Getting Creative With Book Displays

I thought creating displays would be the most fun part of my job, but it has proved to be a bit more challenging than I expected. I mean, where do these Pinteresty librarians find the time to be so creative?! What am I supposed to do without any wall space for bulletin boards?! How do I get kids to actually check out the books I put on display?



I kept things simple for my first display of the year with an "around the world" theme. All it took was a globe and some books by international authors. It was fine for August when I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the newness of everything.



Then I read this post from Library Girl, and it changed the way I think about the purpose of displays: "Every display presents us with an opportunity to tackle big things: to address individual student needs, to awaken dormant readers, and to engage all kids in meaningful conversations about books, reading and their lives as learners." 

With that in mind, my second display was focused on the fact that ALL my junior high students wanted to read the same books, even though we have hundreds of amazing other choices. So I chose four popular series (The Giver, Hunger Games, Diary of Wimpy Kid, and Harry Potter) and then filled my display shelves with books that have similar themes, characters, and settings. The students kind of ignored it at first, but eventually it was picked over pretty nicely!



Of course, for Halloween we had to do a scary stories display--but this actually worked out great, because we were getting a lot of requests for scary stories anyway.

Also in October, we were able to consolidate the fiction section to make room for a more permanent Sports display (another common request), and a New Arrivals shelf. The big readers love being able to see what's new and being the first one to check something out!

In November, I did a Native American Heritage Month display, but to be honest it was not effective in getting students to actually check those books out. Our school is religiously diverse, so I decided to keep things secular for December. Instead of a holiday theme, I focused on books that have been made into movies. The movie display included a vintage film projector found in my husband's grandparents' basement -- the kids love it! I've also started a book club called "The Book Was Better" and we are reading some of the books from this display.

While I'm still not an expert at this, and I'd still love some wall space, I do feel more confident than before in my display making abilities. For the new year, my goal is to focus on Library Girl's tip #4: build interactive displays. I'll keep you posted!

A Rookie's Top Five

Somehow, I woke up this morning and I have been a school librarian for almost a whole semester! I've been so busy that I have not been keeping up with the blogging at all, but I'm going to try to do better. I want to document this amazing new career that I am so glad I decided to pursue. Seriously, this is the best job. I still get to teach, but I don't have to worry about grading or testing...or waiting for the bell to go to the bathroom! :)

Bu there are are quite a few things I've had to learn on the job. So to help out future rookies, here are the Top Five things I have learned about being a new school librarian:

1. They don't teach you anything practical in school! For example, my program never taught us how to upload MARC records, print bar codes, or repair old books. Luckily, You Tube has my back!

2. A good library aide is worth more than gold. I am so fortunate to not only have a full-time aide, but one who is also a library rockstar. Over the years, I have seen aides who don't read, don't like kids, or don't expect to do more than check books out. My wonderful assistant has an English degree, experience as a public library clerk, and--most importantly--she loves to read. Her experience has been invaluable and I hope she never leaves me!!!

3. Students may expect you to be similar to their old librarian. I think kids are used to getting new teachers with different personalities every year, but I have found many are either disappointed or excited that I am different from my predecessor. I have laid on the "expectations" pretty thickly, knowing that it's easier to start strict and lighten up than the other way around.

4. The library is either chaotic or dead. You have to take advantage of the dead moments and get things done (like ordering books and planning lessons) because the next thing you know, 17 people will want 17 different things from you!

5. You have to let go of your students' assignments being your assignments. I'm so grateful that many of the teachers have embraced my expertise and allowed me to teach informational literacy. However, sometimes they don't give me the time I need to do it the way I want to, or the assignments themselves don't live up to my standards. But it's not my ship, I am merely one sailor on the voyage!

When I went back to school to study school librarianship, I always expected to have to "put in my time"  at a school I didn't really like (as I did with my teaching career). Instead, I won the lottery and landed a job in a place that I can see myself staying for a long, long time. It's the kind of school that believes in investing in people and helping them grow as a professional. Whether you've found yourself in a school like mine or the kind that seems to suck the optimism right out of you, try to keep your focus on what's best for students and you'll do great!

What does it mean to be a "Connected Educator"?

I am in the final week of my M.A. program in librarianship, finishing up two courses in Leadership and Digital Communication. The instructor of the latter course has asked us this question for our final assignment: What does it mean to be a "Connected Educator"?

