to a double-decker bus. She even lined two of the upper bins with shiny gold paper to distinguish them as the "return" bins, and she designed coordinating London-Tube-style bus stop signs that hang in the primary hallway, indicating where students can trade in their library books. It even has headlights and a bell! We often hear excited calls of "Here comes the bookbus!" as we approach the Early Learning hallway.

Students each receive a book bag on which we write their name and patron number. (They can decorate the other side if they wish.) When students want new books, they simply hang their bag outside the classroom on a hook by their Bus Stop sign. Once a day a library staff member drives the Book Bus along its route. If students are not busy with direct instruction, they are excused from class (2 or 3 at a time) to change their books. They LOVE it. If they are busy, they receive what we call "Librarian Surprise" and the staff member selects the books. Using our ipads with the DestinyQuest app, we check out books right there in the hallway. (To expedite the process, we bring most returns back to the desktop computer in the library.)

It has proven to be a fun way to give students access to more books and a wider variety of genres. We have a number of preschool and kindergarten boys who regularly limit their selections to sharks, dinosaurs, Star Wars, and Superman.  When they are in the library, they are allowed to choose what they want - even if it is the same thing every week. But those books rarely make it on board the book bus.  In the hallway, those same students choose from Caldecott medal books, books that support classroom curriculum, and books from a wide variety of Dewey sections.  There was some whining in the first weeks until they realized that they can still come to the library and choose their favorites. Parents have thanked us for providing variety in their reading diets.

There have been other benefits as well. We run reports that tell us which books have had 0 circs; those books are put on board the bus and are taken for a spin. Our quick and dirty solution for drowning in books to re-shelve is to place a number of those books on the Book Bus. And, finally, circulation statistics jumped an additional average of 12 books per student per year. (Not as high as I'd like to see it but trending favorably.)

Most importantly, perhaps, students in the early grades are learning that if you don't have to wait a whole week for new books.... because Every Day is Library Day!

Oh, Tannenbuch... Or the Evolution of a Book Tree

Making a book tree is not a new thing.  We saw it on a twitter or scoop.it or instagram posting somewhere and decided to give it a try in 2012.  It has now become a tradition to which the students anticipate; they begin asking us about it in mid-November.

Here in Germany, the Christmas tree is called a Tannenbaum.  Since ours is made of books, it has affectionately become our Tannenbuch.  

The first year we built it on a pallet and added a helium balloon star.  It wasn't very tall, very stable, nor very pretty. But it was a hit. And those are actual library book gifts around the base.  (See this post for the details.)

After studying photos of other book trees online, we were more purposefully in our construction and decided to build a "green" tree the next year.  It was quite fun to pull all the green books - far more fun to pull than to reshelve them later.

Year three saw the addition of a little red and a base made of old encyclopedias.

This year we added a little blue for our school colors and built it a little taller.  We have begun housing unused textbooks in the library, and our anti-lumberjack (the name we have for the assistant who builds the tree each year) found that having a surplus of thick, uniform books made construction simpler and more stable. 

No one remembers why, but our tree has become an exercise in estimation.  Students of all grades, as well as staff, are each allowed one educated guess at the number of books used. Prizes have varied from books to movie cards to book fair vouchers. We have done this since year one - but that year we could not give the prizes until we returned from vacation, dismantled the tree, and counted the books.  The next year we grew wiser.  

We now have a patron named Christmas Tree, and every book used in construction is scanned out to Tree.  This method provides an accurate count of books (without actually counting, and marks all of Tree's books as unavailable so we no longer scour the room looking for a book that turns out to be the cornerstone.

Our tree started at one end of the library in 2012 and has moved its way, a little each year, across our space to its present location, right next to the front door.  

So I have to wonder, where will we put it next year?

Sailing into a New School Year

Back to school week for staff….  I have found that whether or not I address teachers during this first week has a dramatic impact on how the rest of my year goes.  The years I do not have the opportunity to introduce myself and speak about my role in supporting theirs, I have fewer teacher requests.

I recognize that the minutes in the work week are precious, and there are many requirements that directors and principals must pack into a limited amount of time.  When I am allotted time, it typically is the slot that follows several must-be-presented bits of information, and it is slowly whittled down as each speaker before me runs over his/her time limit.  And, I usually present just before a break or lunch.

