Tag Archives: marketing

School Library Blogs

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This month, the Building a Culture of Collaboration (BACC) co-bloggers are sharing information about school library and librarian blogs. Each of us will spotlight various blogs and bloggers and share why we think these sites are useful resources for school librarians.

Edublog-Awards-1mb7e9dEach year, Edublogs-hosted blogs in various categories are nominated for the “eddies.” (Note: BACC is hosted by Edublogs.) “The purpose of the Edublog awards is to promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social media. The best aspects include that it creates a fabulous resource for educators to use for ideas on how social media is used in different contexts, with a range of different learners. It introduces us all to new sites that we might not have found if not for the awards process.”

Congratulations to Katie Dolan and Kathy Counterman, two Texas school librarians, whose sites earned #15eddies in the “best library blog” category.

Katie Dolan is the school librarian at James Randolph Elementary (JRE) School library in the Katie Independent School District. Katie and her library program earned the top award for the best library blog. Edna Mae Fielder Elementary School Librarian Kathy Counterman, also from Katy ISD, earned the third-place best library blog award.

School librarians use their library blogs for many purposes, including promoting books, reading, and literacy events, publishing student work as well as educators’ lessons, and interacting with students, classroom teachers, administrators, parents, and the community at-large. School librarians can analyze the content of these two bloggers’ sites to get ideas to implement in their own teaching, to lively up their own library blogs, or to get ideas for starting a school library blog in 2016.

#15eddies graphic used with permission

School-Public Library Partnership

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Moreillon_Bookmarks_Fun_Fun_Fun_0915Cooperation and Company was a Dewitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Library Power grant-funded project. Two public library children’s librarians, Mary Margaret Mercado and Char Maynard and two school librarians, Terri Moschetti and yours truly, collaborated to co-author, co-promote, co-produce, and co-celebrate three puppet plays.

We worked in public librarian-school librarian teams to develop the puppet plays based on three public domain stories from traditional literature: Borreguita and the Coyote, Whale in the Sky, and Whose’s In Rabbit’s House? We purchased the puppets, created the scenery, and used the then Tucson-Pima Public (now Pima County Public) Library’s professional puppet stage.

We had a blast! We performed the plays at two branches of the public library and at both elementary schools. We involved students in bookmark contests to promote the plays and the hours and contact information for the libraries. (See above selection of bookmarks, circa 1995.) Students also learned the puppet play refrains so they could assist in the performances. Mary Margaret and I continued to perform Borreguita and the Coyote for the public library’s summer reading program for many years after the grant project.

School library and public library collaboration can be a rewarding and high-impact activity for all involved. While the school librarian’s support for the public library programs during summer reading is essential (especially if our school libraries are shuttered during the summer months), we can make the extra effort to involve students and families in taking advantage of what the public library has to offer year round.

School librarians collaborating with our colleagues at the public library is a win-win for the readers in our shared communities.

Literacy Is a Team Sport

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This month the BACC cobloggers will share ideas about collaborative reading promotions and literacy events.

While every school librarian strives to make the library the hub of learning, we also know that it takes a whole-school approach to supporting students as they engage in literacy for the 21st century. Enlisting all members of the school community in promoting reading is necessary.

And as this video demonstrates, it’s fun! Stony Evans is a library media specialist in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He collaborated with Lakeside High School (LHS) coaches Joe Hobbs and Karrie Irwin to co-develop the “Train Your Brain Ad” video starring the LHS Cross Country Team. Lakeside Superintendent Shawn Cook made a cameo appearance in the video. Kevin Parrott was the videographer.

Congratulations to the whole team at Lakeside High!

This is one example of how library leader Stony Evans is reaching for his goal “to create lifelong learners through literacy and technology.” Visit Stony’s Library Media Tech Talk blog.

How did I learn about this outstanding example of collaborative reading promotion? From Stony’s Twitter feed @stony12270, of course.

Which members of your faculty will work with you to promote literacy in your community? What about your library student aides? How can they reach out to their classmates and serve as cheerleaders for reading? Here’s an archived example from Emily Gray Junior High/Tanque Verde High School from Teen Read Week: Books with Bite (November 2008)!

We can accomplish so much more when we work in collaboration with others. On Thursday, I will share a school library – public library literacy collaboration.

