A GREAT library (part 2)

Greatness.
What makes a GREAT school library?  I gave 5 thoughts on the topic yesterday and find myself thinking about this so much still today that I decided to continue the conversation.

One of the commenters listed actually having a librarian as something needed to make the library GREAT. Of course, I agree!  Sadly it isn't the case in many areas, but let's assume for my posts that you actually have a librarian in the library.  Then what?

1. Let my people READ.  Let then read far and wide.  Let them read regardless of points or levels. Let them be in charge of their reading.  Let them experience getting lost in a book they love. Fiction is reading. Non-fiction is reading. Graphic novels are reading. Magazines are reading. No more using the term "real reading"---it is ALL real.  I understand the pressures of increasing reading scores, but I find that allowing kids to experience the MAGIC of reading---it's GREATNESS if you will, does the job far more effectively than limiting their reading experiences via level, etc. could ever hope to do.

2. The STUDENTS have a voice. Last night's #txlchat Twitter chat was all about student voice in the library.  A GREAT librarian listens to the students and incorporates their ideas on space, on reading materials, on events. It isn't about ME it is about US. I'm not talking about throwing them a bone to have them vote on something that has already been decided just to make them feel heard, I'm talking about actually HEARING them.

3. Mix & Mingle.  You can't very well HEAR them if you aren't OUT amongst them, and they won't talk if they don't think you care.  Build relationships. Learn names.  Be sincere in CARING. Students know the difference and can smell a fake a mile away.

4. Know the literature. Once upon a time--not too long ago, actually-- I had a fellow librarian tell me it was "cute that I read the books the students read."  I find it far cuter that I can talk with kids about the books we are both reading AND booktalk to those I know would enjoy a particular read. Cute?  Please.

5. Don't be afraid to fail. Be it small or in grand scale, if we are moving outside the box (or inside for that matter) we will all experience failure. Learn from it and move FORWARD.  Don't think--oh, I'm never trying X again because I felt like such an idiot.  Instead, think--wow. that stunk it up royally, but if I tweak Y & Z it just might work better next time.

5 more of my thoughts on what makes a library GREAT.  I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts, too!

New Year, New Goals

Writing my goals for this new year has been an interesting exercise.  While I am working to keep things measurable some of what I will do is create a welcoming and teen-friendly atmosphere while still maintaining that sense that it is a haven and a place of learning, something that is difficult to really measure in a tangible way.

There is a term in Denmark called hygge.   It is a word for which there is no easy translation, but it basically means that cozy, contented feeling you have when surrounded by a warm fire, friends, and a good book. NPR has a great little article with awesome pics to describe it HERE.  I guess, in a nutshell, hygge is what I'm trying to create.  

My 2014-2015 NHS Library Goals

1.  Prepare for Fish Camp

• On August 15th I will stand before the incoming freshman class and introduce myself to them as the high school librarian for the very first time. Half of these kiddos I know because they are coming up from my former middle school, which is awesome.  The other half?  Well, it is first-impression time for them and I want to do the library justice.  I want to quickly and in a friendly, engaging manner let them know the library belongs to all of us, and they are wanted there.  Then I want to smile, shut up, and sit back down.  This isn't a time to drone on and on about the rules, or book fines.  This is a unique opportunity to invite them in to be a part of our library community.

2. Genre-fy the Fiction Section

• Genre-fying the middle school fiction was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I made.  I realize not everyone out there in library land is on-board, and that is okay---but I have to say having SEEN the difference it made for my students made me a true believer.  Not only is it easier for my kids to find what they want, but it makes shelving a breeze--which means those books are getting back out into circulation much faster.  
• My plan this time is to sticker the books throughout the year and then be able to do the ole switcheroo towards the end of the year.  I hope this plan will make for a smooth transition into a genrefied library.  

3. Update the website

• Our district has updated the district website---we have a whole new platform to learn, etc. I hope to get some training soon!  The website aspect is so important because it is what allows our library resources to be available 24/7 365 days a year.  

4. Grasp Scheduling

• I am in a whole new world with scheduling, y'all.  I'm coming from a one largish room library to a two story, with multiple techie rooms on the top floor library.  Each section has its own schedule of availability.  I will also have a full time aide for the first time in YEARS, and thank goodness she knows what she is doing because she will have to teach me!

