Curiosity as a Learning Tool As a curious individual, I ask myself dozens of questions every day: What type of insect is that? What did this street look like 100 years ago? How does color affect people’s moods? I’m the… Read More ›
learning commons
Summer Planning – Assessing the School Library Facility
Yes, Rest and Reboot, but Plan! By the time summer rolls around each year, many of us are exhausted and in need of rest and a reboot. Every other book or article I have read so far this break cover… Read More ›
Chess, The Library, and The Queen’s Gambit
Inspired by Television Several students and faculty members are abuzz about a new Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit. The series premiered on October 23, 2020. I was a little surprised that students are recommending the show, including some older middle… 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 ›
Co(mmunity)-Constructed Library
We Make Our Library Great. Together. I’m the steward of the school library. It’s my job to make the library a place that reflects our learning community, and responds to the community’s needs. Since our population of users is always… Read More ›
Stations in the Library Part 2 – Student Engagement
Last month, I shared easy ideas to get stations started. While making sure you have engaging materials is half the battle, the other half is that the students understand what engagement looks like! They need to know what to do… Read More ›
Evaluating and Improving the School Library User Experience
The term “user experience” has a number of definitions depending on who you ask. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has an extensive resource about the user experience. In the technology industry, the term often refers to human… Read More ›
Popcorn and the Power of a Great Book Trailer
There’s nothing like seeing a great movie in a theater. First of all, there’s the popcorn. Movie-theater popcorn is unlike anything you can microwave or cook on the stove. There’s the anticipation of a great film and spending 2 hours… Read More ›
Thinking about Space: Remembering Its Purpose
My school is currently in a transition period. We are in the process of building a new school so for this coming school year we have moved to a temporary location. Since I needed to redesign the space to work for my… Read More ›
Noise in the One-Room Library
The Question of Noise in the Library/Learning Commons In the comments section of the 2015 post “Learning Commons: Theory to practice” is a question from Jessica Koos in Long Island, NY. Jessica’s writes: My concern is to how to balance the needs of… Read More ›