“There's a very strong component of leadership being a library media specialist,” says Cathy Collins, Library Media Specialist at Sharon Public Schools in Massachusetts. “We pilot new technology and studies show student improvement in academic test scores and college admissions due to the role. We're just leaders by nature of what we do. And yet there's not always a lot of recognition for the field.”

Too often, library media specialists are underutilized and underappreciated. A misconception they are merely babysitters or simply play a role in the entertainment side of literacy leaves a lot of quality tech expertise and opportunity for student success on the table.

“We are trained to work with teachers across subject areas and grade levels, full classes or individual students. If you have a big project that involves research, we want to jump in. I want administrators to support the work we are doing. Whether you're a principal or a tech coach or department head, involve your library media specialist in your department meetings and curriculum planning, because they have a wealth of knowledge about not only research, but technology and how to best integrate it.”

Collins was recently recognized for her work with an Innovative Leader Award for Library Media Specialist Award at the Tech & Learning New England Regional Leadership Summit.

Collins shares how tech plays a role for Library Media Specialists, offering tips for administrators and educators to make the most of the role’s expertise to benefit their students.

Truth is the Treasure

The current climate and flood of misinformation on social and in media makes becoming a good digital citizen more important than ever.

“I cover cybersecurity, online safety, and being a responsible user of technology integrating ISTE’s digital citizenship lessons, but take it a step beyond,” says Collins. “Right now, my students are creating a digital footprint map—a mind map of their most visited websites, favorite apps, and social media use. This helps them become more aware of their activity online.”

Once students have a handle on how they are interacting with media, Collins shifts to the quality of that media.

“I teach news and media literacy, using the News Literacy Project’s checkology Curriculum,” she says. “We cover things like free speech, the seven standards of journalism, and how to be smart in evaluating information. I teach them about algorithms and to be aware of things like filter bubbles and information pollution, as well as the importance of digital verification when doing research online.”

With political sensitivity on high alert, some of these areas can pose a tricky tightrope to walk for educators.

“It’s a bipartisan topic, it crosses political lines,” Collins says. “One of the lessons I do is all about understanding bias. We all carry biases. It’s simply about determining whether a piece of information that they’re looking at online is factual. Who’s the author? How do we determine how credible this is? What’s their experience level? Your Uncle Charlie might be your favorite uncle and he might know all there is to know about fishing. However, if he doesn’t know anything about physics and your question has to do with physics, then even though you love him, you need to go beyond Uncle Charlie.”

Collin’s debut book, Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI: A Cross Curricular Approach, will be published by ISTE in August. Aimed at educators and library media specialists, the cross-disciplinary approach offers resources to help students navigate today’s news and media landscape as expert chroniclers, curators, and content creators.

“Be a Sherlock Holmes or an Enola Holmes, be a Spock,” she says. “It’s black and white, take your own biases and emotions out of it and just look at the facts. It’s vitally important. Truth is the treasure. I tell them they are the treasure hunters and their critical thinking skills are their treasure map.”

Project-Based Pizazz

“I'm a firm believer in project-based learning,” Collins says. “We do a lot of cross-curricular projects that involve research, creativity, and the use of technology in the creation process and the expression piece as well.”

Collins’ special projects include coding with poetry from Hour of Code and creating an ideal future sustainable home using 3D-design software through Ludenso Create. She also focuses on popular projects aimed at English language learners, such as a digital music creation with Soundation and drawing projects using Brush Ninja to create a meme, which allows students to communicate in a comfortable non-written form.

“They are still doing research, technology just allows them to get creative about how they're expressing their ideas, which is wonderful,” she says. “My annual session on how to use Sora to gain access to multiple different languages to read and hear their books in their own language as they're developing their English skills draws a full house.”

With much of the news and current events seeming dire and full of doom and gloom, Collins injects a dose of humor to ensure lessons resonate.

“I’ll have a little quiz on AI–there's hilarious things out there,” she says. “We look at images and I teach them the strategies of how to find the source and whether it's reliable or not. I’ll show a photo of the Pope in a puffer jacket, that's not real. So we learn things like reverse image searching to backtrack and find the original source of a photo. The Wayback Machine helps you check down a website where something came from originally. I remember when it was just a newspaper that was thrown on your porch. Now it's a lot harder with the internet, social media and speed with which the misinformation travels. So I let them play with the technology that the bad actors are using.”

AI offers the potential for an enormous effect on today’s world, yet Collins reminds students that it is just a tool, and one that can be used for good or bad.

“I will have students locate a historical photo and use Canva,” she says. “Students upload a historical photo. alter it and then we have a guessing game. What is different in this picture, which is real, which is not? It shows not tells, just how easy it is to use certain tools. Letting them use the tech is the best way I can think of to teach an awareness of what's going on right now in the world of AI.”

5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Library Media Specialist

Collins shares what you can do to ensure your media specialists are contributing all they can to your school.

1. Prioritize Collaboration and Communication. Schedule regular meetings to discuss school needs. Involve librarians in curriculum planning and showcase the library's resources, services and tech to students.
2. Advocate for the Librarian's Role. Promote the librarian’s role in curriculum and tech integration, share access to professional resources such as relevant professional organizations and conferences, and promote teacher-librarian partnerships.
3. Allocate Resources and Support. Ensure adequate funding for materials, tech, collaboration time, and PD. Publicly acknowledge librarians’ contributions.
4. Professional Development and Growth. Provide opportunities for librarians to enhance skills and knowledge, support research and innovative practices, and offer librarian-to-librarian mentorship and coaching from pros.
5. Data-Driven Decision-Making. Use library data to inform resource allocation and measure the positive impact of library programs and services on student outcomes.

The Tools They Use

• diffit.me
• Canva
• Brisk
• MagicSchool AI
• StretchAI
• Safari Montage
• Breakout EDU
• Adobe Express
• Brush Ninja
• Soundation
• Ludenso Create
• Hour of Code
• Checkology curriculum (News Literacy Project)
• ISTE Digital Citizenship curriculum
• Sora
• National Geographic
• Noodletools
• Code.org

Dr. Holly Frilot, Cobb County School District Supervisor of Library Media Education and Adjunct Instructor for University of West Georgia in Educational Technology and Foundations, created a Library Learning Commons certification, the first of its kind in the nation. Designed to support the transformational process of making media instructional programs and spaces into future-ready Library Learning Commons, Frilot’s Library Learning Commons Certification focuses on three tenets: services, resources, and intentional spaces.

“The purpose of certification is to provide guidelines and support for the Library Learning Commons transition, as well as honor schools for their commitment to providing students with an education rich in print and digital literacy,” says Frilot, who was recently recognized for Most Innovative Learning Spaces at Tech & Learning’s Southeast Regional Leadership Summit as part of our Innovative Leader Awards.

Frilot shares her motivation to create the certification as well as magical Library Learning Commons from existing media centers, and offers three tips for districts interested in transforming their own innovative learning spaces.

Creating Cool Learning Spaces Through Literal Sweat Equity

Frilot has spearheaded the transformation of more than 50 media centers into library learning commons, with 50 more in the works. These vibrant student-focused hubs of technology, literacy, creativity, and innovation include podcast booths, video studios, makerspace labs, and lots of access to power and wifi.

“I became a high school library media specialist when the school community was just starting to discuss transforming libraries,” Frilot says. “I was reading David Loerschter’s work and became intrigued by the student-focused participatory approach to school library programs. I loved working with teenagers and wanted to really engage them in our space.”

