Yes, the Library has Standards!

Here is a recent poster I placed outside the library door. At our school teachers have to place lesson plans outside the door and objectives for students in student language inside the room.

I wasn't asked to do this, but I thought it would be a great idea to advertise to teachers our 21st Century Standards.

Teachers have even asked me about them! It's been a great way to show that I am a part of the teacher/teaching team.

If anyone has other ideas out there for posting standards, please share them!

Constitution Week

It's Constitution Week and a great time to have a congressman or field representative from a congressman's office come and speak.

He or she will speak about the White House and tell students facts like when the flag is flying above it, it means the President is at home; they tell kids fun facts about how the President gets to choose the rug and furniture for the Oval Office; and about the favorite museums to visit in Washington, D.C.

They also speak about amendments to the Constitution and tie in a real world aspect to studying the Constitution.

My favorite part of Constitution week is the tiny pocket Constitution of the United States that would tempt anyone to read.

Digital Learning Day and Project 24: Planning for Progress

How does a dose of digital learning for district and school leaders sound? That's right - as a school librarian you are a school leader! More on this in a sec because this whole Project 24: Planning for Progress is preparation for Digital Learning Day in February. If you didn't participate in that in some small way last year, please make plans now to particpate in 2014 - which is right around the corner, by the way.

Now back to being a leader. It is incumbent on us as school librarians to rev up our engines for learning in every way - but especially digital. Excuse the cliche', but you will want to be on that train. It just may save your job one day! So, all aboard for Project 24. (You may want to sign up for School Library Journal's digital newsletter to read about New York City's Education Department asking for a variance not to have librarians...)

This course lasts for eight weeks and is free. Part of it is to help your district get a digital plan which we have in the Jefferson County Schools district, but the rest is to strengthen and learn about digital transition. This year is only the second one for this course and it sounds great! I have already signed up and I hope you will, too. It asks a few questions about your district that are quick to answer. It starts September 30 and ends in November.

All Aboard!www.commons.wikimedia.org.

Hope to see you soon in the digital world and beyond!

Swirling Solo - This post originally appeared on http://irondalemiddleschool.blogspot.com/

Well, this is the first year of flying solo or "swirling solo" which rolls off my tongue in a way that's a bit more fun!

In the middle school setting swirling solo means I'll have a lot more student aides swirling around and I'll be swirling a lot more myself around the school and back to the library before a flurry of e-mails sends me to the next task! I am looking at this transition in a positive way.

At first I did not see working alone in the Library Media Center as a good thing. I only saw more tasks ahead of me and wondered how I would get it all done.

What I have found instead is lots of teachers pitching in to help other teachers on their hall with setting up technology and a lot more teachers stopping by the library to talk about future collaborations.

So, I am excited about this! Here is how I will handle some of the housekeeping issues:

1. Create self-checkout for students in Atrium.
2. Allow students to take on an ownership role in creating huge dsiplays in our very large display case.
3. Allow students to take on a bigger role in management of Nooks - counting them and making sure they stay charged.
4. Demonstrate to students how to troubleshoot issues on teacher laptops and send them out to take care of it (The Fn (function) key being the largest of these issues). Perhaps I'll create a laminated sheet of various problem-solving tips or let "guided inquiry" take over! Many times the techie student can figure it out on his/her own.
5. Allow students to assist teachers with pulling books and assist students with software, hardware, and website issues.
6. Bounce ideas off students for grants and contests.
7. Provide a student chair and rules for being behind the desk.
8. Students with the best handwriting will be able to abbreviate the genres in the fiction collection - since my library is genre-fied.

All in all it's going to be a more student-centered and student-led Library Media Center. No, there is nothing earth-shattering and very new here, but I think it's going to work. I am ready to swirl! If this is the case for you, have a great year and leave a comment about how you will manage the year.

Our former library aide, Mrs. Barker, working one of our many bookfairs. Have a great year at your new school, Mrs. Barker!

ALA Leadership Institute

             Instructional Specialist for Library Services, Head of Liaison Services, Assistant Library Director, Art Librarian, International Documents Librarian, Special Projects Coordinator, these are a few of the titles held by this dynamic group of public, academic and school librarians,  who converged at the Eaglewood Resort outside Chicago  in August  for the four day  Inaugural Leading to the Future Leadership Institute sponsored by the American Library Association.  We were taken in hand by Maureen Sullivan, Past-President of ALA, and Kathryn Diess, Content Strategist  for ACRL/ALA and guided on an informative and exciting journey into leadership development.        
         It is difficult to describe all of the things I learned in any kind of detail, and I'll attempt that later, but what was so remarkable about this Institute was the people. Have you ever taught that class where all the kids just worked together in harmony and you were able to achieve great things?Have you ever worked with a group of people or had a group of friends where everybody's personality just fit? This Institute had all those elements. The environment was so warm, supportive and safe, which is wonderful, but for that kind of cohesion to take place nearly instantly among 40 attendees and two instructors from so many different cultures and backgrounds in such a short amount of time is something truly remarkable and unforgettable. The only way I can think to describe it is by our seating arrangement. Personally, I pick a place and stay there. Most people tend to that behavior from my observation, but everyday, people sat in different places during the sessions and at our meals.  It just seemed like we were just that interested in knowing each other. And although I felt completely intimidated by even showing up for this Institute, by Day 2 I was thinking, Yeah! These are my people! But seriously, it just fueled the environment for learning and discovery.     
  Here, in as little detail as I can manage are some of the highlights I felt like have and will transform my practice as a school librarian and school leader. 
 1. The difference between internal and external power. External power is a defined power given by an outside entity.However internal power comes from our ability to do things, our power is drawn from within and has to be developed. 
 2. Skillful Discussion-which begins by building trust, asking the right questions, listening to others and responding when necessary. We discussed several models and spent time practicing skillful discussions several times. It takes energy and time, but yields a much better outcome. 
 3. Planning-I started to write that nothing good comes from poor planning, but sometimes we do get lucky, however a little up front work is important. We began  with identifying our strengths and weaknesses, developing our own personal visions, then were able to apply the information to that vision throughout the Institute. By the end we were able to sketch out a plan for our personal leadership development.
 4. Pay It Forward-One epiphany I had at the Institute was exactly where my power and leadership come from, although I do not have defined leadership position. I am a leader of students. We all are.

All the materials and information we received have been cleared to share. Let's do it!

Powerful TED Talk on Teaching

Miss Spitfire (book review)

*Post by Pam Bullock at McAdory High School

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction book. Obviously it is based on a true story, but Miss Spitfire is actually Anne Sullivan not Helen Keller. The story inspired me to learn more about Miss Sullivan. It begins when Anne, desperate for work, arrives in Alabama from Massachusetts to a seemingly impossible task - to teach Helen to communicate. Sarah Miller's debut novel is a wonderful tribute to Anne Sullivan's determination to "tame" Helen, whose frustration at trying to communicate has made her as wild as an animal. No one has been able to be persistent and patient enough to help Helen until Anne arrived. I highly recommend this novel and it is a quick read. Great for Upper Elementary and Middle.