This year was no different.  The library’s slice of the week came on Day Two, following the German lawyer who shared data protection laws and was asked numerous what-if scenario questions as well as the Operations Manager who shared the changes in our fire drill procedures. The library presentation was left with the final five minutes before mid-morning break.  Teachers had been sitting for over a day, absorbing information.  To be heard, we had to be different.  So we were. And we finished at the top of the hour, right on time for break!

The idea for this presentation started with a bit of a vent to my fellow librarian, followed with a comment that telling her my woes was like preaching to the choir.  She said she gets it.  She’s on the same page.  She’s in my boat. And that’s when the little lightbulb over my head began to glow.  This little skit began as some scribbled notes last spring that I ruminated on over the summer.  Last week my kids helped me build the boat, and then we recruited two teachers. It's not flawless. We had only one shot.  But people are still talking about it. Both my own kids and several staff have suggested we tailor an encore performance for the first student assembly.  I guess that means we'll just keep paddling until everyone's on board!

50 Tech Tools every Teacher-Librarian Should Know

Are you looking for some web tools to investigate this summer?  Take a look at the 50 tech tools listed below to get started. If you click on the button, it will take you to the website or app.  If there is a picture, you can click there to get an example of what some of the tools do.  Please note: not all pictures have an example!

UbD - What is a Library?

I'm well into the second week of my AASL online course, and I now have to begin planning a unit using what I have learned thus far.  Fortunately, I was given a relevant, exciting idea by the grade 2 teachers who recently requested I tie library instruction into their current unit of inquiry "Communities are organised based on the needs and wants of people".  I am supposed to guide students in examining the roles libraries play in communities, perhaps looking at different libraries around the world.

Immediately my thoughts jumped to making lists of wants and needs, watching the Biblioburro, learning about library arrangement, reading My Librarian is a Camel.... Yes, I was full of all kinds of activities.  I have to STOP this habit and think ... what is the big idea that I want students to carry with them?  

I've identified the Enduring Understanding (or big idea) as "Libraries are organized based on the needs and wants of their patrons" and our guiding questions are What does a library need? and What is the role of a library within a community?

I'm sure these will undergo some revision, but I have to start somewhere.

Unfortunately, I am just getting started writing the unit, and I am supposed to already start teaching... so I am already ignoring what I am learning about designing the end first and I jumped into the pre-assessment.   I figure it will make for some good reflection fodder.

This week I asked each grade 2 class to answer the question "What is a library?"

I tried this in small groups on sticky notes.  

I tried it with larger groups and half sheets of beautifully colored paper. 

And then I tried creating a mind map with a whole class on a flip chart.  

Each time I saw the same results.  

Hands-down, without fail, each class answered the question the same:

  A library is a place to check out books.  

A few students added, without prompting, it could be a quiet place to read.  

That was it.  

I really had to work to get anyone to look deeper, to think about other resources, to see other uses for the space.  I couldn't believe these children, who visit this fabulous, well-resourced facility, had such a limited definition.  But we have only just begun...

I've worked for administrators who operated under the same limited definition that a library was just a place to check out books.  No matter what I said or did, their views did not broaden.

But this time I'm armed with BIG IDEAS.  And I'm working with children who are used to thinking deeply.  They expect to have their understandings expand.

The idea of educating a new generation of thinkers on the full potential of a library is exhilarating.   Let's get started! 

UbD - What's the Big Idea?

Week one of my AASL online class "Design for Understanding Meets the 21st Century School Librarian" focused on understanding big ideas and involved a little reflection upon my own teaching styles.

The first discussion opened with a question asking students to share if we tended to fall into the coverage trap or the activity trap.  Do we plan lessons to hit a number of objectives or standards, or do we do things that are fun or entertaining or seem worthwhile regardless of objectives?  Several of us stated that we start with the end in the mind, planning activities based on objectives, but I'm beginning to see that this is just the beginning.  Teaching by design is not just about establishing objectives and knowing what you want students to learn.  No.  It's bigger than that.  We have to go deeper.   We have to ask............

