True crime is wildly popular with students across the country, and my students are no exception. If your teens are anything like mine, they are just as fascinated by tales of murder and misdeeds. I’ve previously shared how I capitalized… Read More ›
Collection Development
Podcast and Video Studio in the School Library
Our school library could use a digital studio! The class of 2019 at my school left a monetary gift to the library. We want to honor these students by using the money wisely, so we have decided to create a… Read More ›
Don’t Penalize Students Who Want To Read: Remove Fines
It’s NOT All about the Benjamins… School is starting back up, which means students are going to be visiting their school libraries. Yay! I am all about helping students find and grow their passion for reading. Unfortunately, year after year I… Read More ›
How My Outlander Binge Inspired a Netflix-Related Plan to Get Teens Reading
It’s become a theme in my life: I’ll be out to dinner with a group of friends or standing around with some colleagues at work and the conversation lands on what TV shows everyone is watching. I’m the outlier, the… Read More ›
Pairing Picture Books and Primary Sources: How the Cookie Crumbled by Gilbert Ford
When I first read Gilbert Ford’s book How the Cookie Crumbled where readers are introduced to Ruth Wakefield and the invention of the chocolate chip cookie, I immediately wondered what primary sources could be paired with the book. My searches led… Read More ›
Providing Quality Inclusive Materials
It’s easy to get cynical about educational trends because it seems they change as quickly as headlines. Who hasn’t heard the terms: college and career ready, makerspaces, STEAM, 21st-century skills, diversity, equity, digital literacy, etc.? I don’t think any who focus on… Read More ›
Summer Children’s Literature Institute at Simmons University: Make Way for Diverse Books
The Summer Children’s Literature Institute is a four-day symposium with outstanding authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers. The institute is held at Simmons University. Esteemed faculty and enthusiastic students do an incredible job running this remarkable event. This year, the theme… Read More ›
On Returning to School
Social media, while it has its share of detractors, has been great about keeping me in touch with many of my colleagues and professional friends who are turning their sights toward the end of summer and the return of another… Read More ›
School Librarians as Citizen Archivists
As a librarian, records, research, and historical events fascinate me. I also enjoy tagging information that I find, write, or include in articles, blog posts, or tweets. It would come as no surprise that when I attended a session given… Read More ›
Books of Our Roots: A Collection of Literature from The Countries of Our Origin
With the summer in full swing, I’m able to take a step back and reflect on the past school year in my high school library. My co-librarian and I accomplished a lot: we taught dozens of research classes, which included… Read More ›