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Reading is Life
The last week of the school year hits different every year. While the circulation stats, anecdotal evidence, and conversations with colleagues reveal many of our students are reading more than last year, we still have so very many students who are struggling and below grade level. I do not despair for them, because the teachers…
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A Taxonomy of the Middle School Library Patron
Middle schoolers are a specific kind of human. They are simultaneously the most earnest and the most performatively indifferent people on the planet. They will die of embarrassment if you compliment their book choice in front of their friends, and then come back the next day alone to tell you they loved it and need…
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You Belong Here (And So Does Everything Else, Apparently)
The narrative details a hectic week in a middle school library, highlighting the multifaceted responsibilities of a librarian. It begins with the librarian setting up a “You Belong Here” theme while juggling tasks like managing inter-library loans and addressing a parent complaint about a book. Each day presents unique challenges: hosting events, coordinating logistics, and…
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The Orphan in My Family Tree, Part 3
This is Part 3 of The Orphan in My Family Tree. It is the true tale of my ongoing search for the parents of my great great grandpa Fritz, who was orphaned in New York City in the late 1870s and sent, at the age of seven, to live with a foster family in Bow Valley, Nebraska.…
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Censorship, Selection & Banned Books
Banned Books Week kicked off yesterday. I love Banned Books Week. It is a whole week dedicated to awesome stuff like celebrating our freedom to read and highlighting our right to access diverse material of our own choosing at our school and public libraries. And, equally as awesome, it is a reminder of the guarantee…
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Reading the Hard Stuff
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. -ALA’s The Freedom to Read Statement
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Informed Voters
Photo credit: The featured image on this post is Vote by Theresa Thompson, made available via a Creative Commons 2.0 license by personalincom.org/vote. I became a librarian because I am passionate about empowering people by connecting them with information they can use to positive effect in their lives and communities. With the election fast approaching, we all continue to…
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Book Review & Library Lesson: Tribe
This book…will serve as a valuable learning tool to emphasize to young writers the importance of maintaining a clear main idea in their writing and of utilizing an organized system of citation to give credence to their work.
Dog-eared & Overdue 