The textbook we have been reading, What Connected Educators Do Differently, argues that Connected Educators go beyond being online and instead, correspond online. That means giving as well as taking. This idea struck a chord with me, because I have been an avid reader of blogs and the "ALA Think Tank" Facebook group for years now. However, my participation has been quite limited. I always felt like I didn't have anything valuable to contribute.

For one of our assignments in this course, we had to participate in two Twitter Chats. The instructions said we had to write at least four tweets during the chat, and when I read this I thought, "how in the world am I supposed to do that? What if I don't have anything to say?" But the reality was the opposite! I found, with both chats, that I had plenty to say. I asked questions, responded to others' tweets, and shared my own ideas. I never felt incompetent or insignificant. I wonder now if what I thought of as humility was really me devaluing my own expertise.

So, I've been thinking about what it means to be "Connected," and it really comes down to one's  professional learning network (PLN), which is essentially an online PLC. Once connected--usually through social media--you can have discussions, share resources, celebrate successes, and learn from each others' failures.

As I move into the world of school librarianship, I know that isolation is a big risk. I will be the only librarian in my school, with only one other librarian in the district. My online PLN is my biggest resource, but I can't expect to just take from them all the time. As I muddle through the next few years, I'm sure some of my experiments will fail, and others will be brilliant. I plan to share them all!

In addition to reading and writing blogs, I will continue to participate in my Facebook group. I will continue to follow librarians and other educators on Twitter, and use the plethora of resources they are always posting. "IRL" colleagues are important, but the varied experiences and perspectives of my online PLN is also invaluable, and I am very grateful for them.

Risk-Taking: How can I be a model for my students?

It is not uncommon to hear teachers complain about their students being afraid to "take risks." This might mean they are afraid to participate in class discussions or turn in a less-than-perfect essay.

Many of us believe that our system has inadvertently taught students to be risk-adverse by putting so much emphasis on test scores. After years of being told there is one right answer--A, B, C, or D--and that their future depends upon that answer, why would they want to take risks?

The authors of What Connected Educators Do Differently argue that modeling (in this case, modeling risk-taking) is the key to change: "By modeling the way, teachers and leaders encourage those they teach and lead to behave according to shared values so that they can achieve a shared vision for excellence" (Whitaker, Zoul & Casas, 2015, p. 98). If I want students to be risk-takers, I must take risks myself.

So how can I, as a teacher-librarian, model risk-taking?

In some ways, I feel that this entire year is about taking risks. I will be a first-year teacher-librarian, working in a district that is new to me. I will be asking the faculty to accept me as a competent, knowledgeable resource who can not only serve students, but also teachers. I will be reorganizing the library after a major reduction of the nonfiction collection, trying to make the space more functional, modern, and inviting.

But students won't necessarily notice any of that.

What they will see is me advocating for individual students, because it is my job to "guarantee that every student has the right to read and receive (or have access to) information and educational opportunities" (Hunsinger, 2015). This includes our students who are learning English, who have emotional issues, or who need assisstive technology to help them learn.

They will see me opening up the library after school for the first time, creating a safe and helpful space for students to meet to do homework.

They will see me attempting parent outreach, something that is new and scary to me. My principal suggested I start a parent-student book club, so I am jumping in and giving it a try!

They will see me following the "95/5 rule, which means [I will] not make decisions based on the fear of what 5% of the population will do (which usually means challenging authority or school policies) but on the knowledge of what is best for the other 95% who rarely, if ever, break school rules" (Whitaker, et al., 2015, p. 101). That means I need to take a hard look at some library policies. Should we allow food and drink? What about cell phones? Can they visit during lunch without a pass? What will 95% of the students do if I allow these things?

They will see me embracing new technologies, fumbling my way through learning how to use them. For example, I want to put a green screen in our library for student video projects. While I know how to paint a wall green, I have no idea how to use green screen software! But I believe I can figure it out, one way or another.

Mostly, they will see me being my geeky self, and hopefully that will inspire them to let their own geek out. I get excited about Hamilton, I make bad jokes, I tell embarrassing stories about my own adolescence. I admit when I don't know how to do something, and ask my students if they can help. I love talking about my world travels and asking my students where they have been and where they want to go. I talk about my favorite books with passion, and tell them that reading opens you up to the possibilities of life, making you think about places and people and professions you never knew existed.

This is what I want my students to learn, above all else: to be successful, it is crucial to try new things. My parent book club might be a total flop, but if I never try it then I'll never know. As Mark Zuckerberg said, "the biggest risk is not taking any risk" (Rao, 2011).

