Chapter 4 - Empowering Learning Through Leadership
The job of the library media specialist is an important one in such a time of change. I agree that communication is key. The lms must be able to communicate well in order to build the strong relationships needed for advancement. I also agree that the librarian does not get enough credit for his/her role in student achievement. This is something that I have always noticed, but then again, I have a vested interest in the field.
Chapter 12 - Advocacy and the Media Center
Until recently, I never realized how much work a lms must put into advocacy. The circle does make sense though: media center staff sells services to teachers who sell resources and information to students (Woolls, 190) and having the teachers and students stand behind the media center will make it less likely to be targeted for cuts.
I think that the library staff must be helpful and positive, or it can definitely turn students (and teachers) away. Before I moved to the middle school I was at the elementary building in my district. The library aide in the elementary library had been employed there for many years. (Becky, I think you know where I'm going with this!) She tended to be very grumpy when students or teachers would visit the library. Her attitude portrayed the library, which the librarian worked very hard on, in a negative light to many of the students and staff. There were even a couple teachers that refused to bring their class for class visits because of this. Luckily, when the librarian went to the administration with her concerns about her aide, they were supportive and placed her elsewhere in the building. The aide knew the library inside and out and had a wealth of knowledge, but what good is that when no one wants to use it?
I think that an easy and inexpensive way to market the media center is to display new materials. This could be as simple as a "new books" display or shelf or even a bulletin board to advertise the new materials, which could be books or other forms of media. The librarian in my building has a rack near the circulation desk that she uses to display new purchases. For many students, as well as teachers, it is the first place they look upon entering the library.
I think that marketing the services offered primarily over the collection is a prime example of where libraries are headed. This goes with the Learning Commons concept.
In my reading classroom, I offer a pretty extensive library for my students. I never thought about it competing with the school library until reading this chapter. However, if my students have a choice between checking out a book from my classroom and checking out a book from the library, most times they will choose the library! Even if it is the same book!
Until reading this chapter, I never realized how many steps there are involved in marketing the library.
Chapter 14 - Cooperation, Networking, and Social Networking
While reading this chapter, I kept thinking about my eMINTS training. Relevancy/accuracy of information is an extremely critical piece to using technology in the classroom and the library. Most of our staff, starting at the elementary level, is trained in eMINTS, so the students become familiar with using technology in the classroom at a young age. This is extremely helpful to already have this knowledge by the time they reach my classroom.
I feel like I an generally pretty tech savvy, but I'm not going to lie, I had no clue what a wiki was until I took Dr. Antrim's Foundations class! Now that I'm becoming more familiar with how wikis work, I have several ideas for using a class wiki that I may try out next year! The same with podcasts. I don't think I have ever listened to a podcast, but I was thinking about how wonderful it would have been to be able to make a podcast of our read aloud while I was on maternity leave this past year. It would have been a wonderful way to still be "there" while I was away from my classroom for 3 months!
I really enjoyed this chapter because it really inspired me to try out several new things in my classroom.
The question has to be raised: why don't librarians get credit for their work with student achievement?
ReplyDeleteOne of the issues with classroom libraries is that money is sometimes diverted from the library for collections that are not available to all students. As an aside, why do the students prefer to check out the books from the library?
Even better than a podcast would be a video!
I think that librarians don't receive credit because they don't fight for it. Many times they fly under the radar. You need to make it known that you contribute to the success of students!
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