Frilot had a beautiful area with floor-to-ceiling windows in her existing media center that was a perfect place to experiment with this approach.

“I saved up some funds, got input from students, and went to IKEA to buy some student-friendly furniture,” she says. “I spent a very hot couple of days in the summer putting furniture together and the student response was awesome when they came back in the fall. It was a simple start, and of course IKEA furniture couldn’t hold up to 3,000+ students, but that was the start, and I’ve never looked back!”

Learn and Earn—These Spaces Are Certified Fresh!

Collaborative teaching and learning is at the heart of Frilot’s certification initiative, and informs the design of both the program and the space.

“Library media specialists take the lead on this transformative work, often spending years building a collaborative instructional program, positive reading culture, and a student-friendly space,” Frilot says. “The LLC Certification is awarded to the school, since it requires school-wide engagement to achieve the levels of instructional collaboration and positive reading culture required.”

In addition to the physical space redesign, Frilot worked cross-divisionally to support the CCSD Future-Ready Framework, a scope and sequence of digital literacy and future-ready skills. This framework supports the teaching and learning needed to enable student mastery of digital literacy skills as they grow into collaborators, producers, and innovators.

More Hands, More Wallets, More Impact

In an era of financial uncertainty and tightening budgets, some districts might be hesitant to embark on new programs. Engaging stakeholders with a concrete, clear plan in hand can pave the way for funding.

“Dream big and start small! Creating the vision helps stakeholders see what you’re trying to accomplish,” Frilot says. “When you get funding, get tables on wheels. It sounds simple, but it really helps move in the direction of a flexible space. Create student-friendly low-cost programming, lots of books displays, dynamic shelving, and have fun. Promote the joy of reading. Look at your media centers and make small changes that appeal to students.”

Consider local community businesses as potential partners in achieving a dream future-ready learning space.

”Business partners are opportunities for collaboration, idea generation, and real-world application,” she says. “These collaborations can also bring in funding, resources and innovation, while strengthening community ties and helping students see the world beyond school. Additionally, reach out to your public library and partner with them when possible.”

Equity matters. Offering a fun, exciting, vibrant space can make a serious difference for struggling students.

“I fundamentally believe that if students feel like they belong at school, they keep coming,” Frilot says. “For some kids that’s sports or theater, and for some it’s the library. The transformation of school libraries into student-focused collaborative hubs sends the message that all students belong. You can be a reader or not; you still belong here. We want you here. We’re designing this space, not only as a place for books and tech, but for you. If we keep students coming to school and engaging with other students and teachers, they’ll keep learning and growing.”

3 Tips to Create Your Own Library Learning Commons

Frilot shares three actionable tips to transform your media center, which also happen to describe the important work accomplished within the space.

1. Collaborate: “Library learning commons are all about creating a space for everyone, especially students, so it’s important to collaborate with stakeholders to define what the library learning commons should be for your district,” Frilot says. “Student input is often most overlooked! Teachers, leaders, students, and colleagues from districts experienced in this work should all be involved in these discussions.”

2. Learn: Learning can be a challenge for adults sometimes. “Slow down, listen, and ask good questions of students and colleagues who have gone before you in this work,” Frilot says. “See other library learning commons spaces either in-person or via virtual visits. Look with an eye not only for the way the library has been redesigned, but also the flow, the climate, and the way the library program shifts into a learning hub.”

3. Create: “I always recommend that planning teams, after collaborating and learning, dream big together,” Frilot says. “Create the comprehensive plan in both design and instructional shifts. Engage with a company that designs educational spaces. When the big plan is created first, even if funding or resources aren’t available yet, it facilitates a cohesive vision that engages stakeholders.”

Tools They Use

• Future-Ready Librarians
• MackinVia
• Library PASS
• Follett Software Project Connect 
• Nintendo 
• Nearpod
• Microsoft Office 365

• Innovative Leader Award

When the media center at Sebastian River High School in Vero Beach, Florida, needed renovation, Kerri Wall went much further than a new coat of paint. 

Wall is the Senior Instructional Technology Administrator for Sebastian River High School and she created a high-tech, state-of-the-art learning environment that puts students first. For her efforts, she was honored by Tech & Learning during a recent Regional Leadership Summit with an Innovative Leader Award for the Most Innovative Learning Spaces. 

The media center upgrade grew from the idea of creating a central hub for students to explore their educational possibilities. The furniture in the media center is mobile, able to be rearranged to suit the needs of the students when necessary. The center houses 3D printers, a coffee shop (students can eat food in the space), and accommodating chairs and tables.

Student Input Made All the Difference

Input from the students was critical to Wall’s efforts.

“Some of the things they wanted to be able to be in there before and after school–they wanted to be able to eat in there, they wanted their computers. And they wanted to see other groups. They wanted it to be like a hub,” Walls says. “And so we took those points, then we paired them with our renderings to show them, ‘These are the things you want. And these are things we’re going to make happen.’ Then we paired it with the final images and they were able to see exactly what [they] asked for.”

Having input from the students was a major selling point for the useability of the media center. With ideas implemented from student suggestions, students then felt as though they directly impacted their school. “Once you have that input, they’re committed, they’re with you 100%,” she says.

Students even came up with some innovative ideas themselves.

For example, CTE classes can now be seen from the media center, giving students a first-hand look at potential options for their professional futures. This stemmed from the students wanting to have an almost open-air concept for the space.

The renovated media center represents more than just a fancy space for students to work, says Wall. It represents dedication toward the impact students can have regarding their educational and professional futures.

The Blueprint for Student Advancement and Engagement

Seeing the success of the space, the input from the student body, and the support from educational leadership coming together to create something innovative, other schools can use this media center as a blueprint for their own renovation projects.

“Leadership and support is important. I would say you have that kind of perfect recipe,” says Wall. “I have friends in other districts that are already branching out and trying some things because it’s like, ‘Really, we really can do it.’ You don’t feel like you know much about furniture, but, you’d be surprised what a couple phone calls can start to get happening.”

Wall made a concerted effort to create a comfortable space for students to explore educational options and make decisions on their futures. She was empowered by the overwhelming support she received from her leadership group as well as the student input that helped mold the space into the ideal environment for learning and growth.

Now that the media center is fully functional, more students have felt empowered to make it their own, using it for varying purposes.

Wall had a simple purpose for creating this space: give students the tools they need to succeed. With this media center, students can thrive in their educational endeavors and other schools have a blueprint for ways to engage students in their educational futures.

• Collaborating with School Librarians and Media Specialists on Lessons
• How School Librarians Are Evolving

Teachers in elementary, middle, and high school grade bands can co-create lessons and projects with their school librarian and media specialist while maximizing technology-rich media and information literacy resources. 

One reason why co-teaching works well is because each educator brings their strengths to the lesson. Similarly, when teachers connect, collaborate, and co-create learning activities with librarians and media specialists, deeper learning can happen. And, interdisciplinary content can be worked into more traditional assignments, which can be exciting for students and teachers. 

More and more librarians are serving in roles as media specialists, and physical library spaces in schools are transforming into tech centers and makerspaces. In some schools, there are no longer physical library spaces, and librarians and media specialists come to the classrooms for library and information literacy instruction. 

To guide this work, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) provides national school library standards on how to inquire, include, collaborate, curate, and explore as a crosswalk with Future Ready Librarians. 

These learning activity ideas align with the “Collaborate” stream focused on educators working together on shared learning goals with students.