Video linked with permission – Thank you, Stony and your team

Reaching Out to the ELA-R Department

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ELAR_LibraryI asked Becky McKee, District Librarian, Mabank ISD, to share more details about a brief mention she posted to the Texas Library Connection distribution list about her initial efforts to reach out to teachers in a district where she is new this year. She has given me permission to share what she did when she had five minutes to talk with middle/junior high school (JHS) English language arts and reading (ELA-R) teachers where they were participating in another meeting.

First, Becky gave each teacher a copy of the “You Might Need a Librarian If” handout. (See BACC post from Monday, August 31st.) She followed that up with giving way four prizes. The first prize was a fancy spiral notebook to the first ELA-R teacher who could tell her about something that she/he wrote over the summer. Then she talked about the importance of students seeing adults compose. She volunteered to help develop some short opportunities for writing.

Next, she gave away a 2015 Texas Lone Star Reading List to the first teacher who volunteered to talk about a young adult novel she/he read over the summer. Then Becky talked about the importance of students seeing adults read, and previewed a Lone Star Contest that she plans to implement for JHS teachers.

Then she gave away a poster that said: “Today is a great day to learn something new” to the first person who could tell her something new they’d learned during the in-service that week. (Becky noted that her principal was lingering in the area and really liked this; she smiled when Becky asked the question. This was strategic on Becky’s part.)

Finally, Becky gave away a bag of snack mix to the person who had the closest birthday to hers. In this way, all of the teachers knew a little more about Becky, and Becky knew at least one other person’s birthday.

Becky reported that later that day she had a productive conversation with the JHS ELA-R department head about some writing ideas and a reading teacher followed her suggestion about a specific title for her remedial reading class and asked Becky to order a class set of the book.

Assessment: Success!

Get your school year off to a positive start. Reach out. Be warm, friendly, and ready to serve.

Thank you again to Becky for allowing me to share her marketing strategies and her success! You can reach Becky on Twitter @bsmartr_educatr or rsmckee@mabankisd.net

Word Cloud created at Wordle.net

Making Connections at the Beginning of the School Year

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This month the BACC cobloggers will share ideas about the various types of professional development opportunities school librarians can offer for  faculty, staff, and community members.

Unshelved_Quiet_LibraryFor librarians who are new to a school and for librarians reaching out to new faculty members or administrators, first impressions count! As this Unshelved cartoon so accurately (and yet so unfortunately) shows our profession continues to struggle with long-outdated stereotypes. (I began my career as a school librarian twenty-five years ago. We NEVER had a “quiet” sign or “shushing” in our library!)

The wise school librarian presents herself, her work as an instructional partner, and the resources of the library in an open, friendly, and upbeat manner. He will want to show his commitment to students’ and teachers’ success and follow through with actions that reinforce his words. She will want to show she is smart, flexible, and ever-ready with a bag of chocolates in her office drawer…

Len Bryan, School Program Coordinator, Library Development and Networking Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, recently posted this information to the Texas Library Connection distribution list: “Instead of reviewing rules, policies, and procedures with teachers and staff, why not present how the library can make their lives easier? This is a great opportunity to reach out and form friendly, collaborative relationships – the foundation of excellent library programs on every campus.” When he served as a school librarian, Len put a letter in every teacher’s mailbox. (He gives credit to retired librarian Lori Loranger, from whom he “stole” it.) This is the Google Drive doc link to Len’s “What Can the Library Do for You?”

Experienced school librarian Becky McKee is now the District Librarian for Mabank Independent School District in Texas; she is new in this position. After reading Len’s post, Becky created the handout below to share with teachers at the intermediate, junior high, and high school campuses she will be serving this school year:

You might need a librarian when…

…you have a seed of an idea.
…you need curriculum resources as you develop a unit.
…you need an instructional design partner.
…you need library time for your class to do research.
… you need someone to assist small groups in research.
…you have a recommendation for our library.
…you need a new/different twist for a lesson.
… you need technology in your lesson.
… you need a read-aloud in your classroom.
… you need clarification on copyright laws.
… you need stories or book talks related to your lesson.
… you need personal or professional reading materials.
… you need someone to revel in your enthusiasm for your subject!

Becky gave her “you might need a librarian if” document to her colleagues along with some additional face-to-face outreach. Read about it on Thursday.

Thank you to Len Bryan and Becky McKee for giving me permission to share their work. You can reach Len at: lbryan@tsl.texas.gov and Becky at: rsmckee@mabankisd.net

Unshelved cartoon used with permission