Dear Global people~
Your library can and should be one of the most innovative, alive, and engaging places in the your school and community. We at Tudor Elementary love all the opportunities the library has to offer students, before, after, and during school. We encourage you to let your community know just how amazing your libraries are and can be!
I really enjoyed the video. It reminded me of how important libraries are. Our librarian engaged students to learn new material, helped them with research projects, explained how to use technology, and enhanced their study skills. A library is a place where everyone has a voice. It helps students become successful throughout their education.
Yes exactly! Please continue to support and vocalize the necessity of libraries and ask your librarian to collaborate; there are great opportunities!
I loved everything about this! I have taught preschool for a while and our former librarian, Ms Joan was so awesome about having our “rowdy” preschool friends come in to the library to have an opportunity for literacy with her. She gave up some of her planning time to have us! She would always find meaningful books to share with our students and was always SO patient with our friends who just didn’t yet appreciate our library time. She was also an excellent resource for the other classroom teachers; always finding books or other resources for them to use to expand on topics they were covering in their respective classrooms, or would do activities with them during their library times to enhance what they were learning. I always enjoyed being able to see her in “action” with some of her classes and the conversation and critical thinking questions she would ask.
I like that Ms Joan always made the library a place that was not only welcoming, but a place that was going to extend the learning of the students and the teachers in a fun and meaningful way. She was always willing to share about new things that she learned and how they could be useful for our own classrooms and always offered to help get more information if we needed it! I’m certain she is still a valuable resource at her new school and I hope that she can mentor and support many more new (and seasoned) teachers and be utilized as the awesome resource that she is!
That is a fantastic testimonial! You should make sure she knows how much you noticed and appreciated all she did! There are lots of ways to highlight and showcase librarians!
I hear that libraries should be the heart of the school, and I shamefully pass that along to whoever will listen, but thankfully no one has actually asked me “why” I think this. If they did I would be left tongue-tied because I fumble when trying to advocate for the library and librarians. I have heard and read countless reasons to support this idea but if it came time to actually speak it I would fail and that frustrates me. I also fumble with the collaboration piece because of our strict fixed schedule that does not allow me the opportunity to connect with my teachers. When I have the time they are typically focused on wrapping up the day and getting ready for the next day so I can’t fault them not having the time to talk with me. I do support the comment that libraries are no longer quiet places, however I do worry what outsiders (even teachers) might be thinking when they walk by my library and see my students being loud while engaged in a collaborative activity.
I appreciate your honesty and sincerity here and this is a message more librarians need to hear!
I love the idea of the library being open as much as possible and being an interesting and fun place to be.
Keeping libraries open as late as gyms sends a strong message that working together and problem solving in literacy is as important as it is on the gym floor and creates a sense of appreciation for other activities and interests.
Libraries and Librarians truly are the heart of the elementary school. They provide a connection to books and learning and provide facilitation that technology alone, cannot match.
I love libraries! To me they are a happy place and one to be explored and loved. They are full of adventures, and interesting people and wonderful places to visit. A good librarian is a treasure in your school. They can guide you and your students to just what you need and often to what you did not know you needed (but you did!) .
As I progress in my career I’m learning more and more how to reach out and work with specialists to create a more wholistic approach. I am definitely going to be working closely with my librarian as she will be a great partner in this global movement.
I loved this! As a new librarian, I strive to make the connections highlighted in this video. I’m so glad that the library isn’t a quiet place anymore:) I love the energy that students have when they are in the library.
Libraries should be loud because, most often, that means kids are excitedly talking about their experience at the library, sharing their curiosities, and loving learning.
We love our Mears librarian, Heather Fleming! She has read all the books in our library, and is a wonderful resource for students. They truly enjoy interacting with her about the books they’ve read, websites they’ve explored, and look to her for new ones to try. She works so hard to stay on top of new trends, websites, and ideas for teachers, manages multiple laptop carts and computer labs, and welcomes classes into her domain for specialized lessons and co-teaching. She’s an outstanding troubleshooter for tech issues or ways to develop research projects that engage students of all levels. Her Battle of the Books groups have consistently placed in the top of the city championships.
She is completely lucky to have you as her cheerleader!
I couldn’t agree more! As a first year teacher this past year I’m sorry to say that most of my year was simply spent trying to tread water and stay alive! 😉 We have a wonderful librarian and even had a dedicated “tech guy” at our school a couple days a week to help us with whatever tech needs we might have, and still was only able to get ipads into my students hands for use a couple of times. I would love to connect more meaningfully with the librarian at our school next year and really be able to use her knowledge and advantages meaningfully.