Collaborating with School Librarians: Elementary School Lesson  

When working with younger students, collaborative efforts work best when families and even the surrounding community are involved. Moreover, using scaffolding techniques, and breaking down content for students, is developmentally appropriate. 

An elementary information literacy learning activity can focus on choosing a topic of interest, and using safe and trustworthy sources to search for information about it. The librarian or media specialist’s role can be to prepare mini lessons using Flip on information gathering from trusted and credible sources. Then, in the classroom, the teacher can have students search for information based on the topic being focused on in the class. 

For example, in social studies, the students can search for information about the city they live or have visited, or in English language arts, students can gather information on famous poets. The teacher and librarian or media specialist can co-create a template for students to use at home when they are researching information with their families. Families without technology access at home can be encouraged to use the local library.

Middle School Lesson 

At the middle school age, students are now switching classes, becoming more independent and responsible for their learning, and consuming technology and social media both during and outside of the school day. All of these things make understanding data privacy and responsible digital engagement imperative. 

The librarian or media specialist’s role can be to discuss with students issues of data privacy and how to properly communicate online, using an interactive slide deck through Slido. This discussion can pair seamlessly with a history teacher’s lesson on the Bill of Rights, its interpretations of it, and how this can impact engagement in public online spaces. With the support of both the teacher and librarian or media specialist, students can record a VoiceThread to share their position on the topic and summarize their learning. 

High School Lesson 

In preparation for career and college, students at the high school level are refining their information literacy skills to conduct research and craft research papers that are supported by cited scholarly sources. 

Librarians and media specialists can explain the different types of scholarly sources using a screencast, walking students through the different educational research databases. An English teacher can support students with how to provide in-text and reference page citations following APA or MLA. For coherence and continuity between the library and classroom instruction, students can be encouraged to use a Wakelet to curate all of the information gathered. 

The ways that teachers, librarians, and media specialists can work in concert to support students by co-creating engaging learning experiences is endless, and leveraging technology to strengthen information literacy skills across elementary, middle, and high school is a critical part of that effort. 

• Free Fact-Checking Sites for Students and Teachers
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

The traditional role of school librarian has changed. New technology and changing expectations are causing librarians to reimagine how they support students and teaching in a fast-moving environment. Many have become media specialists, dipping into areas and subjects well beyond the printed word.

Librarians now create and manage learning hubs in which students can interact with one another, the collections, and the physical space itself. In addition, inquiry-based learning, data science, and demand for collaborative working spaces are also transforming the work of librarians.

With the correlation between high-quality school library programs and certified librarians to higher ELA test scores, at-risk learners are benefitting the most. Even as they continue to support reading instruction, librarians encourage students to be self-directed problem solvers, innovators, and creators using the library’s resources. Librarians also are providing cross-curriculum reading connections to science and math content areas.

Part of the evolution to a learning hub has meant dramatic changes in the library’s design, says Sharon McCubbins, school media librarian and tech coordinator at Cumberland Trace Elementary in Warren Public Schools in Kentucky. “Some libraries now have LEGO walls and active furniture, such as tables on wheels, to provide flexibility to easily and quickly rearrange the space to adapt to each new learning activity,” she says. “The library can shift from independent study to group activities quickly by changing the furniture arrangement.”

McCubbins first incorporated maker space elements into her library in 2016. She began with puzzles and tinker toys. The next year she received a grant to bring in makerspace materials, coding devices, and robots. “LEGOs and robots are exciting, but not necessary,” she said. “Maker spaces don’t have to include technology, although they often do.” 

A maker space allows students a deeper dive into a story by offering a chance to create and share content, McCubbins says.

 School Librarian: An Increased Focus on Technology 

Amy Buss, instructional coordinator for the Warren Public Schools, says that librarians have now become the tech coordinators in their schools. “During COVID, our librarians stepped up into leadership and coaching roles to help teachers set up Google Classroom and design engaging tasks using technology that was new to them,” she says. These are “we’ll do whatever it takes” librarian teachers who didn’t let challenging restrictions keep them from ensuring that kids—and staff—had continuing access to learning resources throughout the pandemic. 

Librarians often lead the teaching of information and media literacy in schools—helping students understand the difference between fact and opinion, teaching students how to evaluate online information and be good digital citizens. Educating students about social media is increasingly important as research indicates the negative impact on middle and high school students in particular. 

Many librarians have also become first adopters of new digital tools and platforms, and even lead technology integration for staff, including organizing professional development and training. 

They are also being relied upon as a key part of family communication strategies, often tasked with creating and sending emails and newsletters, or creating and maintaining school websites. For example, during remote learning, Shannon McClintock Miller, District Teacher Librarian and Innovation Director, Van Meter Community School District in Iowa, relied on social media tools such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to stay connected. “When we went to remote learning in March, our social media became critical because I was able to constantly share items from there,” she says. By using multiple social media tools, she can reach every audience.

A typical day in a school library will find it full of students working individually and in groups on laptops, accessing digital resources, reading ebooks, researching databases, learning research skills, and reading print books. Teachers will be reviewing instructional resources curated for them by the librarian, who also introduces them to emerging technologies and new teaching resources. 

As school libraries evolve into learning hubs with a range of services and opportunities for both students and teachers that go far beyond checking out books, it is essential for a vibrant school culture to have a full-time, certified teaching librarian on staff.

• How to Market For A School Library
• Repurposing School Libraries As Vibrant Hubs and Centers of Change

While the trials of educators thrust suddenly into remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely examined, less frequently discussed is how librarians are navigating a similar elearning path.  

If the classroom is closed, so is the school library. How do students access the wealth of learning resources within when they can't step across the library threshold? Until the pandemic abates, there's only one answer. Libraries must make the digital leap to provide essential literary, research, and learning assets to all students.

The following steps from the New York City School Library System serve as a guide for librarians and library administrators to manage their libraries as fully digital learning resources. 

1. Develop a Welcoming Online Climate

• Design a welcoming and accessible library website, highlighting student work and life.
• Curate digital resources in multiple formats 
• Provide online opportunities for students to use library resources for research, individual exploration, independent reading, and personal inquiry.
• Use webinars, video conferencing, and video tools to connect students to special programs on health, college and careers, authors and books, etc.
• Keep online book displays updated

2. Plan & Teach Collaboratively

• Collaborate with teachers in Google Classroom to plan and implement lessons that integrate information literacy skills and resources with the classroom curriculum. 
• Participate in virtual school, department, and grade-level curriculum development. 
• Support teachers with digital resources upon request and proactively reach out to teachers to support their instruction. 
• Facilitate collaboration among classroom teachers using Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom. 
• Share responsibility with teachers for integrating inquiry, information literacy and technology skills into online school curriculum. 
• Help structure student assignments for deeper thinking and research with virtual office hours, email, and online response tools (ex. Google Forms, Microsoft Teams Office Hours). 
• Teach collaboratively with classroom teachers whenever possible in a Google Classroom environment. 
• Develop and implement reading initiatives with videos, eBooks, virtual assignments, and collaborative peer tools to motivate students in independent reading.

3. Promote Information Fluency Curriculum

• Develop a plan in Google Classroom on the integration of information fluency and digital skills throughout the grades and subject areas. 
• Ensure that all students have equitable opportunities to practice information fluency through resources, assessments, and virtual learning opportunities. 
• Provide professional development for teachers with webinars, video conferencing tools, resource links, or recorded content to illustrate how technology and information skills can support curriculum and instruction.