5. Learn new databases

• I am SO thankful that our state is now providing database access again!  FREE our first year--AWESOME!.  BUT...these are slightly different than the ones we have had in the past so learning these suckers is on the list.

6. Connections (via social media, etc.)

• I am a connected librarian.  I want the library to be connected, as well.  Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Remind accounts have all been set up.  Now to market them!

7. Learn the curriculum

• This will be a long process, not something I can fully accomplish this year.  The more in tune I am with the curricular needs of the teachers and students, the better I am able to assist.  

8. Hold one event per month

• Whether it is a maker event, a lunch & learn, or a book club meeting, the goal this year is to host one event per month in the library.  I hope to add more than one, but am trying to set a reasonable goal for my first year.  Promoting these events and marketing the library in general are going to take time and effort. 

9. GT collaboration

• I have been the GT campus coordinator at my middle school for many years.  I'm leaving that behind, but still want to be there for our GT kids in some way.  I have heard for years that "oh, the GT kids will be fine...they are smart and will learn regardless" which is true---but not the right thing to do.  I was a GT kid, and I have GT kids of my own.  These students deserve to also be stretched and academically challenged in ways that allow them to explore their passions and to learn to take chances without fear of failure (which is often how we learn, right?) Many GT students fall into one of two categories.  Either they don't give a rip unless they are interested, don't turn in homework but ace the tests, and are generally bored and wreaking havoc OR they are incredibly worried about their GPA to the extent that they don't want to risk lowering it by testing new theories and taking chances.  I hope to work with the coordinator and other teachers at NHS to create a passion-driven learning environment for these kids. 

10. All in all, learn the HS library

• It is a shift, a curve, an incredibly exciting challenge.  I have a LOT to learn and will be out of my comfort zone, which is exactly where the magic happens if we let it!

My debut Pecha Kucha movie------for Teacher Inservice

So, I'm new to this whole Pecha Kucha phenomenon.  Really new.  As in, just heard of it the first time this spring, and only now daring to play with it myself.

I'm NEW, but I really love it so far.  It's fun and creative and I think it will prove a GREAT way to keep  the attention of our students and    *ahem*    TEACHERS---'cause let's face it: few things on this earth are as dull and dry as typical teacher inservice days. I begin to glaze over just thinking about it.

I'm super excited to play with this format since the moderators of TXLchat (of which, I happen to be one!) will be using this format for our upcoming presentations this year.

This one hits the highlights of library info everyone needs to know, as well as info for the Gifted and Talented program at my campus (I'm also the GT coordinator.)

Honestly---for this first presentation, my goal was simply to just finish it and like what I saw.  And I think I accomplished that!

Get Your Hands on a Great Book---Zombie book display

My Zombie display is officially done! I'm quite happy with it and thought I'd share it with you!  My brain first started tingling with bits of a then unconnected idea while I shopped in Dollar Tree last weekend.  (Oh, how I LOVE Dollar Tree, don't you?) I saw they had this area filled with Zombie goodies--in particular I felt drawn to the severed hands!---- and I just keep thinking there had to be a clever way to use those in the library.  Of course, the idea didn't fully come together until Sunday night about 10!  So, off I trekked to Dollar Tree again Monday morning.  ;) I loaded up on undead lovelies and headed up to school, ever-so-grateful they had the A/C on all week even though we weren't officially back to work until Friday, and with my little 4 year old "helper" in tow.

You know I'm a Pinterest addict, right?
Yes, it's true....my name is Sonja, and I'm addicted to Pinterest.  ;)  Feel free to check out my Back to School board if you'd like to see these pins.

In this case, I got the idea of the oozing green globs from one of my pins (especially since after I pinned it one of my students commented on the pin about how she would check out every book on the display!), and decided to update some of my "book talkers" inspired by another.  You can't tell it from the pic, but I have a couple of zombie dudes (ahem, those were my my idea, *blush*), and others are word bubbles that say things like, Read this book, zombies love brains. Duh.  and Sink your teeth into a good book.  I'll take some close ups of them and post them a bit later.

I've had so much positive feedback from this display, which is AWESOME because I really think the books are just gonna fly off of it once the kids come back!  To prepare, I've made extra vampire/werewolf/faerie themed book talkers to have on hand once I'm cleaned out of zombie books!

