Blog Archives

TTK: Curating as Trailblazing

How good are you at curating? Cathy Evans, Dorcas Hand, Robyn Martin, and David Wee wrote this highly informative article for Independent Schools the journal of the National Association of Independent Schools, describing curating as Trailblazing. It’s worth paying attention

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Posted in TTK: Things to Know

Finish Line? Not Really

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

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Posted in Career, Librarian Life

Hello? Are you listening?

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

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Posted in Career

Tough Choices – Brave Librarians

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

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

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Posted in General, Librarian Life

Emotion “sells” better than Logic

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

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Posted in Issues, Librarian Life

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

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

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Posted in Career, Librarian Life

Developing Essential Or Guiding Questions

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

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Posted in Librarian Life, Professional Development

You Must Be Visible To Be Valuable

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

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Posted in Uncategorized

Libraries, Librarians, and Learning in the 21st Century

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)

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Posted in Career, Professional Development