Some thoughts on time

I recently was lucky enough to be gifted tickets to Hamilton; like everyone else who sees it, I absolutely loved it. One of the refrains that stuck with me was, "Why do you write like you're running out of time?" ("Non-Stop"). Alexander Hamilton, according to the musical, was not only a gifted writer, but an abundant writer--this article looks at the importance of his penmanship in the pre-typewriter era. His anxiety about getting all of his thoughts down on paper probably stemmed from another notable lyric: " See, I never thought I’d live past twenty / Where I come from some get half as many" ("My Shot"). If you believed that there was a good chance you'd die young, then the pressure to do great things now would be intense.

I've been thinking about this since I saw the play in April, because I constantly feel like I just don't have enough time. I have two children under six, so even though I am off work for the summer, being home with them is a full-time job. I am taking two online graduate courses, which require me to spend two evenings per week "going to class" because of course I can't get anything done at home. On top of that, I try to exercise five days per week, spend quality time with my husband a few times per week after the kids go to bed, and we are trying to get our house ready to sell whilst house-hunting.

It's exhausting.

But then, on top of all of that, I realize how privileged I am to even be complaining about all of this! My online classes are intellectually stimulating and leading me into a great career move. My husband is a wonderful partner who I actually want to hang out with. My economic status allows me to belong to a gym--a nice one, with childcare and a pool I can take my kids to. When things get hectic, I hire a babysitter. Twice this summer we are going on vacation, to "escape it all." Escaping from my own life is a luxury that many cannot afford.

So now I feel guilty for complaining.

So, I guess the question is, how can I feel more present and less hectic? This article from Psychology Today has some good tips. One of my favorites is to "make eating sacred time." I have read before that the French, famous for their sophisticated culinary habits, never eat in the car or in front of the television. Never might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the idea makes a lot of sense. Being present while eating sounds not only healthy, but pleasant. Another is to "reclaim waiting time." I recently realized that I was wasting my commute on trash radio when I could be listening to audio books or podcasts. I had to make a concerted effort to download quality programs ahead of time, but it was well worth it.

Life has changed a lot from Alexander Hamilton's day. Who knows if he would have accomplished half as much if he had Twitter and CNN yapping at him, or if Mrs. Hamilton had expected him to be an equitable parenting partner (side note: the wives never get enough credit for the sacrifices they made so that the founding fathers could devote 99% of their lives to our new nation!). While life expectancy is much longer now, we also know that no one is promised a tomorrow.

Balancing the desire to carpe diem and the reality that someone has to do the laundry is difficult. Sometimes when I'm with my kids, I'm thinking about how I need to do x-y-z. Then while I'm doing those things, I'm thinking I really wish I had more quality time with my kids. Maybe what I really need to focus on is not using my time more efficiently, but on how to be more mindful and present in every given moment. 

Big News & Lessons Learned

I am so excited to announce that I will be a
Library Media Specialist next year! 

I feel so lucky to have landed this job, and I can't wait to get started! I'm sure I'll be blogging all summer about my plans and books I'm reading. The library is shared between a junior high and high school, so I'll be serving students in grades 6-12. It's a little scary, since I haven't worked with 6-8 before, but I think I'm going to love it. The junior high students actually have scheduled time to come to the library and listen to me talk about books. It's a dream come true, but I also have a lot of young adult reading to get to!

While I truly feel that this is the right time for me to move on from classroom teaching, it is still a bittersweet transition. I am changing districts, so I have to say goodbye to a lot of wonderful colleagues and students. This has also been one of the best years teaching that I've had in a long time, and I have received more love from my students than ever before. I mean, I've always been a "good teacher," but I've never really had a "fan club" before.

So I've been thinking a lot about why that might be, and I have a few theories:

1. Being a student again (albeit graduate school) has made me keenly aware of how hard it is to sit still and listen to someone else drone on and on and on and on. I think I've kept my students more active and hands-on this year. I've cut every worksheet and activity that isn't entirely necessary: no more busy work! Instead, I've spent that extra time connecting with students, telling stories and sharing our lives with each other.

2. Taking a year off ('16-'17) to stay home with my son really was rejuvenating. I feel less burnt out and anxious, and the kids can tell. This is why I believe summer break (or even better: long, year-round breaks) are so crucial. Teaching is a grind, and you need to take some time away to remember why you love it.

3. Before my year off, I worked at an alternative school for a year. There, I had smaller class sizes and a looser curriculum, which made it easier to differentiate; the challenging nature of the student body taught me not to sweat the small stuff. So even though I've been back in a traditional classroom this year, I think I've maintained a more laid-back, personalized approach.

