Celebrate all month—or pick a day or a week—whatever your schedule allows. This calendar of activity ideas, author and ambassador quotes, and professional development links will help you along the way.

Suggested Daily Activity
Pop Culture Day: Host a special event in your library based on pop culture. Take a student interest survey (example: Harry Potter, Star Wars, Manga, Doctor Who, Comic Con, etc.).  Organize a variety of workshops or stations which can be run by the librarian or students. Include: a reading station, a crafting station, a gaming station, etc. Have books on display that relate to the pop culture event. Also, check out supplemental books from the public library.

Suggested Activities by Grade

• Elementary: Students can create a book review using an app like Chatterpix, VoiceThread, etc. to post in the library catalog or on the school website.
• Middle: Students can create book trailers about their favorite books and add to the library catalog. Can also display on TV announcements or link to QR codes.
• High: Students compose book reviews to post in library catalog and around library using QR codes, etc.

Professional Development Link of the Day
Strengthen your role as a school community leader! Learn about the ALA initiative, Libraries Transforming Communities, with a complimentary webinar presented by Ken Stewart: Transform Your School Community.

Author/Ambassador Quote
School libraries transform learning because…within the pages of books, readers learn about others’ life experiences that are different than their own. In many cases, meeting book characters give readers a compass. A direction. Something to dream of, reach for, work toward. They also teach empathy for others. Librarians and the characters we connect with in books foster hope. What an incredible gift that is. ~Linda Mullaly Hunt, author of Fish in a Tree

Author: Suzanne Dix, AASL #slm16 Chair

Categories: Community

Tags: slm16