What's the BIG IDEA?

What are students going to take from this lesson (or unit) that they can use in 20 years?

My take on big ideas is that I can address them year after year with new resources and deeper thinking and never exhaust them.  If you haven't read the article I cited in my last post by Jean Donham, I urge you to do so...

By framing teaching and learning around big ideas, such as "Information can be organized in many ways", I can address sections of the library, shelf order, parts of a book, OPAC, databases, note-taking and more, always referring to our big idea so that students begin to make connections themselves, begin to think about how they organize their own information, begin to look for order in an unfamiliar system.  I'm looking forward to posting my big ideas where students can see them as they enter this space.

Another powerful - and challenging - aspect of thinking ahead 20 years is technology.  What can I teach today that will outlast the changes in technology that are occurring faster and faster?  What will students learn that will outlast desktop computers or a particular app?  This is where ethical use, strategic evaluation, and responsible sharing all come in to play.

All of this learning is going into a unit planner.  But first, it's time to understand more about understanding....

Notegraphy

Welcome Back

I did it! 

I finally produced my Library Media Centre orientation in video form this year.  The plan is to have advisory and home room teachers share it with students. Now EVERYONE will receive the information, whether their teachers bring them to the library or not, and my time, as the librarian for 14 grades and 770 students, will be used most effectively.

Here it is:

What I learned:

iMovie

This was my first real experience with iMovie.  I have been a MovieMaker user for years, and while the programs are similar, I still had plenty to learn.  I found that with iMovie I could do so much more and my editing was more precise.  I used my in-house grade 7 student to teach me tips and tricks, such as the Ken Burns tool, and she shortened my learning curve considerably.

Garage Band  

I had never used Garage Band before, but after a quick tutorial from my grade 7 daughter, I used it for the voice over.  Quick, easy, and I was able to edit out where I stuttered and sputtered.

QuickTime 

I create a couple of screencasts of online resources.  QuickTime allowed me to crop just the part of the screen I wanted to use.

Next time I will: 

Use more still photos.  The quality is better and by using Ken Burns to pan, the picture is more stable.

Coming Soon:

I was almost done when I realized I had barely skimmed over the library catalog (Destiny).  Rather than rewrite my script, I decided to create a follow-up video about using the catalog.  This led to the idea of creating a series of LMC videos to release every 2-3 weeks, highlighting databases, citing sources, new books, and special events.  If I cannot get the teachers to bring students to the library, I will take the library to them!

27 things your Teacher Librarian does!

I saw this infographic on What Librarians Do and I absolutely love it.  With a little over a month left before school gets out and with the task of beginning an end of the year inventory - I challenge you to look at one box a day and reflect on that one thing.  For example: Day One :Teaches - how many students were you able to reach via classes or in the library setting to see that they could locate and share information.  Or, Day Two: Tweets - do you tweet and post events on twitter?

How many of these things can you honestly say you do?  If you find yourself saying,  "I want to do this more," take the time to make a calendar of those things.  I found that if I make year long plan, I can plug in new things with the old things and I won't forget.  (I have to give Cindy credit for getting me to make this year long calendar  - she was the perfect partner!)

 I would like to thank Mia MacMeekin for having it available under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

A Look at Buffy Hamilton's - Librarianship of the People, For the People and By the People

I love twitter and follow the wonderful Buffy Hamilton.  She posted a link of her Iowa Association of School Librarians Spring Conference 2013 presentation and after reading it; I asked her if I could share it on my blog.  Her response: 

Her presentation makes you think about where you are as a librarian.  I fear there are librarians out there that are living the status quo and not working to keep up with technology and change.  Key words Buffy uses like: innovator, linchpin, partner, and mentor - this is the type of librarian all schools should be afforded.

She also addresses the building communities in our schools.  How do we do that?  We can target student and teacher passions and interests as a start.   I invite you to peruse through this inspiring presentation and to take it all in.

Culture: Librarianship of the People, For the People, By the People

People, Partnerships, and Participatory Culture: Librarianship of the People, For the People, By the People from Buffy Hamilton

So, to conclude this post, I am going to use one of Buffy's slides.  Think about it.  I think this is where all librarians are at, and if they aren't, maybe they should be.

