New Year, Same Me

No word for this year. No “new year, new me” sayings over here. I know once January hits how the goals are quickly forgotten. However, there are a few things I plan to focus on this upcoming year and potentially change.

I have used a timer settings for social media apps for the past few months, but I still plan to give these up for longer periods of time. How does facebook serve me? I would much rather read a book, listen to an audiobook, or snuggle with the pups.

As far as my areas of focus for the year, I start my leadership certification in January. Going back to school after finishing grad school 12 years ago feels like a daunting task. Do I remember how to “be in school” and “teach school” at the same time? We shall see.

I also have started talks about potentially working with Librarians Building Libraries alongside the schools I visited in Egypt. This is a long-term goal of mine, and again stay tuned! We shall see what we all can accomplish together!

Happy 2026! I hope this year brings all the books, smiles, and glitter you need in your life!

Back to School and Goodbye Pool

In my district, we just wrapped up our third full week back with students. I do love being back into the routine of school–while the 4AM wakeups aren’t as wonderful as sleeping in during the summer. I also miss my poolside days with my book or kindle. Thankfully I was able to conquer my TBR pile this summer, and I found some new favorites!

For educators, if you don’t have a libro.fm account for audiobooks—sign up now! I listened to so many great audiobooks this summer (for free!)

My top ten books from the summer (audiobooks included) in no particular order:

Avalon Tower (all three books in the trilogy)
On Wings of Blood (and book 2 The Bond that Burns)
Big Dumb Eyes
Trouble Maker
Til Summer Do Us Part
The Mountains Sing
The Boxcar Librarian
One Perfect Couple
On a Quiet Street
Home is the Where the Bodies Are

Any books or audiobook recommendations I need to add to my TBR pile?

End of Year Thoughts

I tell people I have a love/hate relationship with this time of school year. Teachers are excited for summer just like the students are, but we also have lots to get done before our summer can start. We have so few days left, and so much to get done! For school librarians, we are trying to locate all the items–books, technology, equipment–that we haven’t seen since August. I joke with my para that things just have a way of making their way back to us this time of year.

Last year we decided to move and re-dewey our nonfiction section at this time, but this year we’ve decided to move our genrified chapter books around along with our graphic novels. Now we feel the “do we have enough time?!” feeling! We are also having new artwork going up in our space this summer as well as hosting summer school, so lots of moving pieces to ensure they fit together.

Teachers and school librarians: how do you stay organized and sane this time of year?! Best tips, tricks, and strategies?!

The Year of the Re-read!

For the past few years, I have tried to conquer my never ending to be read (TBR) pile throughout the year or focus on reading a specific genre–never forget the year I finally revitalized my love of nonfiction. This year, through no goal, focus, or even second thought, has become the year of the re-read (or re-listen) for me. I have already re-visited The Wizard of Oz, the Fourth Wing series (thank you Onyx Storm for inspiring that!), ACOTAR, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I have to say that there is something comforting in going back to old favorites. You know the characters, and you are mentally prepared when the characters you love don’t make it. I find I appreciate storylines so much better the second or even third time around! I’m on hold for the Harry Potter audiobooks, and I can’t wait!

What are some books you want to re-visit?!

Collection Development

What are the best collection development strategies you use or look for each school year? I know this looks different at each level (elementary, middle, and high), but I feel when working to develop an elementary collection there are many factors at play when examining high interest texts for students. Also, within the realm of collection development, we also have digital collection development and what is circulated in print vs. a digital or audio copy. That leads into an entirely different discussion about what to purchase for your digital vs. physical collection.

When considering collection development at the elementary level, I think you have to think about current trends in what our readers are looking for. Pairing chapter books with their graphic novel companions has been a focus recently for our collection as well as filling gaps in popular series we have.

Also, when thinking about middle and high school collection development, how do those strategies differ from elementary school? Do research topics or changes in grade level curriculum impact your collection development?

AASL Conference Recap

This past week I attended my first national school librarian conference, and I was blown away by the amount of fellowship, networking, and sessions! Not only was it good for my soul to see my library tribe in-person (with masks and safety measures in place), but it also refreshed the fatigue feeling so many educators are facing this year. I got to meet people in-person that I had only met via Twitter or through webinars, and it truly felt like I was reconnecting with old friends.
The sessions I attended were so impressive, and I came home with ideas exploding out of my brain! If you missed the AASL conference, you can find notes and presentation links here: bit.ly/notataasl21. Noteworthy sessions I attended included: #BetterTogether: Creating Content and Communities, Manga in the School Library: What, Why, & How?, AASL Author Talk: Project-Based Learning for Elementary School Libraries, 2020 &2021 Research Grants, Dueling Makerspaces: Curriculum-Connected or Open-Ended? You Decide!, Embedded Librarianship: Infusing Your Library Program within Your Entire School and Community, and Share Your Story! Getting Started with Professional Writing.
I always feel like I’m drinking from a fire hydrant at a conference, so I’m trying to focus on one or two ideas I can implement quickly in my program. I worked on a manga book order while at the conference, so I feel my students will be happy when this arrives! I also talked with our stem teacher this week about different makerspace ideas as well as added to my Amazon wishlist for our learning commons.
I tried to read over my conference notes yesterday now that I’m a day removed from the conference, but what other reflection tools do you use after a conference or PD session?
I hope to see many of you at #AASL23! Look out Tampa!