When I was a student teacher, one of my mentors advised me to loosen up and share more of myself with students. At the time, I was only 26 and looked like I was 21. I was so self-conscious about maintaining authority, I couldn't let my guard down and follow his advice. In some ways, I feel like I learned the lesson too late. However, I have to remind myself that I'm still going to be a teacher. Library Media Specialists may not have their own classes, but they still have to connect with hundreds of students every day. I hope that I can continue to grow and build on what I have learned this year, and really rock it in the Library next year!

Making Poetry Come Alive

"...it's a good thing to get poetry off the shelves and more into public life....When you get a poem on a billboard or on the radio or on a cereal box or whatever, it happens to you so suddenly that you don't have time to deploy your anti-poetry deflector shields that were installed in high school." --Billy Collins, U.S. Poet Laureate 2001-2003

This year, I wanted to try something new with my freshman to deactivate their "anti-poetry deflector shields." I wanted them to write their own poetry and read each others' poetry, but I wasn't sure how to do it in a way that they would actually enjoy.

I've also been wanting to integrate more technology into the classroom, so I decided to have my students present their poems digitally. I was inspired by this TED Talk that Billy Collins gave, where he shares his work with five different artists to animate some of his poems. I showed the TED Talk to my students as inspiration, and the students wrote several poems from which they could choose to do the project.

I gave them various options for apps and websites to use, but the students who were most successful tended to use the iMovie app on their iPhones (Wevideo was a great substitute for those who didn't have a mac product).

One of the most unexpected and wonderful things about this assignment was that the best videos did not necessarily come from students who always get top scores. I think this type of assignment allows students who are creative to shine in a way that traditional schoolwork doesn't always do. 

Here are three of the best videos from my classes: 

Making a Library Display

I have always wanted to try a "If you liked that, try this" library display, and last month I got my chance! I wanted to promote some titles by African-American authors in honor of Black History month, and I thought the best way to do that was through music.

I am definitely not a music aficionado--in fact, I've been thinking about how I need to listen to more new music--but I didn't want to pair them up without a reason. So I spent some time listening to excerpts of each album to get a feel for their themes and moods.

Some of the pairings were a bit of a stretch, but most were very intentional. For example, I paired The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas with Tupac Shakur's Thug Life because the title of the novel is actually inspired by a song from that album, and the narrator talks about Tupac throughout the book.

I also paired The Color Purple by Alice Walker and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson with Beyonce's Lemonade; the former because Beyonce has said it is one of her favorite books, and the latter because the mood of the poetry in Lemonade reminded me of some of Woodson's poems.




The logistics of the display were a little tricky because our library has very little wall space, but lots of low shelves for displays, so I had to get creative with the way I displayed the images and text. I think it worked out pretty well, and a few of the books were checked out, so I hope that students noticed it!

Thoughts on Creativity

There was a time, when I was in high school and college, when I thought of myself as "creative." I spent hours developing film in the dark room at school, or sitting in smokey cafes, writing bad poetry. I imagined myself one day living in a quaint village by the sea, writing a novel on an old-fashioned typewriter. I don't know that I ever took that dream seriously, but it was my dream nonetheless.

All that romanticism slipped quietly away in my later 20's, replaced by bill-paying and graduate school, and eventually having children. I would say that children are the ultimate killers of creativity, but that seems so ironic, because they are so creative themselves. I suppose the truth is they don't kill your creativity, but instead hoard it for themselves, funneling it all into elaborate imaginary play scenarios.

Anyway, I didn't miss it much until my dear friend from college announced she was publishing a novel.

I'm not surprised--Elizabeth was the only one of my close friends (all English majors) who actually pursued an MFA and continued to write after we graduated. Even back in college, I thought she was the most talented of us all, and the most persistent. Her novel is called Everything You Came to See, and it is beautiful and captivating and I am so proud of her for writing it.

It got me thinking about the role of creativity in my life, and whether I wanted to prioritize it more. Elizabeth has no benefactor allowing her to sit in a cabin by the sea; she has a job and a family just like I do. She made time and space in her life for writing because it was important to her.

Of all the priorities in my life right now, I suppose writing doesn't make it to the top of the list... but I do have this little blog, and I guess I can now explain why I'm writing it at all. Writing about books inspires me to read more, and writing about the things I make encourages me to be more creative at work. Creativity begets creativity! Maybe someday I'll have time to sit down and write a masterpiece, but for now this is all I need.

