Today's Member of the Month is Leslie Tackes. Leslie works at River Grove School District 85.5 in River Grove, IL. She has been a school librarian for 7 years.
We asked Leslie some questions about her experience as a school librarian and we would like to share them with you.
What's your favorite thing about your job as a school librarian?
Helping students find joy in a good book - their favorite genre, author or series. I love story-time and so do the students. I get to test out different voices and accents. My older students get to practice the art that is storytelling and read to the younger students. I am in a unique building and get to teach K-8. Young Adult books are fun to book-talk with them. I get the best of both worlds! "Be yourself. Who else is better qualified?" - Giblin.
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
Night Animals by Gianna Marino
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I created all of my lesson plans from scratch. I am in a one school one district and do not have other librarians to collaborate with. I am a part of many online communities and forums, but it was nice to have the entire year of lesson plans already aligned to the standards and built upon across the grade levels. I can now edit the ones you have as needed and integrate my lesson plans with your lesson plans to create a uniquely comprehensive library program.
What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing when it comes to your school library?
If you could give one piece of advice to a brand new school librarian (or someone considering becoming a school librarian), what would it be?
Do not over think everything. Do simple better! Collaborate with others as much as possible. Do not be afraid to say no, but offer another solution or suggestion. Always have a plan A, B and C. You can do this! You are prepared! YOU ARE THE LIBRARIAN! Rock it out like no one else can!
My challenge currently is trying to complete everything in the amount of time allotted every week. We only have 40 minutes to checkout books and complete a lesson. Sometimes I would have to carry the lesson into another week, cut the lesson short, or pick and choose what is most important.