4. Align Collection to Curriculum and Student Needs

• Assess student and teacher needs and interests through website and email outreach.
• Manage a Google form (or other platform) seeking requests from teachers and students.
• Assess connections between online classroom needs and the library’s ebook collection and other free ebook collections.
• Read  professional reviews in library publications and other reputable publications to keep current on print and non-print resources available.
• Curate and subscribe to appropriate free resources.

5. Teach the Technology

• Ensure that teachers and students have access to vetted electronic resources from home, as well as the technology needed to access them.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest technologies and electronic resources for teaching and learning from home. 
• Create lessons in an online classroom to train teachers and students how to use electronic resources for teaching and learning. 
• Integrate the library into remote learning at their school. 
• Teach students and faculty the ethical and safe use of technology from home.

6. Promote Access

• Develop a scheduling policy and virtual office hours that facilitates flexible access to the librarian during the school day.
• Ensure that all students have e-pub library cards from one or more of the three local public library systems.
• Promote independent reading for all students as part of the school’s program and e-resources to support it.

7. Maintain Resources and Technology

• Organize a list of electronic resources by subject area for all students.
• Curate E-resources into appropriate subject areas on an easily browsable or searchable platform
• Provide 1:1 support for students and/or teachers or breakout groups.
• Maintain a library website with clear information that staff and student need to know. 
• Promote use of the virtual library to teachers, students, and families to ensure that the library is a vital and active center of learning for the entire school.
• Seek support from tech personnel and vendors in integrating and using e-resources to facilitate student learning.

8. Communicate with Colleagues

• Train and manage library staff remotely using Microsoft Teams, Google, or other online platforms.
• Set goals and share them with direct supervisors.
• Collaborate with co-librarians by establishing clear job-sharing responsibilities.

9. Manage Funding

• Establish budget priorities based on remote learning needs of students and staff. 
• Pursue grant opportunities and free offerings
• Seek online opportunities for the virtual library environment, including technological integration of the library into content specific and school-wide grants as appropriate.

10. Keep Current

• Attend Department of Library Services online programs, meetings and virtual conferences. 
• Attend local, regional, and national professional learning opportunities using a virtual platform. 
• Participate in electronic discussion lists, such as NYCSLIST, NYCSLIST Teams, and LM_Net. 
• Network with other school and public librarians using virtual tools and social media. 
• Coordinate professional learning opportunities for classroom teachers on databases, library resources, and technology tools in order to build a professional learning community.

Read the full guide

Source: Translation of Practice for School Librarians, with permission from the New York City School Library System. 

Now is the time for librarians to lead, and leadership takes strategy and courage, according to Shannon McClintock Miller, District Teacher Librarian and Innovation Director, Van Meter Community School District in Iowa. 

In her presentation “Sharing Your Story...Creating A Brand and Advocating For Your Library” during the recent NYC DOE “Beyond Access” virtual forum, Miller shared advocacy and branding ideas and strategies designed to empower librarians and media specialists to share their own library stories, goals, and visions, especially during the challenges of a pandemic.

“I feel overwhelmed every day, but I have to step back and think about the things that are most important,” Miller said. “Our kids are in school now, so I think about how I am serving them first. Are the things that I’m creating around our marketing plan helping them, if it’s books, or it’s literacy, or if it’s something else from the library.”

Miller discussed the importance of developing a marketing plan for a library to inform students, teachers, and the community of the resources available. She also discussed innovative ways to create and shape the voice of a library with various digital tools and student help. And then how to get out the word. 

“Don’t be afraid to share your story with the world, and your community,” Miller said. “When you do, you’re leading from the library, and that’s the thing we want!

Watch the full session:

View the presentation slide deck here

Key Takeaways

Creating a brand. Miller posed two questions that all librarians and media specialists should ask themselves:

1. How do you lead, create change, and advocate within your library?
2. How do you create change and lead beyond your library?  

As an advocate, you must put branding and marketing in place to share the story of your library, Miller said, and that includes determining a brand. “Everybody has a brand, even if you think you don’t,” she said. 

In addition to the name, it includes features such as identities, values, vision, purpose, logo, and mission, and even little things such as the personality of the library and what colors are involved.

Key questions to consider when creating a library brand:

Who are you?

Who needs to know?

We need to think about who our audience is, and if there’s more than one, Miller said. The story remains the same, but we need to think about how we can communicate it in different ways. 

Why should they care?

“This year, in particular, we need to think about what our libraries can offer us beyond tangible items--that social-emotional learning part of it,” Miller said. “My kids really love to come to the library to see me, each other, and it’s a place they want to be--the heart of our community.”

Visual art. In a visual world, we must stand out visually, said Miller. “I regularly ask, ‘How I can make an impact on our students, on the teachers, and on our families?’” she said. “We need to make sure we make an impact in a really fun and meaningful way.” Miller uses multiple digital tools and resources to connect, such as Buncee or social media. She discussed how she was initially uncomfortable “tooting my own horn,” but realized everything librarians share really makes a huge difference and the library program is something that everyone is proud of.

Finding your voice. Miller talked about how when she started, she didn’t go in thinking that she was going to have to brand her library program. While talking with students, they mentioned that they appreciated how the library always lets them have a voice, so Miller launched the Van Meter Library Voice, a blog with accompanying social media, most of which comes from the students. Miller worked with an artist who created original work focused around key elements, tools, and things Miller loved. She keeps common themes, images, and fonts for consistency. 

Digital resources. To help promote and market a library, Miller recommended a number of digital tools. Buncee, for example, offers an abundance of tools and templates for libraries, such as backgrounds that can be used in making posters or stickers for genrefying. Users can also create images with embedded links, for use on blogs and digital communication.

Miller also uses PicMonkey to make collages, and also edit existing images and create new ones. For making bookmarks, she recommends Overnight Prints--Van Mater students design the two-sided bookmarks and Overnight Prints produces the items at a reasonable cost.

Miller has created items such as monthly choice boards in Padlet to showcase specific resources and activities around a theme, such as an election or Thanksgiving. These can be edited easily and shared with teachers. “Some of our best work is collaborating with the teachers,” she said. 

PD power. Given how tight teacher time and resources can be, it’s important for librarians to remind teachers what the library can do for them, Miller said. She creates a new campaign every year to showcase what’s new. For example, a few years ago, she designed a marketing campaign around a movie theme, and gave each teacher a ticket, candy, and a poster talking about everything the library was offering, such as classroom support for digital citizenship or making. 

Marketing matters. First step is assessing ‘customer’ needs, in particular, who is using the library--kids, teachers, administrators, families, etc. Miller recommends starting with the library marketing toolkit from AASL. 

In regard to marketing, Miller extolled the use of social media tools such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. “When we went to remote learning in March, our social media became critical because I was able to constantly share items from there,” she said. By using multiple social media tools, you can ensure that your message reaches every audience.

Of course, marketing looks different this year because so many students are learning at home, so it’s critical to make sure that all resources are accessible to all students. 

Reading rainbows. Miller has done a lot of marketing this year around e-resources, especially since so many students are remote and accessing ebooks. For example, she pulled all the books that the district had in Destiny and made a “DestinyFlix” board for students. They also used BookHub to get books to students who were in classrooms, and created “shopping lists” for students to check out books. And they created virtual book posters and boards to share with students to get them excited about reading.

