This short volume of a post stands between bookends: #AASL21, which just occurred last week, and the upcoming #VAASL conference, which takes place next week. The word “confer” has been around for over five hundred years; its first known use… Read More ›
There are many wonderful learning opportunities at an AASL national conference, but the true magic is the concurrent sessions. Practicing school librarians and researchers are the experts in our community and having opportunities to learn from the leaders in our… Read More ›
“Dang. They’ve got some good books here!” We don’t always eavesdrop on student conversations. But our ears perk up when we hear compliments about our collection here at the Butler Traditional High library in Louisville, Kentucky. And we do a… Read More ›
I have always been drawn to Hispanic culture. For my Master’s of Library Science thesis, I wrote a 100-page study examining the portrayal of Hispanic characters in contemporary young adult books. Though I’ve never traveled to Latin America, I keep… Read More ›
…It’s just a little voice and if you’re listening Sometimes a little voice Can say the biggest thing… –Sara Bareilles One of the first things that I realized when I became a school librarian and commenced my school librarianship studies… Read More ›
This past year brought a global pandemic, massive protests around policing and racism, a fraught election, a riot at the Capitol, mass unemployment, mass shootings, and our democracy on the brink. And, of course, the impact of these events on… Read More ›
The article “7-year-old girl traumatized after White school staff member cuts her hair” first came across my news feed on Saturday evening, April 17. I clicked on the article to learn more. How could something like this happen in a… Read More ›
In my high school, teaching To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a requirement for all freshman English classes during second semester. This year I had a teacher approach me wanting to brainstorm ways we could make this book… Read More ›
“The library is my safe harbor since I dare not go into the cafeteria alone, a whale surrounded by starving sharks.” — Lisa Fipps, Starfish This month being April, I had a veritable menagerie of subjects swirling about in my… Read More ›
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (commonly shortened to EDI) is a term that has become common in our institutional language around race and racism. In schools, EDI most often refers to the demographics of the student and employee body, the need… Read More ›