One of my favorite ways to connect students with books is creating book displays. I have about 5 display areas in my library that I change out monthly with a new theme. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year my district is doing a blended model of face-to-face and virtual learning. As I contemplated how to connect virtual students to new books, I came across post after post on social media about Bitmoji libraries.

I decided to create a Bitmoji library for my Canvas pages and website that will serve as a virtual display space. I joined a few librarian/educator groups on Facebook where members were generously sharing their own work to edit and modify. Check out Bitmoji Craze for Educators and Canvas for Librarians.

Since I wanted to use my Bitmoji library as a virtual book display, I wanted a space with multiple bookshelves as the focus. I found a design I liked in one of the above groups and edited the background to reflect my personality. I also wanted it to be warm and inviting for students. I added book covers to the shelves and hyperlinked them to a copy in our e-book platform (MackinVIA). I’m quite happy with the finished result.

Check out this video for help creating your own Bitmoji library.

How will you be promoting books to your virtual students this year?

Author: Brandi Hartsell

Brandi Hartsell is the school librarian at Halls High School in Knoxville, TN. She was awarded Teacher of the Year at HHS in 2021. Brandi was also recognized alongside colleagues as recipients of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL) Teacher Collaboration Award in 2019 and 2021. She has served (and continues to serve) in many leadership roles within TASL. Brandi has presented professional development sessions for TASL, Halls High School, and Knox County Schools. Brandi loves sharing ideas and brainstorming…also cats…and true crime. Follow her on Instagram @hhslibrarytn.

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

Tags: bitmoji library, pandemic resource, virtual library