Last year I started a professional development journey to help me become a better ally to myself and my colleagues. I wanted to develop empathy, understand my shortcomings, and reconcile some of the feelings that I have experienced as a… Read More ›
advocacy
Maine Library Legislative Day 2020
“Libraries Are Good for Maine!” That was our collective message at Maine’s second Library Legislative Day on February 20, 2020. Librarians representing public, school, university, and special libraries turned out in the State House in Augusta for an exceptional day…. Read More ›
Federal Relief for School Libraries Will Require State and Local Advocacy
As the novel coronavirus takes a tremendous toll on every aspect of society, ALA is working on all fronts to ensure the nation’s libraries – school, public, and academic – are part of federal relief efforts. The CARES Act The… Read More ›
Unmasking Your Contributions to Decision-Makers during School Closures
There are definitely times when people need to cover up. However, there are also times when we need to unmask. Over the past two days, I have attended three meetings during which school librarians have shared the essential contributions they… Read More ›
Applications Are Open for the Sara Jaffarian Award
Are you a school librarian who has developed an outstanding humanities program? Do you work with kindergarten through eighth-grade students? Then you are encouraged to apply for the Sara Jaffarian Award. What Is It? The Sara Jaffarian Award is a… Read More ›
Learn How to Engage in Viral School Library Advocacy in the Mar/Apr Issue
In the March/April issue of Knowledge Quest, contributing authors Barbara Stripling, Suzanna Panter, Naomi Giles, and I offer stories, strategies, and testimonies of successful advocacy practices—ideas with universal appeal—that show the impact of a well-funded, strong school library. To be… Read More ›
What Is Leadership?
I don’t think that school librarians take enough credit for what we do. Last month, I heard someone pose the question, “What is leadership?” My answer is that you are probably already engaging in leadership activities. Rather than provide a textbook… Read More ›
Plan for the Future Using Strategy and Reports
What Does the Future Hold for School Libraries? This year the ALA Midwinter Meeting was held in Philadelphia. It is a place rich in American library history. However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia public school system has less… Read More ›
Data Informed Library Advocacy from #AASL19 – Part 2
Gathering and Visualizing Quantitative School Library Data As I shared earlier in part 1 of this blog post, I’d like to dive deeper into the actual numbers, or quantitative data that we collect and share that demonstrate the impact of… Read More ›
“Survey Says…”
Four years ago, I gave my first user survey to students. Still new to my position as librarian/technology integrator, I inherited a traditional library that had fallen out of use, and was desperate to understand what students wanted from their… Read More ›