For the past three years it has been my pleasure to be a part of the AASL American University Presses Book Selection Committee. This year I will not be able to attend the 2019 AASL National Conference, but a few… Read More ›
collection development
Engaging with Educators and Students with Alternate Formats and New Texts
Have you ever had the privilege of building a collection from scratch? It can be daunting—where to start, what to include, what to pass by. In most cases, though, it is what librarians dream of, especially when faced with outdated… Read More ›
How the AASL Inspire Grant Impacted My Students
I was recently honored to accept the AASL Inspire Grant, which was awarded to the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter Elementary School library. This grant will do tremendous things for the reading achievement of our students by purchasing brand-new books… Read More ›
Please give a little respect to me
Soul, I hear you calling Recently I heard the song “A Little Respect” by Erasure (play it while you read…) and I started thinking about this blog post: “I try to discover A little something to make me sweeter Oh… Read More ›
Collection Development: Meeting the Needs of Our Emerging Readers
A few years ago, when I began my current position as a school librarian, the most regular library users in my building were our CDC-A (Comprehensive Development Classroom – Activity Based) students. These students receive special education services that are… Read More ›
Fiction Genrefication at the Elementary School Level
This summer I undertook the huge project of genrefying my library. This gargantuan task involved lots of stickers, tape, and sweat. Now that the dog days of summer are over and a new school year has started, I am so… Read More ›
To Weed or Not to Weed…
I am a lover and collector of books. I still have some treasured books from my childhood that I refuse to part with. When I was getting my Master’s in School Librarianship at Longwood University, I shuddered when I discovered… Read More ›
A Season for Reading–One Book I Loved
As school librarians, we are all busy. There is never enough time to do it all, much less do it all well. One area that has demanded my attention lately is reading kids’ books. A school librarian must read books… Read More ›
Going Beyond Tikki Tikki Tembo
May marks the month we celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in America. May was designated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month because in May 1843 the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States (United… Read More ›
Weeding without Controversy: Part One – Why Weed?
The Librarian Who Hates Books Earlier this year my daughter came home from school to tell me about a controversy at her school. The school librarians weeded the collection, and some students became so offended that they took to social… Read More ›