LIS 5100 : Reading promotion project

Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts serves a K-8 student population in Santa Rosa, California. I work part-time at the school as a Paralibrarian. (Author note: I work in three positions at the school, which, combined, give me full-time hours.)

The problem
Ours is a community that has suffered compounded traumas, beginning with a devastating firestorm in October 2017, in which “About 900 students and staff members lost their homes and everything in them” (Santa Rosa City Schools, n.d.) We are still in the midst of a recovery that was projected to “take years” (ibid), and each year since, the wildland fire season has brought fresh evacuations to parts of our community.

LIS 5100 : ‘Elevator speech’ for school-library staffing

For LIS 5100 this week, our instructor wanted us to explore Voki’s “Speaking Characters for Education.” Voki is an app that is used in an educational setting, to create animated presentations. It involves selecting an avatar, setting it against a background, and then creating an audio message for the avatar to deliver.

We were tasked with using Voki to create an “elevator speech” about the importance of school librarians. The scenario posed by our instructor was that we encounter a school board member at the grocery store, and this person tells us that the district plans to eliminate the certificated school librarians.

First-chapter Friday : Firekeeper’s Daughter

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from our school library, with the SRCSA community. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 25, 2022, is Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.

LIS 5100 : Exploring the ‘Diverse BookFinder’

Each year, the American Association of School Librarians highlights the “Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning,” which are recognized “for fostering qualities of Innovation/Creativity, Active Participation, Collaboration, User-Friendly, Encourages Exploration, and Information/Reference” (AASL, 2021). For my studies this week in LIS 5100, “Foundations of Librarianship,” I was tasked with describing one of these apps. I chose the “Diverse BookFinder.”

First-chapter Friday : Melissa

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from our school library, with the SRCSA community. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 11, 2022, is Melissa, by Alex Gino.

LIS 5100 : Labeling systems for books

During class discussion this week, a classmate brought up the experience of having few options for reading while in school because she was an advanced reader who was required to read books that were “at her reading level.” As a youth librarian, I don’t want to be in the position where I have to deny a child a book that “speaks” to them because a rating system has determined it “too easy” for them to read.

SOLIS hosts latest in ‘Conversations’ series

UCM’s Student Organization of Library and Information Services (SOLIS) held the latest in its “Conversations” series on March 3, 2022, featuring Sarah Craig, UCM director of sponsored programs and research integrity.

First-chapter Friday : The Last Cuentista

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from our school library, with the SRCSA community. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 4, 2022, is The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera.

LIS 5100 : Extrinsic goal for reading program

Thanks to steady access to books throughout my childhood and teens, today I am a person who loves reading — especially science fiction and fantasy.