Today's Member of the Month is Teresa Jorgensen. Teresa works at Hodges Manor Elementary School in Portsmouth, VA. It's her first year as a librarian!
We asked Teresa 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?
My favorite thing about my job as a school librarian is working with the students here at Hodges Manor and helping all of them improve their reading skills!
Name one children's book that you couldn't live without in your library.
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Tell us why you decided to join the Elementary Librarian Community. What's your favorite thing about it?
I love all the ideas for lessons and small centers that I can adapt to my own library. The resources available from Elementary Librarian definitely makes my first year of teaching a million times less stressful and gives me time to have fun with the kids!
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?
My biggest piece of advice for new school librarians or potential school librarians is to talk to other school librarians in your area, follow the blogs and get on twitter for tips and ideas, and *always* take notes! There will be ideas that will need to be modified between schools, but chances are that another librarian will be doing something you have not thought of yet or vice versa. Don't stress yourself by trying to think of everything on your own.
The biggest challenge I have with my school library is the outdated collection. With the collection being outdated, the students are all wanting to read the same, newer, more popular books. With that challenge I have to encourage them to return their books in a timely fashion, while at the same time finding those books that would appeal to them that they would not necessarily pick up on their own, like Treasure Island or Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.