Author Archives
NBCTeacher Librarian and author of "Understanding Government Information: a Teaching Strategy Toolkit for grades 7-12". Member of the CA State Library Services Board, and History Room Librarian at the Petaluma Regional Library [Sonoma County Library]. She welcomes all conversation.. give a holler!
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Time for a story – yours.
Walking into the public library the other Saturday I was hanging out in my favorite mystery section, somewhat in the back, darker side of the library when I heard a loud squeal…followed by the most insane laughter. Grasping the most… Read More ›
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Holding those difficult conversations
When the University of Chicago released a letter that they sent to all incoming freshmen stating that they were not going to back away from controversial topics and no longer provide “safe spaces” nor “trigger warnings” so that people could… Read More ›
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A new look at orientation
AASL Forum, LM_NET, and other librarian ListServs were rife with orientation ideas this year; and all those great ideas got me thinking about changing up my orientation lessons. My usual tack is to use a scavenger hunt that asks questions… Read More ›
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The library as the center of civics conversations….let’s celebrate Constitution Day!
What exciting times we live in! As librarians we have the perfect opportunity to provide resources, encourage thoughtful research, and teach the skills to explore deeply. In my last blog post, I shared some election resources. As we approach the… Read More ›
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Civics, the Election, and the Library: A Perfect Match
In July, we librarians and teachers are rarely thinking about school except in the manner that we always are: looking for interesting resources and thinking up new activities for the next school year. But this July brings us presidential conventions,… Read More ›
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Splendid Company
I was fortunate to be in attendance at a high school athletic awards banquet where a relative of mine was being inducted into a sports hall of fame. He had been a great track and field coach who was well… Read More ›
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Anchor Institutions, Advocacy and Broadband
Larra Clark, ALA’s Deputy Director of the Office for Information Technology Policy [OITP], recently shared information about the new “Grow2Gig+” initiative and the release of a document called “Connecting Anchor Institutions: A Vision of Our Future,” which explains the value and… Read More ›
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Educating in rows
Looking at the library calendar in April and May shows far too many days that students have no access because the library is closed for testing. Students spend day after day packaged in their rows with blinders around their work…. Read More ›
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More on Advocacy
Every week, it seems, we hear about another school administrator or School Board making decisions about the staffing of their school libraries. Librarians have been on the radar of those decisions for far too many years. California, the bottom of… Read More ›
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Love Letters
In the file cabinet at my school that holds all the records of the library including budgets, articles, handouts, and lesson plan ideas, there is a folder titled: Do. Not. Forget. There nestled inside are many small straggly pieces of… Read More ›