Teacher Librarian Reading Journal

While William's article focuses on the development of a brand new library, it is important to stress how " a clearly developed vision that designs a school library media center for the future will, and should, drive all purchasing decisions .” The arguments for funding are more powerful when the librarian compares what an underfunded library program looks like to a robust vision for library programming. It is important to take in consideration all functions and services provided in the library.  Knowing what you need will allow you to “ obtain solid financial commitments from the school district with separate budgets for the collection, technology, furniture and equipment, and supplies… through reliable vendors.” In working with reliable vendors, the overall expenditures in budget are reduced when vendors include package deliveries – delivery, assembly, installation and setup, and removal of waste. Furniture purchases should be take...

Just like in your own back yard, no one likes weeding. But once it is completed, you marvel at how miraculously beautiful your display looks. Removing the "unwanted items makes those left behind stand out." And don't you find yourself using your backyard or front yard that much more after weeding is accomplished? Imagine how that translates to the library. Circulation rises after weeding because there is less to peruse through in order to find that "golden daffodil" hiding amongst the stacks. Chant also goes on to explore how weeding allows for new project spaces (like makerspaces or collaborative work areas) are afforded depending on the amount of weeding completed in the library. The change in the landscape of the library is affected by the collection. Having too many out-dated or unused resources doesn't effectively assist the end user. Here are some highlights from Chant's article on that ugly word- "weeding": Slow & Stead...

Teachers are supposed to be superheros, who live in the school they teach in and know everything! Right? But oops, you said Calculus instead of Copernicus. And you hear those little giggles. The fear of failure and mistakes is a constant in education because of this ingrained concept of teachers being "know-it-alls." The landscape for education is changing and now, especially, it is critical to make mistakes and let your students, staff, etc. know that mistakes are good! Mistakes mean you are learning and building on past knowledge. A classmate of mine, Amy, touched on this key concept of making mistakes. Her post (https://bibliodidaskalosity.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/learning-from-mistakes/) resonated with me completely because as the curriculum standards have changed and the learning outcomes require students to be more proactive in their learning, us as professionals have had to navigate this new landscape. What really caught my attention was her statement about the a...

I happened upon this article and began reading into its relevant information on teacher librarians and the use of technology. While I grew up in the boom of technology and can navigate myself around all the novel intricacies of technology, I would hardly call myself tech savvy. I still remember days without immediate access to information and even having computerized systems such as students have today. One quote caught me particularly, "Many young people have never known a world without instantaneous access to vast quantities of information using a multitude of formats, text types, graphics and multimedia." This truly is profound. Because of this new landscape the article brings up two solid points: understanding our roles and developing these skills (as many of our students surpass our knowledge in technology use). Combes stresses to limit the management of the systems in the library and become a management of information via technology use instead. She also stresses tha...

Burnout in the education field is always a highly discussed topic. It is always important to be mindful; however, being present in your mindfulness is critical. Meditation is a wonderful avenue to reduce stress and it also helps to benefit the students as Roeser, et al. mention in their article about a mindfulness training study. There is a great breakdown for how a continued and consistent system increases self-compassion to reduce anxiety, stress, and burnout. Therein, the downstream when the teacher has developed advantageous coping and resilience methods the classroom management and supportive environment exist. This is a symbiotic relationship for reduction in stress and building teacher-student relationships. This alternately creates a classroom where student motivation and academic success is strengthened. One thing that initially struck me from the article was the idea that "teachers themselves report that workload, lack of collaborative time with colleagues, lack o...

Open copyright license required Right of access, adaptation, and republication Non-discriminatory (rights given to everyone, everywhere) Does not limit use or form (does not include NonCommercial limitations) Hewlett Foundation OECD UNESCO Cape Town Declaration Wikieducator OER Handbook OER Commons (https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/What_is_OER%3F) As the digital movement expands, content available online for use by teachers and teacher librarians is growing. Open educational resources, OERs, are defined by Hope as "educational resources that are either in the public domain or have been made freely available through their license."Hope explains how new companies like Creative Commons licensing allow creators the ability to "copyright their work in a manner appropriate to how they wish to share their work." This allows for more information to be globally spread and create creative, uniform, and flexible...

Personally, I am not one to find it easy to boast. This is a reason I enjoyed the article by Ann Martin on advocacy. The question is whether advocates are born or developed. Her overarching note is that it is developed. That means there is hope for me to develop the skills necessary to be an advocate for myself and my library program. As a teacher librarian Martin shares similar ideas with other articles I read about being proactive in our field. This means being visible and diligent in our efforts to ensure all stakeholders know why and how the library program and certified librarians are key assets for the students achievement and schools test ratings. "Successful librarians... provide VALUE to their schools... They Validate, Anticipate, Lead, Understand, and Educate their clientele and constituents," (Martin, 2007). Validate: This is where we ensure that all members reap the benefits of our programming (the public/community, the district, the students, other staff...