The Key Commitment of school librarians within the AASL Shared Foundation of Curate is defined in the AASL Standards as “making meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance” (AASL, 2018, p. 94). I… Read More ›
weeding
To Weed or Not to Weed?
I’m sure that every librarian at some point has questioned whether to weed a particular book, but what about an entire section? Just a couple of weeks ago I became the librarian at a school that was opened in 1979;… Read More ›
How are school libraries like an ice cream shop?
Think about the last time you walked into an ice cream shop. You may have seen customers browse through the dozens of flavors, looking for what will satisfy them that day. Maybe some opted for two scoops of opposing flavors,… Read More ›
Inspire students with nonfiction!
After a recent weeding bonanza where we tossed late 80s and early 90s versions of teen self-help and how-to guides, we decided to reinvest in those areas and create a Get Inspired subcollection featuring a wider variety of topics our… Read More ›
Keeping the Classics
While I watched the new delightful PBS series Anne of Green Gables, I thought of how so many children’s classics have survived. Anne was first published in 1908 and at last count has been made into six movies, six radio dramas,… Read More ›
How to Weed by the Numbers and Clean Up Your Collection
I love weeding. A well-curated library collection makes me happy. But weeding can be difficult. We attach a lot of emotion to books. Others don’t understand why anyone would ever want to get rid of books. We have to hide… Read More ›
We won the grant–yay!…now what?
So many of us have been hearing the same litany of woes in the school library world that we are mostly numb and deaf to it at this point: there is no money, people think libraries are dinosaurs, everything is… Read More ›
Why You Should Weed More Than Just Books at the End of the Year
At the end of my first year at Stewart Middle Magnet School, I ended up with a great opportunity. We replaced an aging air conditioning system over the summer, meaning that ALL the furniture had to be moved into the… Read More ›
Weeding to Let My Collection Grow
It’s May, and in the South, that means we’re gearing up for the end of the school year. While this time of year brings thoughts of summer and a well-deserved break, we all know that the last few weeks of… Read More ›
Weeded Books Everywhere, but Not a One to Read
Each and every year, school librarians engage in daunting task of weeding. Not cleaning out the flowerbeds, but cleaning off the library shelves. Most school librarians weed either before the school year starts or just as the school year ends…. Read More ›