Can you believe it's the final week of school before Christmas break?  Where has the time gone?  It hit me this morning when I realized that our Poetry Out Loud competition is only 3 weeks away.  I have been hearing bits and pieces about students practicing and preparing for their recitations.  I'm very excited to see what great performances are delivered.  Last year's event was such a success!  I hope this year's competition is just as fantastic!

Here are some highlights to anticipate:

• AWESOME STUDENT RECITATIONS!
• Great poetry!
• Yummy snacks!
• Eclectic music!
• A cool vibe!

Don't miss out on a great night of poetry and culture!  

You still have time to register.  Registration forms are available in the library and on the library wiki.  Return your form to me in the library by Friday!  You can also come and support the performers if participating isn't your thing!

Thursday, January 5

6:30 pm

High School Library!

The Flying V

It's that time of year when the birds are flying south for the winter.  The classic flying V formation of the migration to warmer climates has inspired me to consider my own sort of migration.  No, I'm not planning on leaving the brisk winter season of Central PA.  But I am contemplating moving my blog to a new blog host and the library wiki to a different platform all together.  What's the big deal, you might ask?  Well, I've spent a lot of time developing the wiki for my library.  Hours have been dedicated to designing, redesigning, adding, deleting, moving, and editing content.  I finally have it to the point (after a year and a half) in which I can actually whisper that I might just like the way it looks and what it has to offer to the school community.  So why change what doesn't appear to be broken?  That's the question I asked a group of REALLY SMART PEOPLE!  And now I find myself pondering the idea of a big migration which would lead me away from wiki world into a new world of content curation.  As for my blog - BORING!  I'm not happy with its design and want to make a more concerted effort at faithfully posting my musings and ramblings.  

Ok, you're probably still deliberating over my bird flying south analogy.  Stay with me... it's all about the flying V!  Remember learning about why the birds fly in the V?  To keep it simple, it's just plain easier to make the trip together rather than go it alone.  There it is, folks.  My connection.  I have discovered that being an educator is much easier when collaborating with others rather than trying to figure everything out on my own.  

Flashback... I said I posed a question to a group of REALLY SMART PEOPLE.  I asked my fellow librarians in this great state of PA for their insight and was thrilled to have so many of them respond with exceptional information.   I immediately realized that I am part of a wonderful network of people who are REALLY SMART!  These librarians make my daily life as a librarian so much easier because they are willing to share what they know and help each other out whenever the need arises.

So... will I migrate to a new blog?  Will I migrate from a wiki to another resource?  I'm not quite sure yet. But what I do know is that I'm "flying in a V" with some really great people who make these decisions a little bit easier to navigate!

A Thankful Librarian

It's almost here... Thanksgiving break!  I have so much to be thankful for in my personal life, but what about professionally?  Yep, professionally as well.  I LOVE WHAT I DO!  Growing up, I never imagined myself as a librarian.  I ALWAYS had the career goal of being an English teacher.  For 11 years, I taught English in the traditional sense of literature and writing.  When I transitioned to the library last year, I feared I would lose touch with the very things that I loved the most about my subject area... sharing great pieces of literature and developing the skills of young writers. Thankfully, I still have the opportunity, on a daily basis, to share with students elements of literature and to assist students in growing as writers.  In addition, there are so many other reasons to be thankful.

• I am thankful for my colleagues who support my efforts to bring 21st century learning to our students.
• I am thankful for the students who have discovered the library and realize it is a welcoming environment with many resources available to them.
• I am thankful for abundance of free resources available that make building a 21st century library possible despite difficult economic times.
• I am thankful for my PLN that continually inspires me to continue to strive for change and advancement in the library and the way we educate our students.
• I am thankful for the opportunity to do what I love!

In this season of giving thanks, what are you thankful for?

About 2 months ago, I began a new venture called The Friday Find.  I wanted a simply way to share all of the wonderful tools that are shared with me through my PLN and other resources. 

I decided to create a wikispace for the sole purpose of  posting and linking web 2.0 resources.  The design of the wiki is simplistic - intentionally so.  I want to give people a fighting chance when evaluating new tools.  So often, I venture onto websites that contain hundreds of links to new tools.  For someone who counts every minute of each day, these types of websites can be overwhelming and defeating.  The Friday Find is organized by posting date. Each resource is linked for easy access.  And only 3 resources are posted each week.  Why 3?  3 seems to be  a reasonable amount when attempting to quickly assess the usefulness of a resource.  As mentioned earlier, many sites boast about having lists of the 50 newest tools, or the 100 best apps, or the 30 greatest resources...   Agh!  Too much, too much, too much.  Most teachers are only looking for one or two great tools to be incorporated into a unit / marking period / semester.  I want to encourage the use of new tools, so 3 it is!

The Friday Find includes resources to be used for a variety of purposes.  Some of the resources are new on the web 2.0 scene while others are oldies but goodies.  All of the tools are ones that I have taken the time to test and evaluate (using my judgement - not predetermined criteria).  There is no sense in posting a tool that is glitchy or destined to send a user down a path of failure.  It is my goal to share great tools that others will find useful. 

If you are looking for a great new tool or are simply curious... visit The Friday Find!

Not Mine...YOURS!

Yesterday, while hectic and crazy, was one of the best days I've had in the library this year.  Every period was filled with research, collaboration, projects, and a great deal of productivity.  And yet, my absolute favorite part of the entire day was watching the faces of students when they realized that all of the new book purchases came from their recommendations lists.  To see their eyes light up as they saw the names of authors they love and the titles of books from series they enjoy, validated everything I strive to do in the library.  More importantly, the students now feel a sense of ownership for their library.  I LOVE IT!

