Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wired Wednesday- Technoloy Tools

    All thought technically this is not a tech tool , I wanted to write about this today to get the word out about International Book Giving day on February 14, 2013.   

      International Book Giving Day is a day dedicated to getting new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible.  So on Valentines day, instead of flowers, candy,  a mug, or a teddy bear give someone you love a book!!

     The Web site for this day has some ideas for getting books into  the hadns of needy children.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Common Core Standards and School Librarians

    Snow Day again today!!   Really it is a snow and ice day as the right now the ice is just sheeting down! good day to stay inside!

     With the Common Core Standards  (CCS) being  adopted in so many states, it is up to the librarians to also embrace them !  Take leader ship in your role in your school and distinct!!  Show what you do in the library is embedded into the CCS .   Librarians provide information,  and also  instruct in the areas of finding information in informational and literary texts. We  teach students how to find what they are looking for and also provide students with increasingly challenging texts and books. The classroom teacher can not do this all on her own.
   
      As librarians , our job is to study our states CCS . Get to know and understand them.  Inform staff how we can help the teachers and students in  working through the standards. Align  our library curriculum to the standards . Show the teachers what exactly you do to help the students become career and college ready.
Yes , it is a big job but it is one that over time will show to our colleagues that librarians are the core in the  "Common Core"
   

Friday, January 25, 2013

Mission Statments- Planning & Writing

    Are you ready?  Ready to start thinking about and planning your mission statement for your library? 

         1:  Think about and determine what your long term goal / goals  would be for your library.  If you are  in a school and they have a mission statement- get that out and look at it.  What does the school want to accomplish?   Interweave that  into your mission so that it fits!  
               Start jotting down some ideas of what your school wants to accomplish. Make sure that  some of those goals are also  the libraries goals
               If you are in a school remember - your mission needs to align with the school mission , but you need to make it specific to the library and what you want to accomplish.
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        2:   A mission statement is short and serves as a guideline that steers  the library staff and programs on a daily basis.    Some times specific goals or objectives  usually accompnay the mission.


  One of my first Mission statement ( or how I remember it- may not be exact- will have to look it up)
  
                The D.V .Elem. School 's  Library mission is to promote reading and learning to the students  and staff.  The library will support curriculum and extend  and  engage  the work done in  and out of the classroom


      Would anyone share their mission statement? It would be great to see some more mission statements.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wired Wednesday- Technology Tools

         I discoverd this site a while ago and thought  I would share it with you. This site is  Childrens Book A Day Almanac. Each day of the year Anita Silvey gives book recommendations  and reviews which are very detailed.  There are  book recommendations for students of all ages. Also for each day, you can see more events, author birthdays, and anniversaires amd other notable facts about books and authors.

       There are several tools on  this site. You can search the archives to see books review, and also look by age group, subject and date. If you are looking for some new ideas for titles for your students , check this out. I think you will find it to be very helpful.
  
        This would also be a great resource for your staff if they wanted some new ideas for books.
       Childrens Book A Day Almanac   could also be used by older students  in their search for interesting reads.

Monday, January 21, 2013

February Bulletin Boards For Libraries

      I've been floating through  January but now it is time to think about February and what to do about the bulletinn boards.   Here are some ideas :

We love to Read!- Give pink or red hearts  to students and have the write their favorite books. Students can write I Love...   and give the title and their name. Place oin BB with letters of slogan on top in black letters - Can use a light background and heart /scallop edges.

Black History Month- Place pictuires of famous african americans. You can number them, Give some clues under each one. Students can use references or online sources to find out . Students can give guesses in to you- At the end of the month, place names under each one.

Tech tie in- Tweet a sweet Book! Give students an enlarged note. Place a cute bird on each side of the BB- Students can write their favorite titles on each note and then placed on the BB.

Presidents Day- You  can do this similar to Black History Month.( Use presidents that students do not know) Or you could place some presidents  and have students find little know facts on each person.

Fiction to Film: Scan covers of books that you have in your library that have been made into movies.  Place the slogan in the middle and the covers around. A slogan to add  would be: Have you read these?

Friday, January 18, 2013

Library Mission Statement

     Do you have a mission statement for your library and your Career?  If you do not , you may want to think about doing one and having your library mission statement  posted in your library.
     Why should you do this? For starters , with a focused mission statement  you will find yourself referring to it . It will help you in your daily focus of your work. In the middle of a project , you can ask yourself - "Is this  part of what I really should be doing in the  mist of my day? Does this task/ activity help me with my mission. What can I do to move my mission forward?"
     Before you start writing , do some thinking and planning. What is your mission? What do you want to accomplish with your library, staff, and student's. Take some time , make some notes  and begin to formulate some ideas of your libraries mission.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

    Snow Day today!!!  We have about  4 inches - not to bad! 
    Today I want to talk about Thinkfinity!  I was looking at my blog notes and way surprised that I had not yet written about it.   ThinkFinity   is   supported by the Verizon Foundation ( and some partners- AAAS, NCTM, Smithsonian, National Geographic) and is a lesson plan data base. There are may free lesson plan data bases  but this one is heads and shoulders above the rest. 
    Educators who join ( which is free) can collaborate through groups, blogs, and discussions.  They can share resources and  explore best practices  in teaching and learning.  The star of this site however is  the lessons which are digital resources  for students in K-12. They are interesting, engaging, and aligned to state standards and the common core.
    Check this out and show your staff. I think  you will find it very helpful and interesting.!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Common Core Standards and School Librarians

      On Friday I wrote about Librarians , CCS , and literature/ fiction texts.  But the main push of the CCS is the need for students to read and understand  increasinlgy complex non-fictionand informational  texts.  As librarians we need to supplement teachers and classrooms witgh more non-fiction, and informational texts.  Each classroom can not possibly have or afford the amout of informational needs  of its studdents.