How are you collaborating with teachers and students?  Are they part of the library or just a visitor?  How can you take some of these ideas and implement them where you are?  But, most importantly, how can you share what you are learning with other librarians that may not be where they need to be?

Wake Up Texas!

Wake Up Texas!

On February 16th, 2013, The Daily Beast wrote about libraries trying to survive during this Era of cutbacks.  They state, " Libraries are on the back burner in numerous states. Last year, Texas issued across-the-board cuts in library funding, reducing the budget by 64 percent. The overall state library budget is expected to shrink from $19.8 million annually to $7.2 million. In Michigan, many libraries folded under budget constraints. The state reported more than 20 closures last year. "  Leaders and educators are trying everything to improve education, but instead of improving libraries and ensuring they have certified librarians, they would rather spend their money elsewhere.  Of course, all this is happening at a time when families and students are reaching out to libraries for information resources and evaluating those resources.  See the infographic below compiled by the 2013 Library Research Service and Colorado State  Library.

What are your thoughts on library budget cuts?

Citations:

Beast, The Daily. "Can Libraries Survive in an Era of Budget Cutbacks? - The Daily Beast." The Daily Beast. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/16/can-libraries-survive-in-an-era-of-budget-cutbacks.html>.

"Make the case for school libraries with our new impact studies infographic | Library Research Service News." Library Research Service| Research And Statistics About Libraries . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.lrs.org/news/2013/02/27/make-the-case-for-school-libraries-with-our-new-impact-studies-infographic/>.

Myth #10 - All Librarians are Created Equally

Note: Like so many, my 2012 ended in reflection over the events during my first semester at a new school and 2013 began with a review of my Library Action Plan.  As I pondered how to ensure my next steps take the library program in the direction I truly want to be leading, those thoughts collided with a blogpost that I had been chewing on for several weeks.  Thus, I busted….

 Myth #10: All Librarians are Created Equally

At one point in my last district, there were only three certified librarians, each working at a different school.   

• One of us was a secondary English teacher and a master of literacy.
• Another had a background in science and was the tech guru of us three.
• The third started teaching in elementary grades and had a passion for the research process.

We were all very different, yet we shared a very common purpose in our work with students.  Mind you, we all three tackled tasks in all areas of librarianship, with some roles coming more naturally to one or another of us.  We often laughed about our differences, and joked what a team we could make if we all three worked on the same campus. 

Three different backgrounds, three different focuses, but one passion.  

As fellow librarians, we have so much to teach and learn from each other.  

Are you learning from your colleagues?  Or do you see those differences as a threat to your comfort zone?

All Librarians are NOT Created Equally  

As individuals, we bring our unique strengths, weaknesses, and personal interests to the circ desk and build a library program uniquely ours.  We collaborate, teach lessons, build collections, implement programs... make our mark... create a reputation.  And when we move on, due to choice or age or budget cut backs, we leave a particular gap, as unique as our individual fingerprints. 

As I reviewed my mission statement and goals at this mid-point in the year, I was struck by a question that refocused my work and made my vision crystal clear:  

What will be my legacy?

I began to ponder:  At former schools, what was I known for?  What do past students and coworkers remember about my work?  What mark did I leave? And most importantly, was it what I was trying to accomplish?

Teresa Schauer is known for her passion for book trailers...

Mr. Schu is breathing life back into Newbery classics…

Joanna Fountain made her mark through cataloging and subject headings…

Toni Buzzeo has authored books to help us teach library and information skills…

The librarian I replaced this year was a gifted storyteller.  He frequently incorporated music and singing in his lessons, and it is what everybody misses about him.

Another librarian I knew called herself a “Rehab Librarian” for her ability to rejuvenate aging libraries... ruthlessly weeding badly outdated collections, rearranging shelving and furniture, and creating a fresh, inviting environment before moving on to another “old” library.

What are your strengths? Which weaknesses are you going to commit to strengthening this year?

Where do your specialties lie? Who do you know with a different specialty you can learn from?

What kind of librarian are you? What legacy will YOU leave behind?