Yep, August has arrived

I don't officially go back to work until this Friday.  Of course, as with most educators, I've been working unofficially all summer.  Reading blogs, pinning ideas like a madwoman, "meeting up" with fellow librarians through twitter and Google hangouts; sharing ideas and making plans for the upcoming year.

My beginning-of-the-year To Do lists are HUGE, of course.  HUGE, I tell ya.

But that's okay, I'm eating that elephant one bite at a time.  There are just so many AWESOME new ideas I'd like to implement this year, so many GREAT new books I can't wait to share with my kids this year, so many FABULOUS improvements to make.

Here are a few of the gazillions of things on my To Do list at the moment:

1. Finish up my Zombie bulletin board.  The Undead aren't just for Halloween anymore! Seriously, I was in Dollar Tree last weekend and couldn't believe my luck finding a whole Undead section this time of year.   Today I'll add actual books and shelf-talkers and that bad boy will be good to go. I'm tweaking some awesome Pinterest ideas to make it too, too fabulous. 
2. Due to some strange and unusual circumstances last year I have a million books to process.  *sigh* No more on this....let's think on some pretty pink and blue thoughts instead, okay?
3. Finish my new signage for the Fiction section, since I did a massive book shift at the end of the year last year. 
4. And the biggie: finish up making my new spine labels and editing my book info in Destiny for my genre-fied Fiction section.  Oh boy, I'm starting to sweat just thinking about this one.  One bite at a time, right?  

Some of these will be crossed off this week, others may take the entire year, and THAT IS OKAY. Progress, not perfection. 

What are your back-to-school goals?  

Mrs. S

Once upon a school...

A friend shared this with me a couple of weeks ago and I just can't get it out of my mind.  As I work toward branding my library and moving forward with re-imagining the library to better meet the needs of our students, the message of this video replays in my head.  Be it a pirate shop or a superhero shop (Capery, anyone?) these spaces appeal to our "clients" AND more importantly, provide work space that is completely innovative in that these spaces were created in order to better...well, CREATE.

Working together, brainstorming, asking questions, increasing YOUR knowledge as I increase MY knowledge through the sharing of information, space, time, ideas.

It is really simple when you look at it in its core, and yet such an incredible paradigm shift.  

Thoughts rolling through my mind; ideas at play.

What do YOU think?

Mrs. S

The Wheels on the Bus by Kevin Honeycutt

Ran across this on my fabulous library list-serve, LM-Net.  It is painfully accurate.  Kevin Honeycutt hits the nail on the head with his school funding allegory.  Read it here and see what you think...

http://web.me.com/khoneycuttessdack/kevinhoneycutt.org/Tradigital_Learning/Entries/2011/4/10.html

Focus Walk

I learn so much from all the fine folks on my various list-serves.  One of them, the fabulous Alice Yucht, posted a link that will be WAY too familiar to those of us who work in the public school system. She apparently ran across it on another blog.

I didn't leave the regular classroom to leave teaching--in fact, I do it every day, but MAN does this video make me cringe with the memories of working at one of my previous schools, in particular.  Rarely is it the actual  teaching part of being a teacher that drives people out of the business in droves. Eerie, really, how close this comes to the reality tons of us work in on a daily basis.  It's this kind of mess that makes me beyond thrilled to be in my happy little home away from home---my wonderful school library.  Not a perfect world, but surely a bit closer to perfect than this.

 Make sure you watch it all the way to the end. 

Focus Walk

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to listen to Jimi Hendrix, and then possibly make your own movie. 

How do we make a meaningful shift occur in our world of education?  Any thoughts?


Awaiting your answers...

Read on, gentle readers, Read on.

Mrs. S.

p.s.Alice has a mean turkey recipe she posts every Thanksgiving for those of us on the list-serve.  That woman is surely a wonder!

p.p.s.  that super-funky-cool shot of Jimi is from http://www.jimihendrix.com/, a most intoxicating site to experience.

Teen Read Week Cometh

Yes, it is coming up once again...the fabulous Teen Read Week.  I LOVE the theme this year, but sadly don't have the funds or the time to make all my TRW dreams come true.

No worries, though.  We will have a fabulous time celebrating teens and literacy on a shoestring budget...and you can, too!

