Creativity in the School Library

Christina notes there are some issues with using Slides to make escape rooms, but I am going to try this out for orientation. I know that Google Forms doesn't allow students to advance without getting the correct answer, but Slides just LOOKS so much better! So if you're giving grades, points, or prizes, I think you'd need to stick with Forms for virtual escape rooms, but for an introductory activity, Slides will work just fine. Some examples of escape rooms using Forms can be found here

Normally at this time of year, most of us are preparing summer reading promotions.  These, as you may have heard, are not normal times. I know I won't be seeing classes again this school year, so I decided to get busy on a promotion teachers could share during distance learning, and that students could access all summer. Here's what I did (and how I did it!)

A wonderful new site from The British Library to explore! There's so much here:

• excerpts of books, manuscripts, artwork and more to digitally explore (from 2000 years ago to last year.)
• Activities to use with students, with great writing prompts.
• Videos with authors and illustrators.
• Book lists on a variety of themes

I already started a miniature book station for students to make their own books. Easy, cheap and fun!

Thanks to Gary Price at Infodocket for sharing this site!

This article is so timely! I'm back at work, revising my orientation presentations, setting up book displays and doing all the other beginning of the school year tasks. This is my ninth year in this library, and it's fascinating to look back on all the changes we've made. Even with our recent renovations, it's important to assess how our library works for our students and staff. Hannah's framework provides a way to evaluate your library from the user viewpoint. (It's also prompted me to work on a survey for returning students on their user experience in our library!)

I just put a light up marquee on my wish list! What a quick and easy way to highlight books that might otherwise languish on the shelves. Kelly's ideas show how a little imagination can overcome most obstacles we face in getting books into students and staff's hands!

This is such a great idea! Now that every school district in California has access to Proquest databases via the Department of Education, I've been struggling with how to convince my 8th graders to use them. Kristen has come up with a wonderful way to get students to understand and to use databases! I can't wait to try this!

Wow, I'm feeling overwhelmed just reading this list! I love how Kathryn covers all the areas that librarians need to address at the beginning of the year. I do most of these things but it's always great to see them from a fresh perspective. 

Some good reminders for all of us as we head into a new school year. 

A powerful post on why genrefication helps bring students labeled "reluctant readers" back to the library and back to reading! Julia describes the process of analyzing her collection, getting input from students, and the moving and labeling books. 

As we approach the end of our first year of genrefied fiction, I know it's worth all the work! Our students feel more confident that they can find books on their own, they've identified themselves as readers of specific genres, and they are recommending more books to other students.

Julia had the same question I did about LGBTQIA books: do we as she says, "ghettoize" them in their own section, or put them in romance, etc? I decided to label each book that has any LGBTQIA characters with that label in the catalog, but shelved them in whatever genre fit. That way students who might be leery of approaching a shelf with a label can search the catalog and find them. I saw firsthand this year the relief on one student's face when he didn't have to advertise his reading to others (especially his family). I also saw perhaps a glimmer of understanding on another student's face when he sneered, "Where are all the gay romance books?" and I pointed to realistic fiction and said, "Over there with all the romance books, because...it's romance." 

And thanks to Julia for all the links she provided! I found a new to me resource, Yes! magazine, that has some great articles  for our social justice book club.

I love this idea! 

I recently had a conversation with a parent whose transgender child was told her library had no LGBTQAI+ books because "that doesn't happen in elementary school." The parent offered to donate a few middle grade novels, but the librarian told her she wasn't sure where they would go. IN YOUR COLLECTION, WITH YOUR OTHER BOOKS! I believe every school district should have a policy about collection diversity, and a procedure for diversity audits, so an individual's blind spots/personal beliefs don't negatively affect the library's collection. 

The parent mentioned above accepted that she'd make no progress with that librarian. She was able to take her child to the public library and bookstores. So many of our students cannot get to the public library or buy books. Others use the school library as a place to explore without a parent around. (I've had many students read the entire Harry Potter series in the library, without ever checking the books out, because their parents wouldn't approve. Imagine that child bringing home a book about gender identity?) 

Karen gives great ideas for applying your diversity audit to all the offerings in your library: displays, programming, reading lists, etc. (I'd add accessibility, since many of us have made our libraries comfortable but not necessarily for all students.) This is easily applied--and equally important--in your school library. Look at your past displays, your book lists, your lit circle books and be honest. Can you do better? As Maya Angelou stated, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Let's all commit to that!

I got an email from the creator of MyBib this morning and spent some time trying it out. I am so impressed! Here's what I wrote him about the features I love:

• "Add notes & quotes" to citations is brilliant! I can see students who have limited time doing some research, saving citations and adding notes to remind themselves why they want to use that source.
• "Go to webpage" is also brilliant during the research phase! An easy way to check you're citing sources you actually used. (I'm sure everyone has had that one teacher/professor who goes through your citations and asks you to show where you used each one.)
• The extensive types of sources. Our 6th graders do a project in which they need to cite songs and art work. Citation builders other than EasyBib rarely had the depth of sources we needed.
• Being able to create an account without receiving a confirmation email. Our students cannot receive emails from outside our school district with their student emails. 
• Saving to Google Drive. A must for our Google Suites school!
• Being able to manage multiple bibliographies simultaneously. Not a big issue in middle school, but I know in high school and beyond this will be helpful.

Check it out for yourself: I think you'll find it's a great tool to share with students!

SO.MANY.CUBES! We can't be everywhere at once within our schools, but these cubes can help move us outside our library walls. I especially see using them with teachers. I am working on one now for the beginning of the year to place on the lunch tables in the staff lounge. I would also like to make them for department meetings with more subject-specific info. 

These four priorities are a great way to frame the purpose of school libraries, especially in discussions with administrators or district level staff. We need to help them see how crucial school libraries are in ensuring all of our students receive the best education.