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!

Authors and librarians are NOT groomers

Amid ever-increasing incidents of book challenges, I’m worried by inflammatory rhetoric that portrays librarians and authors as “groomers” of young people. Speaking as someone who survived an attempt at grooming, I consider this characterization to be vile and obscene.
https://youtu.be/SPMmEs7KdGM

Librarians I admire (Hohl, Threets, and Helmick)

With a couple of photos that came across my timeline, I want to honor three librarians I admire: Cindy Hohl, Mychal Threets, and Sam Helmick.
https://youtu.be/2XxcIyjl6-s

Autistic librarians ‘on the job’ in libraries

As part of my studies toward “Culturally Competent Librarianship” (LIS 5350 in Fall 2024), I composed a systematic bibliography concerning autistic librarians and other workers “on the job” in libraries.

Burden of ‘approachability’ in librarianship

In thinking about librarian stereotypes, and factors that can influence patrons’ user-success and confidence: Pagowsky and Rigby (2014) suggest these factors can include “approachability, identity, warmth, openness, and body language of the librarian” (pg. 7), suggesting that “even active users, who are already in a library with research questions, carry preconceived notions that might hinder or help their access to information, depending on what they encounter and how librarians presents themselves” (Pagowsky and Rigby, 2014, p. 7).

SRCSA library : What I’m looking forward to

As we embark on a new school year (2024-2025), here are some of the things I’m looking forward to in the library at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.
https://youtu.be/AB6dNbQ3hkw

SRCSA library : New school year, 2024-2025

It’s a new school year and I have boxes to go through before the library is habitable for customers. I ask for your patience as I prepare the library for your use.
https://youtu.be/dWr9t8h9ir4

Lake County Library memories

To commemorate 50 years of service in Lake County, California, Lake County Library has invited people to share their memories of the library system. Here are my memories of volunteering as a shelver at the Lakeport and Middletown libraries.
https://youtu.be/T0T-PB6z8cw

‘Neuroinclusion in libraries’

When libraries tout their inclusive hiring, do they extend those assurances regarding disabled and neurodiverse applicants? I recently viewed a fascinating webinar about “Neuroinclusion in libraries.”

Morale-boosting reminder : ‘All library staff’ were ‘Librarian of the Year’ in 2022

Library workers faced multiple challenges in early 2022, and it remains tough for us now. In the interest of boosting our collective morale, here is a reminder that in 2022, Library Journal honored “all library staff” as its Librarian of the Year.

SRCSA library : New year and new job title

I’m looking forward to a new school year – in the library and out on the yard for recesses – at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. One significant change, effective in 2023-2024, is that my position of Instructional Materials Technician was reclassified as Library Technician II. Because this 10-month position encompasses both IMT and library operations, I don’t have to defer library tasks to the start of a school-year position like Elementary Library Technician.

April 25, 2023 is National Library Workers Day

April 25, 2023 is National Library Workers Day, a time to recognize library staff for their contributions in changing lives and supporting their communities. From the April 2023 issue of Library Worklife, here is an invitation to celebrate your library “stars.”

https://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2023/04/12/time-to-celebrate-library-workers/

Library resource sharing: My hands-on experience

Circa March 2011: Locating “holds” at Lakeport library

The focus of my studies this week, for LIS 5804, is on library resource sharing and consortia. As a prior volunteer for a library system that contributed to a three-county shared catalog, I’ve had direct involvement with the sharing of resources among libraries.

Librarian of the Year, 2022 : ‘All library staff’

For “collective support” during COVID-19 and in the face of book challenges, Library Journal selected “All library staff” as the 2022 recipients of its annual Librarian of the Year award. I share this honor with “hundreds of thousands of library staff members—more than 350,000 in the U.S. alone.”

‘Library contract’ for students to check out books

As part of getting ready for a new year in SRCSA library, I’m collecting responses for the “library contract.” Parents and guardians will acknowledge that their child is responsible for the books they check out. Parents and guardians are responsible for discussing with their child, those books that seem a good fit for them. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are enjoying my videos.

New school year, 2022-2023

Video: The beginning of school is a busy time for me as an Instructional Materials Technician. There’s new curriculum to catalog and barcode, workbooks to sort through and distribute, and outdated curriculum to process for disposal. Please be patient with me, and I hope we all have a wonderful new year. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are enjoying my videos.

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.

Let’s build a Community of Readers

Before the COVID-19 shutdown, I’d been promoting these flyers for staff to showcase what they are reading. Now that we are back together again, I’m hoping to resume those efforts. I’d love to see these flyers posted all over campus. My design is based on one by Andrea Trudeau, which she shared among California library professionals.

Productive start for new school year

Video: There’s plenty to do in SRCSA library, to get ready for the beginning of school.

ALA Virtual 2021 : ‘Conference at Home’

Video: With ALA’s annual conference held virtually in Summer 2021, attendees were able to enjoy the “Conference at Home” experience. Appreciation to everyone who had a hand in shaping and underwriting this event.