Team marketing. “Remember that you’re not alone in this!” Miller said. She encourages students to be part of the marketing team by taking photos, creating posters, brainstorming campaigns, and involving them in other tasks. “Set realistic due dates, stay with it, delegate tasks, be flexible, and remember no matter what, always put the kids first!”  

• NYC DOE Beyond Access Forum Provides Professional Development Around Inclusive and Individualized Education
• What is Grackle and How Can Districts Use It to Increase Accessibility

With the school- and public libraries locked shut due to fears of spreading the corona virus, what do your students do to finish their book reports, do research for social studies papers and just keep reading? The answer: go to one of the Web’s virtual libraries. They’re stocked full of ebooks, ready to read. 

The Web has dozens of online libraries with millions of books available, but Hoopla, Boox and Project Gutenberg stand out because of the range of materials they have. The best part is that it’s all free, but your local library or school may need to be a member to participate. 

Hoopla

If your local library or school are members of the Hoopla community, you get access to a cornucopia of teaching materials, including movies, audiobooks, music and a great range of eBooks. With more than 500,000 titles, there’s everything from “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” to “Call of the Wild.” In other words, Hoopla can be a must-use resource for homebound teachers and students. 

Start by loading the Hoopla app for iOS (iPhones or iPads) or Android phones or tablets. Then, you’ll need to create an account and pick your participating local library or school. This opens a wide world of reading, viewing and listening. My favorite is to go through the service’s list of Genres, pick a category and browse. The Hoopla online library is searchable as well. 

The service uses its own eBook reader and there are no annoying ads. You are limited in the number of items that can be checked out per month and they are usually automatically returned after three weeks.

Libby

Short for library, Libby uses the OverDrive collection of millions of books and materials. It’s one of the easiest eBook libraries to use and can get kids reading even when the physical library remains closed. 

The collection covers all genres and has both a general search and a group of categories to peruse. The site works with iPhones, iPads, Androids and Windows computers but all ebooks can be read with he Kindle app. With titles from “Handmaid’s Tale” to “Midnight in Chernobyl,” Libby also has graphic novels and the “Captain Awesome” series. 

After loading the Libby app and finding your local library in its interface, you’ll need to register with a library card number. You’re allowed up to 10 books at a time and they generally expire in two weeks. Be careful, if you want a popular book, you might have to wait for access. It has a lot to offer the browser, paper researcher or book-report reader.

Project Gutenberg

If you’re looking for primary source material or novels in the public domain, the first stop should be Project Gutenberg. With over 60,000 volumes available, it has an incredible collection of digitized historical books that you get to keep. 

While your school or local library needs to belong to a consortium to use Libby or Hoopla, Gutenberg is open to all and there are no due dates. What you download, you keep. With books available in five languages, kids can search for specific titles, authors and content or go through specific subject areas, like science, technology or history. The ebooks are often direct scans, so they include illustrations, photos and maps. 

From “Eminent Victorians” to “Pride and Prejudice,” Gutenberg is heavy on the classics, including Arthur Mouritz’s fascinating 1921 look at the 1918 flu pandemic – required reading for a 10th grade biology class these days. The interface is easy to master and the books are generally available in several formats, including Web-friendly HTML, ePub, Kindle and plain text. 

In addition to a mobile site, entries have a QR code for snapping that brings you right to the ebook. It is ad-free zone but the people at Gutenberg ask for a donation, no matter how small.

To support librarians and educators as they navigate a rapid shift to virtual learning, Gale has launched a COVID-19 resource center. 

Resources include:

• Interdisciplinary, curriculum-aligned resources to support online learning from pre-K through undergraduate.
• Live and on-demand training materials to help you optimize your existing resources.
• Professional development eBooks to help transition to and strengthen virtual learning.
• Gale resources on health-related topics and global issue

For more information, visit this Gale blog post.

Follett has released Destiny 17.5, a new version of the solution featuring enhancements to Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Resource Manager, Destiny Discover, and Collections by Destiny. 

Key Destiny 17.5 updates include:

• Destiny Library Manager. The new version will provide support for ‘Community Share’, a program that connects Baker & Taylor’s public library digital collections with schools. Students will be provided with immediate access to an expanded selection of age and grade-appropriate digital content through Destiny Discover. 

• Destiny Resource Manager. Electronic signatures can now be captured on departing and arriving transfers and warehouse orders. 

• Destiny Discover. Destiny Discover, which provides a single discovery interface for students and educators to search and access print and digital resources, will now feature a customizable homepage. Discover administrators will be able to add content such as current events and announcements related to library operations and patron needs to their home page. 

• Collections by Destiny. Administrators will now have greater control over the Collections at their site. They will be able to edit, delete, copy and share any collection as if it were their own. Administrators can restrict users from seeing collections created at another site, preventing elementary school students from seeing high school content that may be inappropriate for them.

A recorded version of Follett’s recent “What’s New in Destiny 17.5” webinar is available on demand by visiting https://bit.ly/36v49Cd. 

For a complete look at all that is new in Destiny 17.5, visit https://bit.ly/38YXdj5.

For more information about Follett and Destiny, visit www.FollettLearning.com.

Gale, a Cengage company, today announced the launch of Gale Presents: Udemy, a new online learning platform for public libraries – powered by Udemy for Business –that provides patrons access to over 4,000 on-demand video courses across more than 75 categories. 

Studies show that on average, workers change jobs 12 times in their lifetime[i], making it essential for libraries to offer services that help adults build new skills that align with industry trends and to prepare for the shift toward workforce automation. Gale Presents: Udemy provides opportunities for users to boost their skills in areas such as business, tech, design and more.

With a library card, along with a Google or Microsoft account at participating public libraries, patrons can access thousands of online courses as well as select instructors and content that best match their skills needs and learning preferences. 

Gale Presents: Udemy provides:

• Unlimited, On-Demand Access to 4,000+ Curated Courses Across More Than 75 Categories
• Curated Collection of Courses from the Udemy.com Marketplace
• Up-to-Date Courses
• World-Class Instructors
• Smart Recommendations
• Supplemental Course Resources
• Anytime, Anywhere Access with the iOS and Android apps

Gale will showcase Gale Presents: Udemy at the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference, February 26-28 in Nashville, TN at Gale booth #712.

For more information or to request a trial, visit the Gale Presents: Udemy webpage.

Based on PrimaSoft’s database software, the Small Library Organizer Pro can fulfill the mission of cataloging, checking out and imposing rules on school libraries, big and small. Aimed at libraries with between 4,000 and 12,000 items, it uses bar code identification of materials, can handle reservations and renewals as well as print library cards. Starting at $350, the Windows software has a free trial and includes lots of extras, making it an inexpensive way to automate any collection.

Teacher-librarian and school library media specialist Dayna Derichs wants every one of the 600 pre-K–fifth-grade students at Wheeler Elementary to have opportunities to experience the “wow” moments that happen when technology transforms learning.

Wheeler Elementary, part of Millard (NE) Public Schools in Omaha, has a growing fleet of iPads and Belkin keyboards as well as Apple TV and wireless projectors in every classroom. Teachers share devices as needed and Derichs spends time team teaching with each grade level as they move up the SAMR model towards redefining learning with technology. She’s teaching students, but she’s also modeling for teachers how to use technology—and together they’re discovering new and creative ways to use tech tools.

CREATING “WOW” MOMENTS

“When I show students how to split their screens so they can skim and scan, copy and paste notes and cite sources as they go, they’re happy to read more,” Derichs says. “We use NoodleTools for research, and then when we export their sources to a Google doc and they see their bibliography immediately alphabetized, they’re amazed.”