It's important to give our students opportunities to take the lead and make decisions.  I know... giving up control is difficult, but absolutely necessary if we truly want to prepare our students for the world that awaits them when they leave the safety of our schools.  No amount of promotional paraphernalia can produce the results that I saw from the students when they realized their voices had been heard and their choices mattered.  Isn't this what education is supposed to be about?

Not only does our library have new and exciting titles specifically recommended/requested by students, but also the students now see the library as theirs, not mine.  It's a great day to be in the library.  Come check it out!

Where to Begin?

There has been so much going on in the library the past few weeks, I find myself neglecting my blogging - yet again! Ok, so I need to be more dedicated to documenting life in the library. This is proving to be more difficult than originally planned. In an effort to bring this little blog up to speed, this post is dedicated to documenting the exciting new changes that occurred in September.

1. The library is a hoppin' place! The September calendar was jam packed with teachers bringing classes to work on projects, conduct research, and learn about the library. It was fantastic to see computers buzzing, collaboration between students, and teachers willing to take that leap of faith to try something new! Lunch to library passes also increased library usage by allowing students to bring their lunch to the library and enjoy time to socialize, do work, or simply enjoy a nice spot away from the chaos of the cafeteria.

2. New fiction titles were added to the catalog and went on display. Many of the titles were checked out or are currently out on loan. This is a great thing! KEEP READING, ELCO!

3. Our Donors Choose items were delivered and are ready for circulation. How exciting that students now have the ability to easily capture video footage and import it without the hassle of any cables, chargers, or tapes.  Checkout this little lovely.  I didn't specifically order red, but how fun is this color!

4.  Banned Books week was celebrated with multiple displays of books that have been challenged or banned for a variety of reasons.  How sad that censorship is still an issue!  FREE TO READ!  Celebrate this freedom by choosing to read!

5.  Databases are now available for student use at home.  Logins and passwords are available for any student who would like to take advantage of using our Ebsco and ProQuest databases at home.  See me for this information!

6.  Transformations to the library wiki are constantly occurring and continue to make the wiki a great resource for students (at least I think so).  I'm still working on a glitchy Twitter gadget, but otherwise, things seem to be working smoothly.  I'm particularly excited about the new tool being used to share valuable Web 2.0 resources.  I came across PearlTrees and am very excited to have transferred all links to ELCOHSLIBRARY PearlTrees.

7.  The Friday Find is a new wiki that I started as means for sharing resources that I discover over the course of a week.  While some of the resources are not new to the techie world, they are worth posting and sharing.  I hope that all who visit The Friday Find will discover some great tools to incorporate into projects and curriculum.

8.  K-cups and Treats officially began today!  I'm so excited to be able to offer the use of a Keurig to our students.  Today's sale of coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies was a huge success.  Thanks so much to the Renaissance program for supporting the purchase of the Keurig.  Based on the overwhelming student response, we will continue to offer K-cups and seasonal treats for student purchase EVERY MONDAY MORNING.  Why Mondays?  Monday mornings are high traffic times for the library as students visit to select new books or renew their reads for Reading Across the Curriculum.  All money raised will be used to replenish supplies as well as purchase new fiction titles to update our collection.

So... what is on tap for October?  Well, I'm still working on processing the 5 Nooks.  I was really hoping to have these ready to go for the start of the school year.  Oh well.  Better late than never!  Stay tuned for an official announcement that the Nooks are ready for checkout.  I'm also working on some collaborations with teachers for exciting projects to end the first marking period.  I love that the library is a busy place.  I hope that others love it too!

Until next time...

Too Much To Say...

It's September 19th, 3 weeks into the new school year, and I find that I haven't written a blog post since June.  Well, this isn't entirely true.  I was writing a lot of blog posts for my graduate courses.  I just wasn't posting here.  I apologize for my neglect.  However, it's me that I feel really sorry for...  Since I haven't posted in over 3 months, I now have so much to say that it's stressing me out.  Seriously.  How do I meld together the variety of topics that I want to share without risking my credibility as an English teacher?  Biggest pet peeve with student writing:  random topics with no connection to thesis or each other for that matter.  I've decided that it's just not possible or practical to try and incorporate all that I've learned, discovered, explored, and evaluated over the summer into this one blog post.  So, where to go from here?  I guess the easiest place to start is with the present.

My focus for the last few weeks has been on library promotion.  I WANT YOU IN THE LIBRARY!  But how do I get you here?  I find myself still battling the stereotype that a library is a quiet, rule stricken room, policed by the batty old librarian.  Most students, and sadly, many educators still think of the library in these terms:

 (Photo credit to web20classroom)

Truly, this sign makes me nauseous.  What good is a media center if media isn't allowed within its 4 walls!  I've been inspired to create my own sign to be displayed at the entrance to our library.  I'm not sure what it will look like, but it will definitely welcome the use of MP3 players, phones, food and drink.  For the love of all that's good - PLEASE EAT in our library.  Just remember to be neat about it!  

I guess I'll wrap it up for now.  My mind is wandering in a million different directions thinking about all of the great resources I want to share with you.  Maybe just one for the road... check out THE FRIDAY FIND.  This is a wiki that I started in order to share resources with students and teachers.  My goal is to update The Friday Find every Friday - get it?  I will post new resources that I discover throughout each week as well as old finds that I think are simply amazing and worth mentioning again and again and again.  

Don't forget to follow the library on Twitter and like us on Facebook!