     We need to provide Scienc, Math, and Social  Studies  books and passages that will help students become  more able to comprehend the  increasingly difficult books.  We need to find out/ become aware of the content areas and what the teachers are doing. Essentaily, school librarians  will become integrated into each classes currcuilum  to help students and teachers make connedtions among the learning in each area.
       Begin to take a leadership role in your school . If you have yet , learn each grade levels curriculum, Provide resources  ,and assistance   so the students will become career and college ready.
 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Common Core Standards and School Librarians

    I received a question just the other day about my book pass article  in Library Sparks and what CCS that activity would be related to . So I really started to think about the CCS and how they fit into the library program .
    Reading is at the core of the ELA common core standards, so really most of the standards go along with the library program of reading readiness for college- even in the youngest grades.  Each and every book that students read will help them on their way to becoming better readers.
  As librarians we build collections for students to read for pleasure - we have story hours, read alouds, reading incentives, and use award lists to promote the best books.

  As students read they are also gaining confidence  in pulling out main ideas, parts of the story  characters, plot, and  story curve.  The standards give some great examples of stories, poetry  and drama that apply the range of reading text types.
  We need to be aware and know the CCS and be an advocate  to administration , teachers, parents, and students that school librarians are at the core of learning within  the standards.  When you dive into the standards for you state, you will begin to see the important job we need to do to help students in all areas.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Wired Wednesday- Technology Tools

    I just discovered this and I am  really excited to share it with you.   Teacher Tube is similar to  YouTube . It is a video sharing site meant for educators and studnets to use.. It is designed to allow those in the educational industry, particularly teachers, to share  vidoes that they have  produced and used in their classrooms. You really have to dive right in and search some of the awesome videos they have.
   Once you are in you will see that on the right hand side you can sharpen your searches. There are video, audio, and collections which can be  used by classes and groups. Check this out and see if you can use it - I am sure that your staff will love it! 




http://teachertube.com/

Monday, January 7, 2013

Managing magazines in libraries- part two

      As mentioned in the previous blog, we are discussing how libraries manage magazines.   Many libraries both school and public  libraries circulate magazines . There are a couple ways to do this of course.
     One would be to simply have cards and write the title, month, and year at the top. When the borrower wants the magainie , he/she would just sign  the card. Then file it and when returned cross off the name.
      In our computer world there is also the tech way. If you do not have a large circulating magazine collection, one way would be to place a bar code on a card . When a patron wants a magazine , simply scan the card under the persons name and then add ( on the fly as many circ programs have the capability) the title and month/year of the magazine.   When returned , just scan in and keep the card for the next time a magazine is wanted.
      The other tech way which is more labor intensive but easier in the long run would be to place on each magazine a barcode and put the information into the computer when it arrives. In that way the  person at the circ desk can just scan it and the patron/ student is good to go.  Again on check in- just scan the magazine and return to the magazine shelf.



Friday, January 4, 2013

Managing magazines in libraries- part One

         How do you manage your magazines?? Do you let them circulate? Do you hold them for reading in the  library?
      There are many questions and differences of attack in the circulation and storing of magazines.  Also now that the computer age is here, many have done away with many of the issues of magazines .
        But Patrons and students like the magazines , and they do get read.  Many students come in and just want to read the papers and look at the magazines.  More and more families do not receive magazines and newspapers at home .
        One way to go is to  not let them circulate and have them be read in the library during open hours. This may be the easiest to do. Check in the magazines when they arrive , put on a couple of  prpperty stamps., arrange them on the shelves, and straighten them at the end of the day.
         If you chose this route- you many find that some just happen to"walk" out the door.  Yes, the most popular ones will be not in good shape.  But that will be the case in either option of holding or circulating.
        Another plan for magazines is one that many schools and public libraries do with their magazines. They hold the current monthly issue and let the back issues  go out. This seems to work well for the most part.
         If you  decide to circulate your back issues the next problem is how to go about it?  There are several different ideas here. One is to simply write down on a card the title of the magazine, issue/month and year, and place the borrowers name on  the card. File by date due. When the item is returned - cross out or erase the name of the borrower.
        Save the Card for use if some on else wants the same issue-  These cards could be made up ahead of time so they would be  at the ready when a patron wants to borrow a magazine
         What do you do with your magazines?  What are your issues with magazines?

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

         Happy New Year to all!  Is everyone back in the swing of things yet?   I was really sick for almost the whole week of Christmas so I am slowly getting around and getting back to library world.  ( I knew I was sick when I could not even sit in front of the computer!!
        I have found some great  slide shows to use in my classes on Slideshare.net.   Check out this resource and share with your staff.   There are many many slide shows on here that can be used by anyone who has registered.    Comments can also be posted about the slide shows.
        If you have a presentation you want to share you can also place it on here  and the slide show can be seen  and used my many.  Anyone who need the topic you have completed can  use your  presentation  for their students.


SlideShare