Yearly Archives: 2014

Finish Line? Not Really

Posted on December 22, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

I am a committed Weight Watcher member. When I set out on my weight loss plan almost eleven years ago, I couldn’t imagine I could lose close to fifty pounds. I expected that on reaching “Lifetime,” I would indulge in…

Hello? Are you listening?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

We live in a noisy world. Until the power goes out we don’t realize how much background noise exists in our everyday life. Our brains have become skilled at blocking most of this out to preserve our sanity. Not hearing…

Tagged with: Hilda K Weisburg, Hilda Weisburg, librarian, librarians, libraries, listen, listening, pay attention, school librarian
Posted in Career

Tough Choices – Brave Librarians

Posted on December 7, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

Being a school librarian can be a lonely job. In most locations you are the only librarian in the building, and these days you rarely have any staff or even volunteers. You may be the only librarian for several schools.…

Posted in Uncategorized

ThanksGIVING

Posted on November 24, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

With Thanksgiving Day approaching, I am focused on the second half of the word. One of the best ways to be thankful is to give back. As educators we do this every day. We work hard to reach as many…

Tagged with: community, connection, giving, Hilda K Weisburg, Hilda Weisburg, librarian, librarians, libraries, library, thanksgiving
Posted in General, Librarian Life

Emotion “sells” better than Logic

Posted on November 17, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

The most supremely logical Mr. Spock, from the Star Trek series I adored from the very first, says in one episode, “It’s not logical, but it’s true.” As librarians we need to take those words to heart in order to…

Stop, hey, what’s that sound… Maker Spaces are Going Round

Posted on November 10, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

Makerspaces have been around for a few years. For much of that time, the public libraries had them and few early-adopter school librarians started them in their libraries. Their existence continues to grow, but many librarians are hesitant to start…

Developing Essential Or Guiding Questions

Posted on November 3, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

Nearly a year ago (January 6, 2014) I blogged on Questions and Answers, pointing out that good answers showed understanding of the topic covered, while good questions demonstrated the ability to take the concepts learned and seek to explore it…

You Must Be Visible To Be Valuable

Posted on October 27, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

In 1997, Gary Hartzell wrote an article for the November issue of School Library Journal entitled “The Invisible School Librarian: Why Others Are Blind to Your Value.” Seventeen years have passed and little has changed for many – and there…

Libraries, Librarians, and Learning in the 21st Century

Posted on October 21, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

I have just returned the AASL Forum on School Librarians in the Anytime Anywhere Learning Landscape and as usual for this intense two-day institute I am precariously balanced between the excitement of new ideas (and old ones in new guises)…

TTK: Helping Students Become Global Citizens… with poetry

Posted on October 16, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

As a 21st century school librarian you want projects to guide your students into becoming global and digital citizens. Here is a poetry project that’s already up and running and will connect your students to others from around the world…