Thanksgiving Break Check-in

Well teacher friends we have made it to Thanksgiving break. I have never seen teachers so happy and ready for a break as I have this school year. In the world of face-to-face, hybrid, and virtual teaching, we are exhausted. I know I’ve been taking longer teacher naps each day! (I thought this was a hard feat to overcome based on my normal, school-year weekly naps!) While this school year may not be ideal for some, it has pushed me to re-think how we instruct, provide materials, and ensure our students have access to the materials they need.

Our media program is doing mobile book checkout on a book cart (since no small groups or class check outs happen in our learning commons right now), and I am pushing into classrooms and computers labs to teach. This isn’t worst case scenario for us by any means! We have been able to add so many resources into our collection with the thought of virtual learning behind them. Below are some ideas and resources we’ve started utilizing or changing the way our students use these resources during hybrid instruction.

What resources are re-evaluating this year or what new resources are you making use of for your students?

Destiny collections: We’ve used Destiny collections in the past for book recommendations, but this year I’ve highlighted different topics or resources available through collections. Different collections are linked here on our learning commons blog.

Makerspace kits for checkout: Since makerspace supplies are only being used as requested on carts for teachers to use in their classrooms, many of the supplies are sitting unused. One media specialist in our district starting checking these out to her students, and I thought this was a great idea. Right now we have ten makerspace kits for checkout to students. They are a variety of perler bead activities and makerspace craft supplies (paper, foam, pipcleaners, etc.), and students can check out a bag of supplies, use what they need, and return the unused materials. We will quarantine the materials for three days like we do our library books, re-stock the bags, and check them back in. Our school’s makerspace information can be found here on the learning commons blog.

Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season to all!

Fall Break: Self-Care

Many of you know we are usually traveling any break we have an opportunity to go somewhere; however, the world is weird now. We didn’t make any fall break plans this year because we weren’t sure what the status of traveling would be in late September. We have had the chance to enjoy time at home, and I’m completely okay with that. We’ve had some much needed bonding time with our new pups, I’ve knocked some books off my TBR list, and we’ve gotten so many things done around the house that have been our list forever!

As I start back to school with a hybrid model (teaching face to face and virtual students at the same time) right after this break, I am trying to take as much time this fall break for self-care as possible. I saw the quote recently, “self-care isn’t selfish” and I couldn’t agree more with that statement. Doing things for yourself or saying no isn’t selfish. You have to take time for yourself before you can ensure you are doing what you need to support others. I think this rings true in today’s world more than ever before, so with that said what does self-care mean for you? Is it coffee in pjs with books and pups? Is it a day in bed? Is it a day with Netflix?

The Role of Libraries: Running a Virtual Space

In a time when the world is weird, what role do libraries or school libraries have in the past few months or the coming months looking forward? I know I have been even more dependent on my public library and it’s e-book services the past few months (previous e-book post here). As we look to starting school back face to face, I had to think about the ever-changing role of the school library/media center/learning commons. I say my space is the largest classroom in the school, and this allows for collaboration, making, tinkering, and usually more than one class at a time. However, in a time of Covid, the policies and procedures in place to return to school face to face don’t allow for our normal operations in the school library.
In order to prepare for our digital start and now looking towards a face to face start, I had to re-think how I reach my students and teachers. We expanded our e-book collection using Sora, and our usage statistics are insane! I’m so glad that kids are able to have access to high interest titles at home to read on their own devices. We also began curbside pick up, and we are trying to think how we can continue this for those students staying remote. Additionally, I’ve posted virtual makerspace activities where students complete them at home and record a Flipgrid response showing their creation.
I am curious though for the school librarian and teachers out there–how are you starting the school year? Are you back virtually, hybrid, or face to face? How are you handling the school library? Let me know and stay well!

Distance Learning: Connecting with Your Students

Whew! I never thought I would miss going into work as much as I do. During these days or weeks of online, distance learning, how are you connecting with your students? I know many of my teacher and media specialist friends are having online sessions with their classes, whether this is a zoom class session, office hours, or a morning meeting. I have been hosting a Friday story time, and while I’ve only done it two Fridays, I think they were both successful (with some minor technical glitches–oops!). I also have posted a Flipgrid option for students to leave book responses too.

What are things you are doing to connect or “see” your students during this time? I am continuing to do my video messages each morning, but I would love for students to be able to respond back. I would love to hear how you are continuing conversations with your classes and students!