Screen Time

Last year I had a weekly one-hour commute and it just happened to correspond with TED Radio Hour, which made it  not only bearable but actually enjoyable! If you're not a listener yet, you should be. Each week, they pick TED Talks that all deal with the same theme and adapt them for radio, usually interviewing the speaker to add to the piece.

An older one that I continue to think about is a 2-part episode called "Screen Time." The episodes explore all aspects of the way we consume technology today, and how it affects our attention spans, our social interactions, our children.

As an aspiring Library Media Specialist, I know that I need to dive head-first into the pool of educational technology. It's not going anywhere, and I want to help teachers and students find the tools that will help them, inspire them, and allow them to fulfill their potential.

However, I do not advocate for technology-for-technology's-sake. This is a very dangerous minefield for educators. Parents and administrators get excited when they walk into a classroom and see Smart Boards and tablets and other shiny gadgets. But if students are using those tools to simply consume information passively, then we are failing them as educators.

Educational technology should be used to engage students in interactive learning. It should allow students to create products, to connect with people and places outside their daily lives, and to access resources that they would otherwise never know about.

"Screen Time" warns us about the dangers of over-using technology: decreasing our compassion, our attention span, and our social interactions (among other things). As educators and parents, we have to help our kids find a balance that allows them to use technology in positive, responsible, and healthy ways.

In some ways, this TED Radio hour inspired my new PBL unit. This year, my freshman English research unit was focused on potentially dangerous technologies. I designed this project-based learning experience to target several key standards in reading informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening. Students paired up and researched a developing technology of their choosing (e.g. self-driving cars or cloning). One person had to argue that the technology was dangerous and unethical; the other had to argue that it was innovative and good for society.

It was really exciting to see these "digital natives" actually think about how technology affects our lives. So many of them take it for granted--they have grown up with tiny computers in their back pockets. They have instant access to the music, TV, and information they need at all times. My own daughter (age 5) was upset the first time she saw a commercial because all she had ever seen is Netflix!

I don't know where our society is headed when it comes to technology. Maybe we will all become immortal cyborgs, maybe the Matrix really will consume us, maybe the robots will enslave us. Or maybe, if we're thoughtful enough, we can find a way to harness technology's power without destroying ourselves in the process.

Making a Makerspace!

For the past few months I have been wrapped up in school because I have so many exciting projects in progress. One of them is...drum-roll please... a Makerspace!

When I was given a Freshmen Learning Lab as my "extra duty" this year, I admit I thought of it as a punishment. 28 extra ninth graders, during 6th hour when everyone is burnt out and doesn't want to do homework, did not sound like fun. I quickly realized, however, that this was actually the perfect test kitchen for some of my far-out Library Media ideas.

It all started when I had some wall decals that I wanted to put up on my big blank wall and I asked some Learning Lab students to help me. One of them, without my knowledge, took the giant piece of paper the decals came on and made a jumbo paper airplane. When he showed it to me, I told him to figure out a way to hang it and voila, I now have a this awesome decor!

This student inspired me to start collecting random materials and allowing students--when they were finished with their homework, of course-- to experiment with different materials. With help from friends and family, I created a mini-Makerspace with materials like duct tape, pipe cleaners, and fabric.

 So far, projects have included:

-a duct tape backpack (still in progress)
-a curtain for the window on my door
-taking apart old cell phones and putting them back together
-several art projects, including amazing play-doh sculptures!

None of these are ground-breaking, but they are more productive than staring mindlessly at one's phone!

Teenagers spend so much time on their phones, but that time isn't really a brain break--in fact, screens make their minds race! Giving them time to spend on puzzles, play-doh, or board games increases their attentiveness and quiets their minds. Chess is a huge hit in my learning lab, with several students teaching other students how to play. In this digital age, this seems like a big win to me.

I have to admit, I also had a more selfish aim in creating my Makerspace. I wanted to test out some ideas before I try this out in a library setting. One thing I've learned is that using a design process is essential. Without some sort of plan, students will rarely follow through. I don't want to stunt their creativity or make it less fun, so I'll have to think more about the best way to require some sort of blueprint before they can access materials. Without the design process, it really becomes more of a crafting space.

Many times when we think of a Makerspace, we think high-tech, but mine is decidedly low-tech. I did manage to borrow an old laptop from our Tech department and a makey-makey from the Gifted teacher. I don't have any photos of that yet, but I will post some as soon as we do anything brilliant with it. As with many things in education, this is a work-in-progress!

  Left: A plastic bag dispenser (life hack!)

Right: Play-doh art