For the first time this year, I'm both a teacher-librarian and a parent of a school-aged child. I think it's really hard to truly understand other people unless you've walked in their shoes for a while. I used to think that parents were unreasonable when it comes to their children in school situations. Since I've had a child of my own, however, I ... Continue Reading...
Are School Libraries Still Necessary?
Lately I've noticed the same question coming up again and again: are school libraries still necessary? It started the other day on my state's listserv. Someone was asking for ideas because their district is going to have only one certified librarian for the entire district during the next school year. Yesterday, I saw the question being asked on ... Continue Reading...
Book Reviews
This week, I received my library's copies of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. The book received the 2013 Newbery Medal, and I had heard really good things about it, so I was excited to read it. I'll tell you a little secret: I don't always love Newbery winners. I'm very pleased to say that I felt this one was very deserving of the ... Continue Reading...
My Latest Library Book Order
We were out of school three days last week due to weather and sickness, so I went to work on Thursday to unpack my library book order (and work on many other things). It's nice to have some time to work with no students, but it sure is quiet! Those days may be the only time it's ever quiet in my library. I thought I'd share some of the ... Continue Reading...
Surviving Without a Library Assistant
I'm not sure when it was decided that school libraries no longer needed library assistants. I think in some areas, it's a budget issue. In others, money got reallocated to other programs (probably more directly related to testing). Some people might even say that librarians are lucky to have jobs at all with all the budget cuts around the nation, ... Continue Reading...
Why I Won't Ditch Dewey
A while back, someone asked for advice on switching from the Dewey Decimal Classification System to more of a bookstore layout. Apparently, it was quite a hot-button issue because the original poster got a wide range of responses. Many of those responses were directed toward the entire list, and I have to say it got a little ugly. Needless to say, ... Continue Reading...