Video tutorial: Locating books with the library’s online catalog

Here is a video tutorial about how to use the school library’s online catalog to look for books in the library. I’m asking teachers to consider sharing and reviewing this process with their students because being able to locate books through a library’s online catalog is an important life-skill.
https://youtu.be/Bm5jZz_I1TA

UCM’s Graduate Student Achievement Award

I am the appreciative recipient of a Graduate Student Achievement Award, as selected for 2025-2026 at the University of Central Missouri. With this video, I want to express my gratitude.
https://youtu.be/X_OvPf08_98

Book-Talk: Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah

I’d recommend this graphic-format memoir to a variety of young readers: especially kids who love sports, who aspire to careers in journalism, maybe even to kids who combine both interests.
https://youtu.be/7fSr8qYfONg

H.R. 7661: Truly disturbing and frightening!

As a follow-up to the essay I posted earlier, here is a brief video I uploaded today about H.R. 7661. Introduced in late February by U.S. Rep. Mary E. Miller, H.R. 7661 defines “sexually oriented material” to include any material that involves “gender dysphoria or transgenderism.” It’s truly disturbing and, in the words of Sam Helmick, current president of the American Library Association: “H.R. 7661 isn’t fundamentally about protecting kids. It’s about giving politicians broad authority to restrict whose stories are allowed on our shelves.”
https://youtu.be/UbDjU8uh7Jk

Materials selection for a diverse library collection

Building and promoting a diverse library collection begins with materials selection. In an earlier writing I talked about the fact that communities served by libraries are increasingly diverse. “Race, ethnicity, language, physical and mental ability, socioeconomic status, gender expression, and sexual orientation are just a few ways diversity is reflected in [students’] lived experiences” (Hughes-Hassell, 2020, p. 21). My goal when building a library collection is to serve this increasingly diverse community by ensuring variety among the books in the library’s collection.

SRCSA library ‘Top 25’ for 2025-2026

What books are students most frequently checking out from SRCSA library?

Most popular types of books in SRCSA library

From among 3,318 circulations so far this school year (from Aug. 16, 2025 to March 9, 2026), what were the most popular types of books checked out from SRCSA library?

West Coast’s ‘largest book club’ to feature ‘They Called Us Enemy’

One Book, One Coast is a shared community reading program among more than 194 library systems in California, Oregon, and Washington that will read and discuss George Takei’s graphic-format memoir “They Called Us Enemy” this spring. Contact your local library system and encourage it to join in if you don’t see it listed among participating systems.

Scholastic Book Fair at SRCSA

Scholastic Book Fair took place this past week at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts, bringing with it a fresh infusion of new books for the school library. ’Tis now my happy task to prepare these awesome books for use. Appreciation to the many volunteers who made Scholastic Book Fair possible!

Federal bill equates trans identity with sexually explicit material

One of the core tenets that I embrace as a librarian serving young people is that readers need stories about people who are both like and who are unlike them. A diverse library collection should ideally encompass many facets: including race, sex, gender identity, differing abilities, who a person is attracted to, and more.

Marley’s Pride (Complete read-aloud for National Day of Reading)

To commemorate the National Day of Reading on Feb. 27, 2026, here is a complete reading of Marley’s Pride by Joëlle Retener with illustrations by DeAnn Wiley. I am reading this book with permission by the publisher, Barefoot Books. Marley is going to their first Pride parade with their grandparent, Zaza, who is being honored for their work supporting the transgender community. Marley has sensory sensitivities and is worried about the noise and large crowds, but wants to go in order to support Zaza.
https://youtu.be/WQyhCqdpAJY

Book haul: ALA Youth Media Awards, 2026

Among recent arrivals in SRCSA library: Here are some winners of the 2026 Youth Media Awards, which are presented each year by the American Library Association.
https://youtu.be/vah_Q3FUmqA

SRCSA library: New arrivals in January and February 2026

Here is a slideshow featuring some new arrivals during January and February 2026. This slideshow was created in Canva. Music: Funky House by Nver Avetyan. The creator has given permission for this music to be used on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/SfWuw6RDiFo

Books about Friendship, for Valentine’s Day!

For Valentine’s Day, let’s focus on friendship. Here are several books from SRCSA library that speak to various aspects of friendship.
https://youtu.be/k5DTZ2N3ZO0

Building and promoting a diverse library collection

How effectively am I creating and marketing a balanced library collection that represents the variety among residents of our community? As part of my studies in librarianship this semester, I plan to explore this question.

Books for Black History Month

To commemorate Black History Month: Here is a slideshow featuring some books from SRCSA library. The slideshow was created in Canva. Music: Wide Space by AudioCoffee. The creator has given permission for this music to be used on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/q3rpiDJ-3II

Character education: Books about Honesty

SRCSA’s character-education focus for February 2026 is “Honesty.” Here are books from the school library, which address the character trait of Honesty.
https://youtu.be/YzZk-_kysYs

Read-A-Thon at SRCSA (Update)

SRCSA’s Read-A-Thon fundraiser begins on Feb. 2 and continues through Feb. 27 with a reading goal of 5,000 minutes and a fundraising goal of $10,000. Our community is always so supportive, and I believe that the Read-A-Thon will be no exception.
https://youtu.be/L_u1GwWXeJ4

Stories of immigrant families: Books in SRCSA library

Here is a selection of books from SRCSA library that center the perspectives of children from immigrant families. The slideshow was created in Canva. Music is Wide Space by AudioCoffee. The creator has given permission for this music to be used on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/YjKbwCu29LE

“From its earliest days, the American experience has encompassed immigrants.”
- The American Library Association, 2018.

Books about consent, privacy, and personal space

To successfully navigate our place in society, we need to understand personal space and the importance of privacy and consent. Here are books from SRCSA library that address these important themes.
https://youtu.be/q6uBHWVvTnc

Value of ‘adaptive normalcy’ (Response to Emile Ennis Jr.)

A video by Emile Ennis Jr. recently came across my social media feed. I really needed to hear his message about “adaptive normalcy,” and the legitimacy of maintaining your daily routine during times of stress and uncertainty.
https://youtu.be/2MEoU04ibzg

Brochures for books in SRCSA library

Among library marketing: I used Canva to create several bifold brochures that highlight various types of books in SRCSA library. These include genres, formats, award winners, affinity groups, etc., and I periodically update the brochures to showcase fresh selections.

Read-a-Thon coming to SRCSA

An exciting development leading up to Scholastic Book Fair at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts: Our parent’s group, SACO, is going to host a Read-a-Thon during February 2026.
https://youtu.be/a-w5ugvM5po

Character education: Books about Perseverance

SRCSA’s character-education focus for January 2026 is “Perseverance.” Here are several books from SRCSA library, which address the character trait of Perseverance.
https://youtu.be/vsBFfB005Qc

‘Read Harder’ Challenge: Some books I’m reading in 2026

I’ve set a goal to read 60 books in 2026. Many of the books will be applied toward prompts for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.
https://youtu.be/wERb3kVZ85A