Tuesday, March 11, 2014

C4T Semester Assignment My Choice

library girl image

Jennifer LaGarde, aka the Library Girl, is who I selected for semester long assignment. I already followed her blog and her Twitter account before this class because I think she is an amazing inspiration to me as a media specialist, and feel she gives superior advice on how to keep libraries a vital space in schools. She is from North Carolina, and travels extensively to workshops delivering her "Zombie Apocalypse" speeches to media specialists, administrators, and teachers across the country. The following blog posts are some of my favorites on her page. If you are a media specialist, or an aspiring media specialist, The Adventures of Library Girl should definitely be on your list to follow.

#1
When I first met Jennifer LaGarde last summer at a new librarian conference, she presented the first of her four part series of "How to Survive the Zombie Librarian Apocalypse: How to Begin with the End in Mind". The zombie graphics are her licensed originals, and the content of the material is spot on with needing to stay current as media specialists to avoid becoming complacent. In this first of a four part series, I found that beginning with the end of the year in mind by setting goals, and having data walls to display circulation statistics can be vital to keeping the library program viable in the school. She also gives links to which annual reports to make available to administrators in planning for the new year and budgeting for purchasing new books. The entire post was helpful, and I've written my comments to her below:

The data wall is an excellent idea, and I have actually begun using this data in a newsletter along with the AR data for students and parents. Do you have an assistant to help you, or do you update the wall yourself each month? You mentioned using library helpers to help calculate the data, do you also use student library helpers to assist with circulation and other library tasks? I currently do not have help, but have been using student workers in the morning before school starts.

#2
Moving from Decoration to Documentation

In this post, Jennifer asks four very important questions about the library space.
1. What does this librarian value?
2. What happens in this space?
3. How does what happens here impact student learning?
4. Why do we still need libraries?

The questions posed by Jennifer were to spur each librarian to think about first impressions and to consider how the space of the library should be maximized to show how the work of the library matters to the student who use it. She argues the space of the library should be more than just a place to provide space for books, but for displaying student work and a creative commons area for students to create work.

This is my comment to her post:

I worry sometimes about the space of the library looking messy if an administrator should walk in, but then I'm reminded when students are making a productive mess in the library to create a product, they are using the space as a creative commons, and it's not always going to be a perfectly neat, quiet space. Thank you for the Pinterest anchor charts. I will be excited to share these. I appreciate the direct questions at the beginning of your post which makes me do a reality check about the work I am doing as a librarian and what I need to do to ensure the library space isn't just being used to shelve books.

#3
11 questions that need 11 answers

Jennifer knows how to keep it real, and in this post, she poses 11 questions related to school libraries which deserve answers. What I decided to do it to take the 11 questions and post them on my wall in my office as a reminder for how to strive each day to be better every day, and to provide the best services possible for the students at my school. You can view the 11 questions Jennifer asks by clicking here. My comments to her post are below:

At our next district media specialist meeting, I plan to take a copy of these questions and ask each to answer them by the time we meet at the end of the year. Then, I would like to compile these answers on my blog once I have gotten responses from those who have chosen to participate. It will be interesting to see how our answer align (or not), and how we can use these questions and answers to make all the libraries in our district more viable resources for the students and parents in our community. Would you suggest I ask the answers to remain anonymous? Thanks again for your commitment to the profession.

#4
In this post, Jennifer makes some raises a very important topic about the validity of libraries in today's technology driven society. She highlights two truths about libraries, the first being times have changed, but the library hasn't, and the librarian's work is no longer connected to the goals of the school. The second reality she outlines is that the library has changed, but perception has not, and librarians are helping students make connections, inquire, and participate globally, but those outside the school do not see this as useful yet. She shares an amazing graphic she created to show these two realities and what librarians should do in both situations in her post. Also, she is very candid about the fact there are many schools around the nation which have chosen to shut down their library programs because they have not been shown to provide the schools with enough supporting data to keep them open as viable resources. Therefore, Jennifer continues to point out what is necessary for librarians to do in order to pursue the profession and keep our jobs.

This are my comments to her post below:

I totally agree with both realities you have highlighted in your graphic, and certainly feel it is up to us to find the viability in our programs. Also, the point you made about complaints being actually a request for help is an interesting slant, and I haven't thought of teacher complaints in this light before. What tips can you give for teachers who do nothing but complain when I ask to collaborate? Many of them think collaborating is them emailing me a list of the objectives for the week and me coming up with something for their kids to do when they come to the library. So, I always feel obligated to make it work out, and am doing double or triple the work load to make sure the student needs are met to keep the teachers from complaining about how much they already have to do, AND to keep my position viable.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Angel,

    I love that you follow The Library Girl and she is so into a Zombie Apocalyptical approach to integrating library concepts. Are you a school librarian/media specialist as well? The idea of a data wall seems very helpful, especially when dealing with students. The idea of libraries as a creative space and not just a storage space for books appeals to me as well. We really need to integrate new concepts for our libraries as the internet and computer media grow exponentially. It is very refreshing that she poses questions and makes her readers critically think as opposed to just reporting her point of view. The idea that complaints are actually requests for help is a novel way of looking at what potentially could be a stressful scenario. Thanks for the insight into the world of librarians!

    Leslie

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  2. Leslie,
    Yes, I am a media specialist, and met Jennifer at a conference this past summer, then started following her blog shortly thereafter. She is very knowledgeable, but also witty and willing to help both media specialists and teachers create learning commons for the greater good of students. I am glad you took the time to read a few of the posts and were able to appreciate the information for its value to students and teachers even though it's from the viewpoint of a librarian.

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  3. Angel,
    Your summaries and responses were very concise and to the point. I am not a media specialist but do understand the need for data to validate the need for libraries. In the private sector we create a business plan for the year and have quarterly check-ups to compare our progress versus the plan. Also, if we require a change in the way we do business within our department, we have to provide data, or metrics, to determine a business case for the change (or in business language, good reasons to spend more money). It's a shame to think a library has closed because a proper business case wasn't delivered. Libraries play an important support role for teachers and are a valuable resource for students, however as a former math teacher, I never found an occasion to utilize this resource. Have you ever collaborated with a math teacher?
    Her blog is awesome by the way!

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  4. Lynn,
    Thank you for your kinds words. It has become imperative for media specialists to make their voices heard as viable components of the school learning environment as well as advocate the transformation of libraries into learning commons in today's technology driven society. I am glad you could see the parallels between business plans in the private sector and ones which must be created to justify operations and spending in school media centers. Part of this plan includes collaboration across the board with all teachers to extend what is being taught in the classroom. I work in an elementary setting, therefore, I have had an opportunity to collaborate on all subject levels including math. I have even collaborated with the PE department to incorporate math by showing students how to graph results from kickball games, timed mile runs, or other activities on the computer. Collaboration brings cohesiveness to the school environment and shows students everyone has an interest in their learning, not just their classroom teacher.

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