Sound Sites on a Tricky Night

Building your Twitter PLN or seeking new sites around the web? Here are a few sure to delight:

Twitter #:

#sljsummit

#bookfest14

#edchat

#edtechchat

#tlchat

#library

#kidlit

#yalitchat

#makerspace

#makerfaire

A few sites:

Nerdy Book Club

Mind/Shift

Nov/Dec Horn Book Mag Preview

WP Article: Teacher Shadows Student for 2 Days

Fundraising for We Need Diverse Books campaign

October 31 Neil Gaiman at NYPL


Please share your favorite Twitter hashtags and/or favorite library-related sites in the comments section!

Member Spotlight: Susan Harris, The Harvey School

This week, we asked HVLA member Susan Harris to share a little about herself and her program!

1) What is your role at The Harvey School?
 I'm currently the Director if Educational Technology, Teacher, Advisor for Community Service, and Girls Rugby Coach. I was doing all of those things as the sole school librarian (6 - 12)  until we hired Sumana Shankar this year to take over the library and work more with grades 6 - 8.  My home is still in the library, as it should be.  I also develop and organize faculty professional development programs. 

2) With what age range do you primarily work?

9 - 12, although in Edtech I work with MS faculty and students as well. 

3) What is your view on the balance of materials (print, digital, otherwise) available to students for checkout in the library? (both dream and reality!)

We tend heavily towards online resources.  Our students rarely refer to non fiction print, and demand for fiction in print has really dropped off as well.  

​4) What are the top three information skills all students should learn and have?

​Locating, evaluating, analyzing information

5)  Makerspaces are a hot topic for schools right now. What is the mission of the makerspace at your school?

​We've just begun this fall and are still wrestling with a lot of issues, like staffing (in a remote location on campus), faculty buy-in, and dedicating time during the school day for student use.  In my view, the mission is: To provide a space for students and teachers to explore and learn together with no agenda and no right or wrong answers.  

6) What is unique about your makerspace?

​I'm not sure anything is really - we've used existing models and drawn on experience of other schools.   

7) What was the best professional development experience you've had in the past two years?

​NYSAIS NEIT conferences at Mohonk, for the past two years.  

8) What are two of your favorite digital/book blogs/websites you read regularly?

Freetech4teachers; Mindshift​

9) What is the best book you've read this year?

The Dinner by Herman Koch.  His second, Summer House with Swimming Pool was a disappointment - too formulaic. 

10) If you could turn any book into a movie, which would it be?

Swamplandia - lots of opportunities for crazy scenery and some special effects.  

Upcoming Literary Events

There are some great things happening both in the metro NYC area and beyond! Please add any others you would like to share in the comments section below.

1) Saturday October 25: Bank Street BOOKFEST

As of 6:00pm on Tuesday October 14, there were still 10 tickets left for this fantastic event. Matt de la Pena will be the keynote speaker, and many authors and favorite literary figures will be on hand leading inspiring discussions. Small group participation in discussions will also be offered. Books (and signings) will be available for purchase throughout the day.

2) Dreaming of writing that novel? NaNoWriMo is coming November 1!

This month-long online support group encourages writers of all kind to get their words on paper. With badges and goal setting, this program might just be what you need to start that novel!

3) Author/Illustrator Event with Julie Salamon and Jill Weber Sunday November 2, 2pm

Cat in the City is a darling of many readers in the 8 to 12 year-old set. Come meet the author, Julie Salamon, and illustrator, Jill Weber, and hear about their process at BookCourt bookstore in Brooklyn.

4) Darien Public Library presents Dana Cowin, Food & Wine editor-in-chief, November 11, 7pm

For those of you who love to cook - or who wish you were better at it - this is the event for you. The Darien Public Library brings Dana Cowin to share her brand new cookbook Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen.

5) November 14, 6:30pm-9:30pm, Bronx Stories

Held at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, this spoken word event aims to share the stories of the Bronx. Members of the community will share their stories to build an understanding of the borough as well as encourage "a deeper understanding of the arts."

The School Library Space Debate

For many of us, our memories of our school libraries include shelves and shelves of print books, a few computers, a printer perhaps, and a circulation desk with a librarian. Selecting books for pleasure, performing research processes and developing perfunctory tech skills constituted a solid library program and space. Within the last decade, the services school libraries provide has changed dramatically. What does the space look like now?

• Split of print materials and digital materials with guided instruction on how to use them effectively and safely;
• Devices and digital material for check-out;
• Self-checkout stations starting in the Lower School;
• 3-D Printers, some in staffed spaces, some available for sign-up;
• Laptops or tablets utilized for creating and/or sharing student work within the school community;
• Cafe offerings, such as tea or coffee service
• Experimental or beta-phase tech equipment
• Online reading or tech communities with virtual meetings or live meetings
• Maker kits for check-out
• "Library" changed to “Learning Commons” or “Information Station”
• Additional makerspace materials including, but not limited to: origami, book making supplies, robotics, magnetic poetry, Legos, other craft or tech centered activities;
• Gaming materials including, but not limited to: board games, card games, console systems;
• And more!

What implications and applications do these have for our profession as independent school librarians? Our spaces? This is a relevant issue, and one that marries disciplines and departments as seen in the recent profusion of workshops, seminars and webinars related to the changing face of the library and role in the school. This topic has also been increasingly written about in scholarly research and professional journals.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) states in the introduction of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action (2009):

In recognition of these demands, the American Association if School Librarians

(AASL) has developed learning standards that expand the definition of information literacy to include multiple literacies, including digital, visual, textual and technological. (p. 5)

Our role as librarians is no longer offering finite experiences with reader’s advisory, navigating print materials or a handful of online databases and websites for research. Our responsibility is to offer fluid learning experiences and exposures that evolve on a schedule that moves at the speed of our technological lives and those of our students. But more so, it is providing mindful, just-in-time learning opportunities students will apply in both their educational and personal lives. This may require shifting departmental roles and labels. It may require a serious, informed review of curricula. It may require a shift in teacher and administrator perception of library class or library time. And offering a space that resonates and accommodates these shifts in use and role will dramatically figure in our daily work today and for days and years to come.

References

American Association of School Librarians. (2009). Standards for the 21st century learner in

action. Chcago, IL: American Library Association.

Please add to the conversation in the comments section! Share your makerspace components, current research you’ve read, or recent changes you’ve made to your space to accommodate the variety of literacies libraries serve to meet.