Dog-eared & Overdue

Author: Kate Gukeisen

  • Beginner Librarian, Reflective Librarian

    I am in the first month of my second year as a high school librarian. Our first month of school involves setting or reviewing goals for a number of stakeholders in the school community. From the school governance board, to the technology department, to the literacy team, we have each been focused on our goals, and on…

  • Thankful for an Opportunity to Learn

    I first saw the Facebook Data Science What are we most thankful for? chart on the Mental Floss Facebook feed. I was fascinated by the topic, the data, and, as always, the comments following the “share.” I like seeing this sort of data science at work. I found Facebook’s “thankful data” fun because it offers a snapshot of something quirky, and positive, about how…

  • Rule 1: Compassion

    When I graduated in May 2014, I adjusted my tagline to “Reports from the intersection of library & information science, education, and lifelong learning.” I thought that change would help me focus my writing. What it actually did was trip me up and stop me from writing about things that were important to me. I am…

  • Booked!

    I have a rare, quiet moment this afternoon–not long enough to dive into anything deep and philosophical, but long enough to share a little bit about how we celebrated the freedom to read in our school in September. Inspired by Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, we caught the attention of our students and teachers by setting the…

  • Hitting the Ground Running

    I’m taking a quick breath after my first few weeks as a High School Media Specialist to reflect, and I know one thing for sure–I need more comfortable shoes. We hit the ground running before school started, and we aren’t slowing down any time soon. I begin my commute home each day feeling like a wrung-out sponge, but by the time I arrive at my…

  • Investigating Art & Society

    My MoMA MOOC, Take 2 I loved the Art & Inquiry course offered by MoMA on Coursera so much that I signed up for another MoMA MOOC. I recently finished Art & Activity, and found it just as inspiring and engaging. This time around, I focused on working with secondary students in my projects to…

  • So…you’re a librarian, eh? What does that mean, exactly?

    After a volunteer organization meeting on Tuesday, I was the happy recipient of graduation congratulations and good wishes for my hopeful-but-yet–to-be-fully-solidified job prospect. I was also confronted with a question that I was ridiculously unprepared for: “So, what do librarians do now?” This is Library Boot Camp stuff, right? Lesson 1: Have your Elevator Speech Ready.…

  • Things To Do in Library School

    I originally posted the heart of these observations in a Facebook conversation in 2013–I’ve reworked and edited them to share here because they are based on what I have seen and experienced as Best Practices. Earning an MSLIS requires a considerable investment of time, effort, and expense. It only makes sense to get the most out…

  • Transforming Stories Collaboration Celebration

    I’m excited to share this celebration video I’m creating for one of the classes I worked with during my practicum. I am going through their project packets to provide a final round of feedback—and am excited that their planning and creativity resulted in some amazing projects! Sharing a few snippets of their hard work seemed like a great…

  • What makes your heart sing?

    I had an NPR Parking Lot Moment this morning. I was listening to a talk show guest describe the way he coached his clients to connect with audiences by communicating authentically, briefly, and with passion. He spoke about preparing people he worked with to become more effective speakers by asking them questions inspired by Steve…