April is National School Library Month, and that is a great reason to celebrate! But, there’s no reason to wait until almost the end of the school year to have some fun, build community, and promote your library program. “There’s… Read More ›
school library
The Collaboration Comfort Zone
This month I have several professional development opportunities for you to choose from. I also want to tell you about a project I have been working on. I had the pleasure of collaborating with a fourth-grade teacher to develop… Read More ›
The Upside Down Kid: Diversity and Cultures
Please stay with me as you read. There is a reason why I am sharing this story and a Sesame Street video. At the end, you will find a resource list and the professional development for February 2017. I was… Read More ›
Gimme a C (for Collaboration!): A Successful Partnership Can Begin with Summer Reading
As chair of the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School-Public Library Cooperation, I am so pleased to introduce the first, but certainly not last, of our blog contributions to Knowledge Quest. We currently blog monthly for ALSC on the topic of of… Read More ›
New Year’s Goals I Will NOT Keep
January of the new year marks a time in (almost) everyone’s lives when we set about making goals to help better ourselves in the coming year. Most are for health and fitness. Maybe a reading challenge or goal. But, what is… Read More ›
Help Wanted: The Right Clerk for Our Library
They say good help is hard to find. I contend that it’s not so much about finding good help as finding the right help in the school library. Whether your school library has paid assistants or volunteers, making sure the… Read More ›
Being Proactive About Censorship and Intellectual Freedom
Before I share the professional development for November, I want to write to you about some banned book information that I have been reading. For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking about censorship and book challenges because… Read More ›
Voice and Choice: Student Library Advisory Team
Giving students voice and choice is one of the leading trends in education these days. While the focus for the movement is usually on traditional classrooms, it presents many benefits for the school library. This is the third year I’ve… Read More ›
Random Thoughts for the Beginning of the School Year: Part 2
I imagine you have started the school year now. I am just going to pick up where I left off last month. Here is part two of my thoughts for the beginning of the school year. I realize that it… Read More ›
A Few Thoughts for the Beginning of the School Year: Part 1
I was just thinking about all of the things that I would do to prepare myself for the beginning of the school year. I was terrified my first year as a school librarian because I wanted to do my best…. Read More ›