Holiday Gift & Collaboration Idea

One of our middle school English teachers uses a teacher-designed reading program that encourages recreational reading in a variety of genres throughout the year.  Reporting is minimal and requirements are flexible to give students as much ownership as possible.  This teacher is new here this year, and although he has inherited the program from the existing teachers, he is taking it in exciting new directions that incorporate more library collaboration.

Once a month he brings his students to the library for book selection and silent reading time.  These visits have included library orientation and book talks, while future plans include book trailers. Students typically spend more than half of their time draped over the library furniture reading quietly.... just what we love to see!

For the reporting assignment in October, the teacher worked with me to ensure all students had and knew how to access their Destiny Quest accounts.  He then had them write online reviews, which I printed out in report form for his assessment purposes.

For the December library visit, he is collaborating with me to make it a holiday party.  He wanted to distribute awards and asked for my input, as he was looking for award ideas beyond just the "top" readers.  I suggested we tie them into the IB Learner Profile to reward a broader range of attitudes and attributes, an idea he embraced heartily and shared with his department.  

Snacks (normally taboo) are going to be allowed at this meeting in the Media Centre to add to the festive feel.  But what I am most excited about is the "gift exchange" he organized.  This English class will be giving "Secret Santa" gifts, but no purchasing is required.  As a parent I am thrilled I will not need to make a last minute run for some random item, nor will I be disposing of a useless trinket in a couple of weeks.  Instead of favorite foods, colors, and music, the Secret Santa slips this class filled out were about authors, titles, and genres.  Slips were exchanged and now students must SELECT A LIBRARY BOOK for their Secret Santa!

While collaborating, one of his concerns (and mine) was to whom should the book be checked out???  We could check it out to the giver... but what if the recipient loses it?  And if we check it out to the recipient, what happens if the giver forgets to bring it?  My contribution was to provide a gift wrap station in the library.  Once a book is selected, the giver may wrap and tag it, then leave it in the library until the party.  If the recipient decides to read it, they may check it out before they leave the library.

There are so many win-win's with this event.  In addition to all those mentioned above, I am having more one-on-one conversations with students, some of them are with those who may go all year without talking directly to library staff.  While they are confident and independent in their own reading selections, they are seeking advice for their gifts. Asking for help in a library sometimes takes practice!

I am eagerly awaiting next Friday.... feeling much like I did as a small child waiting for Santa!

Myth #5 - Everyone Who Works in a Library is a Librarian

At my last campus library position, the students thought I was the library assistant because I "had to read them stories", and occasionally they saw me sitting in my office (that doubled as a storage room) doing the paperwork of ordering, grant writing, or completing reports.

So if I wasn't the librarian, who was? According to the students, it was the two assistants who "checked out books." It seems the students thought my assistants had the "funner job".

Haver you ever had a case of mistaken identity?

Myth #4 How much Time Librarians Actually Read and How They Decide What To Read

I forgot to include book club information, so here you go! 

52% Host Book Clubs in the Library
40% Don't Belong in a Book Club and Don't Host a Book Club
5% Host a Book Club and Belong to an Adult Book Club
2% Teachers Host a Book Club
1% Belong to an Adult Book Club

 ONCE AGAIN, THANKS FOR RESPONDING!

Myth #4 Librarians must have a lot of time to read...

Myth #3 - With Everything Becoming Available Electronically, We Will No Longer Need Librarians

There have been many articles and blog posts lately debating the future of libraries. It is hard to imagine a school without one of these learning centers (where else would faculty meetings, testing, and baby showers take place?), but this post focuses on busting the myth that librarians will become obsolete.

With the threat of Kindles, Nooks, and Google taking over the world of research and reading, do students need to be taught Information Literacy skills, or are they doing fine without librarians? I believe that as our access to information grows, the need for teachers of Information Literacy will only become more crucial.

In searching for data to back up my claim, I read three articles that highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of librarians and research:

THE GOOD

In the March/April 2012 issue of Knowledge Quest, published by the American Association of School Librarians, three teachers shared their co-teaching project at Prosper High school. The librarian (Stacy Cameron), the English teacher (Adria Butcher), and the instructional technology coach (Christine Haight) collaborated and co-taught a multimedia project in which student created their own public-service announcements that included evidence of ethos, pathos, and logos, contained correctly selected and cited copyright-friendly music and images, and used a variety of technology for the final product. After the initial collaboration meeting, Stacy and Christine created web pages together, with the links and tools students would need. 

