“It’s been a chaotic time, to say the least,” Pelayo-Lozada said. “And we all deserve to enjoy our time here, especially because the weight that you all have carried for your students, yourselves, and your colleagues over the last year and a half is a heavy one with difficult decisions, a lot of empathy, probably … Continue reading School Librarians, Together Again
Follett School Solutions’ products include the Destiny Library Manager used by many US K–12 school libraries, the Aspen Student Information System, and the Titlewave ecommerce platform, which it uses to distribute print and digital content for educational institutions. The company was acquired from Follett Corporation, a family-owned business based in Westchester, Illinois. While divesting its … Continue reading Follett School Solutions Sold to Private Equity Firm
Early on, students would often ask, “Miss, where can I find the ______ books?” I love few things more than finding just the right book for each student. But as the library’s lone staff member, suggesting books to those browsing titles can get overwhelming when I’m trying to teach class, check students into the workspace, … Continue reading The Switch to Genrefication
Usually the calls were about the kids who frequented the library—which ones had graduated, who was off to college or the military, and sometimes, sadly, who had been shot or killed, or gone to jail. One call still haunts me: A teenage boy I knew well was facing serious time in a juvenile detention center. … Continue reading A Hurting Thing
First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with three school library media specialists for Goochland County (Va.) Public Schools—Sarah Smith from Goochland Elementary School, Sue Vaughan from Randolph Elementary School, and Zoe Parrish from Byrd Elementary School—about how they bootstrapped a bookmobile to provide free titles to kids learning remotely. Next, American Libraries Senior … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: School Librarians Adapt to the Pandemic
Those words seem especially prescient now as we look across the country at the libraries that have struggled most during this period of widespread library defunding and service reductions. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue, there has long been an unmistakable correlation between communities that navigate high rates of poverty and those that … Continue reading Revolutions Where We Stand
“We’re surrounded by so many wonderful people who care about our kids and our community,” says Jennifer Sutton, teacher librarian at Lake Park High School in Roselle, Illinois. Sutton organized LPC-2 with Mariela Siegert, former librarian at Westfield Middle in Bloomingdale and Sia Paganis, former librarian at Spring Woods Middle in Hanover Park. (Siegert is … Continue reading Partnering for Success in the School Library
Moderator Becky Calzada, library services coordinator at Leander (Tex.) Independent School District (ISD), was joined by Mary Woodard, director of library services at Mesquite (Tex.) ISD; Melissa E. Jacobs, director of New York City Schools’ Library System and the New York Department of Education’s Department of Library Services; Dot Guthrie, a retired librarian who sits … Continue reading Leaders of Change
That question and many others were answered in “Pandemic Programming: Changes to School Library Instruction during a Global Pandemic,” held Sunday at ALA Midwinter Virtual 2021 on January 24. Facilitated by Christina Norman, textbook library media coordinator for Birmingham (Ala.) City Schools, and Jennifer J. Sturge, specialist for school libraries and digital learning at Calvert … Continue reading Pandemic Programming
In 2019, Batesville (Ind.) Intermediate School began a book club using selections inspired by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the organization’s blueprint for addressing global challenges like poverty and climate change by 2030. Batesville’s students use lessons they glean from the club to engage with their community and the world, earning the … Continue reading Working Toward a Sustainable World
We’re in a crisis unlike any other, so we must make time to check in with our students. Similar to the way we hold icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities in our classrooms at the beginning of each school year to familiarize ourselves with our students, we can find ways to gauge wellness and build connection amid … Continue reading Making Time to Check In
At Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, librarians administering the Brooklyn Connections program are not only faced with the challenge of reimagining their outreach to the 35 schools and thousands of 4th–12th graders they serve but are also grappling with students’ day-to-day struggles amid the pandemic. Jen Hoyer, educating librarian with Brooklyn Connections, reports that many students … Continue reading Teaming Up for Teaching
