Libraries are magical! –Jill Breznican, Senior Archivist at Walt Disney Studios Animation Research Library When I met Jill Breznican at the Printz Awards reception at ALA’s Annual Conference in New Orleans in 2018, I sounded like one of my middle schoolers…”Wait, what!? You’re a librarian for Disney?” I had no idea there is a team …
School libraries inspire and welcome everyone! They are safe havens! Blake Hopper Blake Hopper is the librarian at Powell Valley Elementary AND Powell Valley Middle in Speedwell, Tennessee. Fun fact: He’s the librarian where he attended elementary and middle school! You can catch Blake at TASL events, as he is the past President of the …
School libraries are not your grandmother’s school libraries. They are vibrant, accessible, and ever-changing. They may not all look the same, but they all serve a common goal.– Erika Long Erika Long is rocking the library world in Nashville and beyond! From her avid participation in the Project LIT Community to her extensive involvement in …
Do you ever feel like as the librarian, you are on your own island? Maybe you’re part of a small school district, or your professional network lacks inspiration, innovation, or is… non-existent? Fortunately, I have a local network that is thriving, but in recent years, I’ve connected with with tons of amazing educators, authors, and …
I had the opportunity to hang out with Debbie in the beautiful Ingram Library at Ensworth in Nashville, Tennessee, a few years ago. The first thing I noticed is how many kids stopped by, just to say hello. She knew everyone by name and remembered exactly which book each student was reading. And, as if …
In recognition of AASL’s School Library Month, I am highlighting librarians who inspire and challenge me. They are leaders in the school library profession, are movers and shakers in their school communities, and they are MVP’s in my professional learning network. “Use your privilege, power, and prosperity to help somebody else.” Alice Faye Duncan I …
In recognition of AASL’s School Library Month, I am highlighting librarians who inspire and challenge me. They are leaders in the school library profession, are movers and shakers in their school communities, and they are MVP’s in my professional learning network. “When a kid walks in the room, he knows what book that kid …
Preparing to welcome students back to the library at the start of a new school year is super exciting! As Mr. Lemoncello would say, “There might be balloons!” I see all of the reading classes in our building every three weeks for a full class period in the library. We call this Library Day, and …
Here’s a question I posed to my book club a few months ago. “How many of you would like to have a job where you read and blog about books, then travel around and tell other people about all of the amazing books you’re reading?” After everyone’s hands shot up, I announced that Mr. Schu …
Every week, six times a week, student readers show up at my office door and they promptly take over my computer. It’s ok, they have permission. It’s not a hostage situation. We log into our local public library’s catalog and select 3-4 ebooks, navigate to WebEx, and enter our “virtual reading room.” We activate the …
You have a million things on your plate. You’re probably expecting that unannounced observation any day, have classes to prepare for, books orders pending, the list goes on and on. Why bother adding event planning to your list? Happy kids, that’s why. Author visits = happy students. Not only are you promoting reading, you are bringing …
My students and I are joining Project LIT this year! I love giving students a variety of opportunities to connect with books. Project LIT will combine the traditional 1 book focus along with community involvement, service learning and fun activities at our meetings. Last year on Twitter, I noticed a guy who was making things …
Once a month, during lunch, students grab their food and head to the library for a book club meeting. Each grade level has their own time to meet, eat, and share what they’re reading. The central focus is on the middle grade selections from our state book award list. I stock 3-4 copies of each title …
Planning an author visit? It’s worth every extra second of your day to put this magical experience together for your students and your school. My colleague, Scot Smith, the librarian at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and I have hosted numerous authors over the years, and we may have missed our callings as event …
Library Stile 