This  article brilliantly outlines the power of co-teaching. Each teacher focused on her area of expertise while supporting the others, modeling for the students what a group project should look like. With three experts in the room, students were charged with taking responsibility for their learning, seeking out the support they needed for their personal areas of weakness.  By bringing in the technology coordinator to instruct students at the beginning, much of the chaos that comes with technology productions was avoided.  And throughout the project, Adria was able to focus on teaching the elements of english, rather than simultaneously become a resource and technology expert, to ensure all students learned the targeted objectives.  


This is the ideal of teacher-librarian collaboration.  Who would not want this type of instruction and learning for their students? 

THE BAD  

Moving from the ideal to the reality, at too many school libraries, is the article What Happens When Media Positions Are Cut? from the May/June 2011 issue of Library Media Connection. In her article, Mary Alice Anderson notes that librarians are often cut when budgets are tight, and then itemizes the cost to students when Certified Librarians are cut.

• Less research takes place in the school.  Teachers become frustrated by the growing burden of finding resources alone
• Staff development provided by the librarian is cut or may not occur, leaving teachers without the knowledge to share online resources
• Collaboration occurs by e-mail only 
• Library hours are reduced
• Collection development suffers with less time for librarians to read reviews, seek suggestions, weed, browse, and perform collection analysis. This results in duplicates or holes in the collection.
• Para-professionals, who may lack the necessary content knowledge to do so effectively, are left to locate resources and fill requests
• Loss and theft of resources increases, costing precious dollars
• Priorities shift... MARC records may or may not be accurate, making it difficult to locate materials
• Websites and databases fall into disrepair, with dead links or unused subscriptions
• Advocacy diminishes.  "How do you spread the word when you are spread thin?
• And worst of all, as one librarian said, "We have lost students and teachers seeing us as partners."

Ann and I have faced each of the consequences above as we moved from being responsible for one library then four libraries then six and now we each face the task of overseeing eight libraries for the upcoming school year.  Yet, as the article concludes, librarians continue to make the best of their situations. In our district, we continue to work to build relationships and strive to fill all requests, but it is not the same.

THE UGLY

So what is the long-term effect of cutting librarians? What happens when students in grades K-12 are not being taught information literacy?  Students enter college without the skills they need to be successful. Professors must teach skills that were once introduced in elementary school.

In her 2004 article for College Teaching, It's the Information Age, So Where's the Information? Why Our Students Can't Find It and What We Can Do to Help, Jill D. Jenson addresses students' inability to distinguish between types of materials for research.  Unlike the differences between print journals versus print magazines, which can be seen and felt, distinguishing between online resources is difficult for students because one computer screen looks much like the next. Students lack the experiential background in a real library with real, print materials to make the jump from traditional research to electronic research without instruction. 


Students rate themselves computer literate, but they are unaware of how much they do not know.  Current teaching objectives need to include what students must learn to simply begin their research. Jenson explains that "Whereas students could previously get by with learning terms such as "periodical," "journal," "index," "bibliography," "citation," "card catalog," "Library of Congress Subject Headings," and "call number," they now must learn a whole new language in addition to that previously required: "Boolean operator," "meta search," "general database," "specialized database," "text image," "verbatim image," "full-text image," "access date," "marked list," "search wizard"the list certainly could go on."




I am happy to note that part of Ms. Jensen's suggested solution included collaboration with a librarian as well as taking students to the physical library building.  As someone who sends high school graduates off to college, I feel it is my role to teach many of these terms and skills. Teaching freshmen or graduate students these skills so late in their education robs them of learning opportunities along the way. Information literacy includes skills a life-long learner needs to sate their appetite for knowledge.

What does the future hold for librarians?  I wish I could predict.  With so much more for students to learn, who is going to teach it, if not a librarian?  

What do you think?

Works Cited

Anderson, Mary A. "What Happens When Media Positions Are Cut?" Library Media Connection 29.6 (2011): 16-19. Print.