The district is paying for amazing illustrator and artist extraordinaire Mike Wimmer to make a visit.  Hopefully we can work it out for him to come for another 1/2 day to work with a small group of our artistic GT kiddos.  He visited my campus long ago in another district and he is AMAZING with the students.  I am SO excited about this!

We are also having our wonderful little local zoo, The Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, TX , represented during TRW.  Charlotte is AMAZING over there and puts together really cool information about animals that always goes with our yearly theme----she even brings animal visitors each time.  Yes, middle school kids still think that's way cool.  ;)

Then, of course, we will have a Murder Mystery Day---Highsmith has really great (and VERY easy-to-use) kits and we happen to own on called Rock and Roll Over Dead---just perfect for this year's theme. 

We'll have several contests running, too...a song lyric writing contest, a caught you reading photography contest, and something I'm sure will come to me that works involving the teachers, too.  In the past we've done a match-the-baby-picture to the teacher, or match-the-pet-picture.  Not sure what we'll come up with, but I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject.

Obviously I'll have a few displays of awesome books that go well with this year's theme--fiction and non-fiction alike. 

I'm still considering having a Zumba class or two, and perhaps adding Karaoke at lunch time if I get really brave.

How about you?  How will you celebrate TRW?  One thing is for sure...Teen Read Week will Rock!

read on gentle readers, read on...
Mrs. S

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2010/home.cfm

The Last Battle: With ‘Mockingjay’ on its way, Suzanne Collins weighs in on Katniss and the Capitol

Check out this great article from School Library Journal about the last book in the amazing Hunger Games trilog by Suzanne Collins!  I'm more than excited about its upcoming release on August 24th!  Since our school is reading The Hunger Game for our One Book, One School novel this year, everyone in my neck of the woods is anxiously anticipating this release. 

The Last Battle: With ‘Mockingjay’ on its way, Suzanne Collins weighs in on Katniss and the Capitol

Altered Books

Wondering what to do with mounds of weeded books? 

Might I suggest an altered book project?

For the past few years at our campus we have recruited the art teachers to work with the art classes to create treasure from trash for an awesome display during Teen Read Week.  The kids love it, the art teachers love it, and I love that the old books are given a chance at a new creative life. 

As I weed our collection (an on-going task, of course)I place the best candidates for altered books in a special area.  These books are then delivered to the art teacher and the fun commences!  Each project is special and unique and the kids are so proud of their work.  These works of art attract a lot of people into the library to gaze upon them and marvel at the work. 

As a scrapbooker I had been aware of this "paper" craft for some time, but was really inspired to let loose with it after attending a workshop at a small library conference a few years back--the East Texas Library Summit--- put on by my good friend and colleague Sharon Gullet (a wonder of a gal!)  I've added a long list of websites put together by the arts girls who spoke on the topic, Ms. Allen & Ms. Merritt, so a special thank you to these ladies. 

Some of our students chose to make gifts for a parent, some chose to make "Dream" books, others made journals, and some created a work of art to hang on the wall.  Whatever they chose to do, they had a blast doing it and it got those creative juices flowing about possibilities.  And that's what life is all about, right?  The wonderful possibilities.

And thanks to the students from my middle school who made these awesome altered books! 

http://www.altered-books.suite101/

http://www.alteredbookartists.com/

http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/alteredbook.html

http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/mb.html

http://www.logolalia.com/alteredbooks/

http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/artscrafts/altered.books.html

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/Linda-books.htm

http://www.wikipedia.org/org/wiki/Altered_book

http://www.jennysartspace.com/alteredbooks/

http://www.ebsqart.com/artMagazine/za_271.html

http://www.altered-book.com/

http://www.alteredbookartists.com/gallery/index.html

http://www.centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/

http://www.portlandlibrary.com/programs/Altered.html

http://www.rockport.lib.me.us/outofBoundsAlteredBookProject.php

http://www.westportlibrary.org/specialevents/100th_birthday/alteredbooks.html

http://www.creativeartspaceforkids.org/children_art/kids_art_gallery/Altered-books/

http://www.rcs.k12.va.us/CSJH/ab_links.htm

http://www.userslib.com/2008/09/07/more-altered-books/

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibit/freestylebooks/altered

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/82891/

http://www.silvermoonstudios.com/Alteredbooks.html

http://www.jennysartspace.com/alteredbooks/index.html

http://www.ilovelibraries.org/news/libraryshowcase/altered.cfm