Last year, Wheeler Elementary students made marshmallow slingshots to learn about Newton’s three laws of motion. The students took pictures and burst shots to record motion and velocity and created a keynote presentation to show their learning using the Clips app. “There was such great synergy as the students used technology to record data and communicate their findings—they didn’t stop to eat the marshmallows and they didn’t even realize they were learning!” says Derichs.

This week, third-grade students learning about the ecosystem made shoebox dioramas, Derichs says, then took it to the next level with the Green Screen app. After creating an example together, she and the teacher draped the computer lab with green fabric. “The kids had scripts with their research,” Derichs says, “But as soon as we hit ‘record,’ they started sharing all of this information they’d learned that wasn’t in their notes—it was all in their heads.” She laughs. “They have enthusiasm and a deeper understanding because they know they’ll be on stage and in the lights. Many of them tell me they want to be YouTubers.”

THE ULTIMATE EQUALIZER

“Technology is the ultimate equalizer,” says Derichs, who also works with some classes of ACP students. “There are no more haves and have nots. These tools help break down barriers and inhibitions.”

In one ACP class, she says, “We draped green fabric over a student’s wheelchair so on the screen it looked like she was in the desert talking about what she’d learned. During the Winter Olympics, another wheelchair-bound student showed up on the screen in a bobsled.” All of these moments are also really fun to share with parents, Derichs says. “It blows their minds—and brings some tears.”

CONNECTING TO THE REAL WORLD

Using ChatterPix, Seesaw, and a retro phone set plugged into an iPad, therapy dogs can talk. With Google Expeditions, kids can visit the Aztec pyramids. With tools like Seesaw and Clips, students can make “real life” advertisements for the school book fair for their parents to see.

The possibilities are endless and exciting, and Derichs is always on the lookout for fun new ideas and ways to bring concepts and real-world applications into the classroom. When she’s preparing lessons, she listens to the teachers and works with them to create “wow” moments. “I find a lot of ideas on Twitter,” she says. “Sometimes it’s a year or more before I find the perfect application for an idea.” Having patience and reminding students (and herself) that it’s OK to make mistakes are important to creating a culture of learning and inquiry, Derichs says.

MINIMIZING DISTRACTIONS

Even with plenty of “wow” moments, students are just like adults when it comes to the tempting distractions of technology. Derichs has found that ZuluDesk, now Jamf School, is one of the best ways to keep students engaged. “Once I set up the lesson and make all the apps except the ones we’re using disappear, the level of anxiety goes down 100 percent,” she says. “They can’t do anything else and it’s crazy good in all kinds of ways. It can be used for a whole class or for an individual student, and no one else has to know. It allows them to stay focused. We give them tools that we as adults struggle to use—why do we expect eight-or nine-year-olds to be any different?”

One of the issues that district leaders tackled in Philadelphia at the June Tech & Learning Leadership Summit was how to change pedagogy to support new kinds of learning that technology has enabled. Changing ideas about technology, instruction, and learning have expanded our learning expectations. This has led some district leaders to repurpose the role of school libraries as learning hubs and centers of change.

Leaders in Dallas (TX) ISD have created a road map for changing pedagogy by reorienting school libraries and restructuring how they support new types of learning. Planning teams began with the following question: How do we create an infrastructure that assigns value to learning anywhere/anytime? Also, how do we use professional learning experiences to shift culture? They saw that they could use school libraries to animate both of these opportunities.

Shannon Terry, Dallas ISD’s executive director of professional and digital learning, says they have expanded their digital ecosystem to accommodate shifts in pedagogy and personal learning. “We now have the language that allows us to speak about the core competencies required to move the needle for instructional coaches,” she says. “This provides the lever for change.” Dallas district leaders view libraries as a key component of building capacity for new types of learning experiences for both students and teachers.

FINDING A WAY TO TAKE ON CHANGE TOGETHER

In Wake County (NC) Public Schools, district leaders have been fighting the national trend of replacing degreed librarians with technology staff with no certification requirements, and the transition of libraries to collaborative spaces with few books. Wake County’s emphasis is on creating a shared understanding that strong media programs consist of three parts: the school library media coordinator, the library space itself, and the programming within that space. 

“We are not redefining libraries but rather being more explicit about what strong library programs include,” said Marlo Gaddis, Wake County CTO. “The district’s WakeForward Initiative, that our library team has developed, is built on the new AASL standards, Future Ready standards, ISTE standards, and our strategic plan.” 

Linwood (NJ) Public Schools is also working to rebuild their libraries as learning hubs, says Lori Care, supervisor of curriculum and instruction. “Our libraries had been victims of multiple budget cuts, but thanks to a strong community push, we’re now working to rebuild our program,” she says. Their first step was to find the appropriate modern-day librarian to be housed in the space. In one school, they pulled a teacher from the classroom who had been working toward her library media specialist certification.

“This has been quite successful,” says Care. “Because she’s been a classroom teacher, she has a firm understanding of how to support curriculum goals.” Care says the district intends to continue rebuilding the library program to create new learning hubs that support ongoing changes in teaching and learning.

There is definitely a role for technology in reimagining libraries as learning commons and centers of innovation. Repurposing the library as a hub for teacher professional development and student-driven learning gives students and teachers tools and a common experience to manage changes in teaching and learning.

 This article was revised on September 18, 2019. 

6 years after creating our first makerspace, it only makes sense to publish a post that focuses on 6 steps for creating a makerspace. 

Step 1:  Create a personal philosophy for what making means.

6 years later, I have learned that what makerspaces are should be deeply personal to those who create them.  With many still too hung up on what to buy for their spaces, even more paramount to that is taking the time to uncover exactly what making means to you is a key first step in creating a makerspace.  Doing so, will help guide all of your makerspace decisions, including what to buy, if anything at all. 

Step 2:  Plan and create a library makerspace that is grounded in research and evidence-based practices. 

Something I am most proud of, is that my first book, Worlds of Making, is focused solely on the research and best-practices for planning and creating makerspaces.  This does not discount the expertise of individual educators, but rather means integrating individual expertise with the best available evidence from systematic research.  The conscientious use of evidence in making decisions about the learning environments we are trying to create a key to creating spaces that will have the greatest impact on our students, not only for now, but also into the future.  The evidence and research by themselves, do not make all of our makerspace decisions, but they help lay a strong foundation and support us through the process of planning and creating a makerspace. 

Step 3:  Design a library makerspace (both physical and digital) that supports making principles and engenders constructivist learning theories.

My second book, The Kickstart Guide to Making GREAT Makerspaces, identifies key making principles, including the 7 attributes of a ‘GREAT’ makerspace. As anyone who has read my books knows, I define a makerspace as a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play, andopen-ended exploration for all. With this in mind, it is important to remember that what we are really trying to create is a unique learning environment.  Unique learning environments require unique pedagogical approaches, and in the case of makerspaces, they engender constructivist learning theories, as outlined in my first book.  It is critical to identify ways a makerspace can support constructivist learning theories and how constructivist learning theories can drive our makerspace designs. 

Step 4:  Propose a range of strategies for assessment of skills in a makerspace, including digital badging.

Makerspaces, as unique learning environments, afford us to the opportunity to seek out unique assessment methods.  In a maker environment, it is important to find ways to acknowledge the granular skills students gain as well as ‘soft skills’- things such as teamwork and communication skills.  We have an opportunity to not only assess in the traditional sense, but to give students credit for skills they gain, allowing them to stack skills and grow and refine them over time. 