Cameron, Stacy, Adria Butcher, and Christine Haight. "In Their Own Words." Knowledge Quest 40.4 (2012): 28-33. Print.

Jenson, Jill D. "It's the Information Age, so Where's the Information? Why Our Students Can't Find It and What We Can Do to Help." College Teaching 52.3 (2004): 107-12. Web.

The Perplexing Truth Behind the Legend of Librarians

The Perplexing Truth Behind the Legend of the LibrarianCindy and I are on a mission to dispute the myths and legends of librarians and libraries. When people think of librarians, it is amazing that individuals still envision the stereotypical librarian of yesteryear. I know what you are thinking: the bun, the spectacles and the sensible shoes. No more my friends, the librarians of this millennium are different. We are asking that you submit a picture of you working in your library debunking the image what people think of librarians. Go ahead - show us what you are made of! Please post your pictures on our tumblr!

White House Response to Petition - Good News?

It took two tries, but more than 25,000 people signed the petition to ensure every child has access to an effective school library program.  After more than two months, a response was released from the White House on Friday, the 13th of April.

I have read this through several times since it arrived in my inbox, and while I am pleased we were heard, I am finding my initial optimism waning.  There is much work yet to be done.

The first paragraph of the response highlights the broad roles the library fills in education.  Wow!  The White House understands the many facets of libraries and the programs they offer!!!  This had me doing a happy dance, as changing the perceived role of the library (from just a room with books to an engaging learning/collaboration center) is half of our challenge.

Yet, as I read further, I found myself wondering what, if any, changes will be prompted by the White House.  Nowhere does the response state that strong library programs will be required, nor highly recommended.  Nowhere does it state that a certified librarian is essential for a strong library program.

Instead, libraries appear to be lumped in with other "literacy plans".

Libraries should, and do, support literacy instruction.  But my concerns with this response are that librarians are not mentioned and libraries are thrown into the arena with all other aspects of literacy instruction - curriculum, materials, programs, pedagogies - and the library's role to support instruction in all other curriculum areas is overlooked.  What about research skills, information access, evaluating sources?

Is a room full of books a library?  If a child is literate (able to read and write) but does not know how to ask critical questions or independently find information to answer questions (whether for an assignment or to satisfy his/her curiosities), is he/she educated?  What skills does a literate child need to be college ready?

This was a successful first step... but it is the first of many steps.  With funding being flexible for states and districts to use as they choose, we must continue to spread the message and change the perception of the library.  Books... literacy... MORE!

  Chrystie Hill on the future of the library.

21st Century Book Talks

Book Trailers



I created this Hunger Games Book Trailer a year ago on Jan 23, 2011. I was excited about this book last year and so were millions of others. Book trailers are exciting, plain and simple. We live in an age of blockbuster movies and blockbuster books, so to excite audiences about upcoming movies, production companies spend a lot of money promoting their new movie. So, as librarians, why shouldn't we do the same about our up and coming exciting books?

Book Trailers can really get students excited about a new book. But, many librarians struggle with trying to get one out for their students. I love creating book trailers, in fact, when our ELA leads Michael Gragert and Carrie Sauceda asked for me to make book trailers for our summer program, I jumped on it.

I have found that creating book trailers is a process like everything else. Here are some tips that help me when I make them:

1. I think about what pictures or video footage might create a mood to help give insight about what a book might be about. Then I scour the internet for book covers and characters that can convey part of the message of the book, and sometimes even create my own footage.

2. Once I begin downloading these items, I place them all in a folder. That way I can upload them all at once if need be.

3. Next, I write anywhere from 5 to 7 slides of information that will help give an idea about what the book might be about.

4. Then, I use one of two programs to create a trailer: iMovie (I have a MAC) and Animoto. I have had to recreate most of my book trailers with Animoto since it gives me a link to the video and I can avoid YouTube since my school district blocks it.

5. After creating the order and video, I can upload the video to YOUTUBE or if I use Animoto, I can embed it in my Blogs. I really like that Animoto provides options to get a link, embed or download your video.

Does creating a book trailer take time, yes, it does. But, the end result is an introduction to books for a generation of kids that a production. I mean, don't we all? Here is to some great summer reading!