Step 5:  Propose ways to unleash student creativity with innovative tools and maker project ideas. 

I firmly believe that one of the most significant roles we have as maker educators is to provide the conditions to inspire our students to want to make and create, as opposed to always forcing them to make. I always say that I feel like the wizard behind the curatin in the Wizard of Oz, working hard to unleash creativity and to keep our space fresh, meaningful, relevant and inspiring to our school community. 

Step 6:  Evaluate various models for making and creating, including the design thinking process.

Providing models to guide our students through the process of making and creating has distinct benefits, and there certainly are many of them out there, including the design thinking process.  Some students may identify with one over the other.  Our ultimate goal should be to support our students to ultimately take ownership of their making, and uncover their own process for making and creating.

With these 6 steps in mind, I am happy to announce a new course that I have created  called “Makerspaces in the School Library“.  This course takes a deeper dive into these 6 steps and more!

Cross posted at worlds-of-learning.com

Laura Fleming has been a classroom teacher and media specialist in grades K-8 and currently is a Library Media Specialist for grades 9-12. She is a well known writer, speaker and consultant on next-generation teaching methods and tools, and the author of the best-selling Worlds of Learning: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School

Follett has introduced Follett Genre Solutions to help simplify genrefication for librarians and media specialists seeking to make the transition from the Dewey Decimal System to a more bookstore-like layout based on genres.

Eight months ago, Follett formed a Genrefication Advisory Board, comprised of 27 experienced librarians and media specialists already using genres in their libraries.

“The Advisory Board, along with our internal team of librarians, evaluated more than a thousand genrefied libraries,” Siegel said. “We then created an efficient way to help streamline the genrefication process for our customers.”

In addition to producing a guide that explains how Follett Genre Solutions help a librarian or media specialist execute a genrefication, support is provided by the company through:

• Do-It-Yourself Genre Starter Kits
• Colorful labels and signage that Follett provides to all its genre customers
• Titlewave improvements that allow genres to be automatically assigned to book orders
• Tips for how to maximize the available features through Follett’s Destiny Library Manager and Titlewave solutions.

For those who don’t have the time or resources to “flip” their libraries, Follett also offers genre consulting services.

For more information about Follett Genre Solutions, visit www.titlewave.com/main/about-follett-genres. To view of video of how Follett recently helped a junior high school with the genrefication of its library in Katy, Texas, visit https://bit.ly/2Fk6Dtt.

For more information about Follett, visit www.FollettLearning.com.

This month’s entry is about communication with students and staff members for new teachers or those new to a building or system.

To ensure your return to school, or new teaching experience, goes more smoothly, make sure that there is a simple, reliable method for two-way digital communication between you and your students. This promotes student accountability, encourages academic success and makes life easier for everyone. It also creates a record of your communication with your students. There is never a doubt if you informed them or reminded them.

If you are new, find out if your school offers email accounts to students. Do they know how to access them? Who does? Do you know how to send a group email using this system? Is the email a function of your online gradebook or another application? If your school uses Google classroom, the communication mechanism is pretty simple. Google Classroom did some up updating this summer, so familiarize yourself with these updates, if you use it.

Make sure you know how to use all functions of your school system’s online gradebook. Most include communication functions that allow you to post homework and deadlines, send emails or texts as class messages and send parent communications to individuals or to a group. This gives you a quickly accessible record for face-to-face conferences. Using the official school email system when contacting parents is the best way to go. Learn to print grade reports for students, parents or administrators before you actually need to do it. Now, it will be simple if you are called to a last minute meeting.

If your school’s online gradebook does not have a communication function, or if you would like to send an additional method of communication, check out an app like Remind. This app allows you to send texts or emails to specific classes. It also translates messages into about 70 languages for new students whose first language is not English. See the website for a quick overview. There are other communication apps, but this is the one with which we have had good luck. Feel free to suggest others to us. We have found the easiest way to get students’ email addresses and phone numbers for texting purposes is to bring up the Remind website and while the students are doing group work, over the first 2 or 3 class periods, have the students enter the information themselves. This saves time and ensures the information is correct. If you need to enter Gmail accounts for your Google Classroom, this works too. Of course, you will need to do a quick check of your rolls before you send your first test message.

Any students who don’t get the reminder you sent, need to check the information they entered. If all the students receive your test text, or whatever method of communication you use, great. If some don’t, you can use this first test communication as a lesson on technology, proving that accuracy is important. Of course everyone in the class you are teaching at the time did a wonderful job, but a few people in your “other classes” may need to correct their information. Those students will need to email you with the correct information. This is a great lead in to a class discussion on the importance of accuracy and reliability in the internet sources they choose.

Collaborations:

We will include suggestions for collaborative projects or school-wide events in later blogs, but right now the focus is on establishing, or re-establishing, the systems that will make your job easier.

If you are new to your building, for your technology needs, develop a relationship with these important people:

Librarian: This person is the best source for technology and print resources in your building. If what you need is not in the library, the Librarian will know where it is. Set up a meeting to run your project ideas past your Librarians early so that they can provide you with the best resources for your students- many that may surprise you. Remember that Librarians work with every department in the building, so they will have cross-curricula ideas for you and time to do personalized professional development during your planning bell or after school. They also set up equipment for meetings and events, so if you are tasked with presenting a program in your building or elsewhere, let them know. They can make sure you are comfortable with the equipment you will be using and have the equipment ready for you. Always test the equipment ahead of time.

Instructional Technology Resource person: Every school system in the country has this person. You may be lucky enough to have one assigned to your building. Their job is to train teachers to integrate technology and software effectively. He or she is probably already working very closely with your Librarian. If you are not sure who this person is and where he or she is located, please contact your Librarian.

School Network Engineer: Every school has a Network Engineer responsible for their building. Again, many of you will be lucky enough to have one full time in your building. This is the person who will make sure the network is running. Among their many duties, they often troubleshoot problems with your access to the Wi-Fi. Introduce yourself and make sure you know the procedure to have equipment repaired. Be aware these people will be very busy at the beginning of the year, so remember the person who submits the request nicely and correctly, including a detailed description, will get quicker service. Please do not turn in a request simply stating, “It’s not working.” Librarians and other tech people are often working throughout the building and may talk to 15 more people before they get back to their offices. So email them (best) or hand them your request or put it on their desk.

Upcoming Events:

September 23-29: Banned Book Week: Great for Business Law and Social Studies classes.

October: National CyberSecurity Month, NSA Day Of Cyber

Future blogs will include specific lesson plan ideas for collaborations and technology.

See you at the end of September!

cross posted at collaborationsdigitalandotherwise.weebly.com

Deborah Marshall is the Department Chair of Career & Technical Education and Lisa McKnight Ward is the librarian at Granby High School in Norfolk, Virginia. Both are Nationally Board Certified, former Teachers of the Year, who have taught multiple subjects including AP and IB courses. They have over a decade of experience collaborating on technology-based learning. Read more at collaborationsdigitalandotherwise.weebly.com/

Let's go shopping for School Librarian Day! The Dewey Decimal system is a way to categorize books, just like a grocery store categorizes food. Introduce your students to the Dewey Decimal system using this hands-on activity. Students will organize grocery store items into related groups. This process will then be compared to the organization of books using the Dewey Decimal System. Students will end the lesson by organizing a selection of books in a library media center according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System.

courtesy of Knovation

TALKING ENCOURAGED

When Sheri McNair, library media specialist at James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls, NY, came to her district four years ago, she stepped into a very traditional space that was mostly taken up by free-standing stacks of books, traditional wooden tables, and eight computers that “needed to go,” she laughs.

Talking and collaborating are encouraged at the James I. O’Neill High School library. McNair quickly realized that she was spending most of her time scraping the heavy wooden desks across the floor, rearranging the space to encourage classes to come in. So the first thing she did was move the freestanding stacks. “I put the books around the perimeter, which opened up a ton of space. Instant improvement!”

Over the next three years, McNair completely renovated the space, adding carpet tiles, rolling chairs and tables with whiteboard tops, 50 computers, and 60 Samsung Chromebooks. She converted an old classroom into an innovation room by attaching white frosted acrylic panels to three walls and adding pub tables, chairs, banquettes, a TV, and acoustic panels. There are mini makerspace stations with Legos and craft materials, board games, puzzles, a SMART Board, and an 80-inch monitor that’s used for movie nights.

“I inherited an outdated space with lots of rules—no talking, no food, no backpacks, no devices,” says McNair. “Now it’s a multifunctional space where students socialize and collaborate. They bring their lunch and their work. It’s their library.”

Need any proof that a library transformation is worth the time and money? In 2011–12, the year before McNair came on board, students chose to visit the library during study halls, lunch, and after school a total of 6,784 times. Last year, after the library was renovated, students came to the library, on their own time, a total of 24,610 times.

A TRANSPARENT LEARNING COMMONS

When Westlake High School in Austin, TX, modernized its library in 2008, the goal was to create a transparent library so that everyone could see the learning that was going on, says librarian Carolyn Foote. That’s why all of the exterior (and most of the interior) walls are made of glass. In addition, the idea of making the space interactive drove most of the design decisions—including magnetic poetry on the front desk and a whiteboard on wheels.

At the Westlake Learning Commons, creativity is celebrated. There’s also a cafe area where students can eat, hang out, and study. The students voted to call it the Juice Bar, and they can get their iPads repaired there as well. (Westlake is a 1:1 iPad high school.) There’s an Apple TV, charging areas, and bar seating.

As a proponent of the learning commons movement, Foote made sure to provide offices for the instructional partners who work with teachers. “With all of the different people who work with students and teachers in the same place, it’s easier to collaborate. It’s the anti-silo,” she says.

Updates in a computer lab with laptops included curved VS whiteboard tables that can nest together and glass whiteboards on the walls. “Now it’s a brainstorm/project space and a laptop lab. Teachers and students can arrange the room however they want,” says Foote.

Instead of having a makerspace area, the library hosts makerspace events, including a Play-Doh Day and a 3D printer demo by a robotics team. “A library is a place to go for programming so you can prepare students for the libraries in their future.”

SLEEK, STYLISH, AND USEFUL

In 2012, Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami, FL, launched a 1:1 iPad program and a STEAM concentration. Within three months, it became obvious that the classrooms and library would need to be updated. “The furniture in our library and classrooms would not allow for collaboration, so I started looking at learning spaces,” says Fredy Padovan, dean of innovation and technology.

Project work is easy (and fun!) in the Immaculata-La Salle High School library. The school worked with Steelcase to create a classroom in which all surfaces are treated with whiteboard paint. The teacher was able to move around and change the way she taught; students were alert and engaged. “It ignited a movement to remodel all learning spaces by 2018–19. We’re about halfway done,” says Padovan.

Because the library sits in the middle of the 14-acre campus, it needed to be a functional space that teachers could use for a variety of purposes and with quick transitions. They created two media:scape rooms (a Steelcase design) to hold classes of 14 and 21. These rooms have writeable glass walls and U-shaped seating to encourage collaboration. There’s an area with flexible tables and chairs that holds up to 65 people and a presentation area with two flat-screen TVs and couches. Another section will become a tech bar this summer, with 12 iMacs for students to use.

In December, a teacher booked the space for a class project. She set up two stations in the presentation area for students to use as resources, had an iBook showing on a main projector, and ran different videos in other areas. Her 30 students were working on a group project, and this layout fit the flow of their investigations and collaboration.

“We took something from 1960 into the current age, and now it looks like a college campus,” says Padovan. “I gave teachers three weeks to label books they couldn’t find electronically and was able to go from 40 bookshelves down to three.”

MCNAIR’S TIPS

● Make things mobile. Putting casters on furniture is an easy, cheap fix.

● Turn tables into whiteboards. Pressure-sensitive sheets and paints aren’t expensive and enable students to write on tables.

● Ask families for donations. Castoffs and garage sales are two great sources for games, Legos, and gently used furniture.

● Little things make a big difference. Paint! Brighten up the space to make it nicer. McNair’s students voted on colors and the library now has teal, plum, and orange walls.

● Automate processes. With Google Apps, students can sign in and out electronically and teachers can book meeting spaces in Google Appointments.

● Don’t be afraid to apply for grants. Two favorite sources: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (imls.gov) and The Meemic Foundation (meemic.com/the-meemic-foundation/grant-opportunities.aspx).

FOOTE’S TIPS

● Make sure the space is student-centered. Even the little things, like a magnetic front desk, convey the message that the space is for the students.

● Observe students to see how they’re using the space. Talk to students; do surveys. That’s how you’ll learn what to do first.

● Use social media to get ideas. There’s great stuff on Twitter and Pinterest, in addition to people to partner with and share ideas. Read blogs and use the power of social media to branch out.

● If it isn’t working, change it up. Foote had armchairs in the juice bar, but once the students got iPads she noticed they were stacking on top of each other to look at their iPads together. She found inexpensive seating cubes online that can be made into an S-shape. She moved the armchairs to another area and now multiple students can sit together on a cube.

PADOVAN’S TIPS

● You need to have buy-in. Take the time to study how the space is currently being used. Which areas are not functional or could be improved? Are students avoiding certain types of chairs?

● Give students choices. Bring in samples of different types of seating and study what the students actually sit in for certain tasks. Choice is important if we want to create independent thinkers and learners.

● One size does not fit all. Each building has unique needs. Spending the time required to identify and meet those needs may mean that your renovation takes six months or longer, but remember: It’s not about a space that looks good—it’s about a space that’s going to be used.

VENDOR LIST

► AGATI Furniture (agati.com)
► Artcobell (artcobell.com)
► Bretford (bretford.com)
► Community Furniture (communityfurniture.com)
► Fatboy (fatboyusa.com/collection/)
► IKEA (ikea.com)
► Interior Systems (isiamerica.com)
► Steelcase (www.steelcaseeducation.com)
► Teknion (teknion.com)

April is School Library Month, and this year’s theme is “Your School Library: Where Learning Never Ends.” No tag line could be truer. Librarians are lifelong learners by nature. Whether it is the newest educational theory, the latest research methods, or the newest educational technology push, librarians love to learn and share new things.

When considering a new educational technology initiative, such as purchasing Chromebooks, going BYOD, or choosing educational software, districts often consider many things, including cost, return on investment, effectiveness, and necessary professional development. But one thing they may not consider is their librarian.

Libraries and librarians are at the forefront and often the hub of the school. They are a community resource, a public face, a service profession, a helping hand, relationship builders, collaborators, and educational technology leaders. Librarians of 2015 are not the same librarians you remember from 1985. They still order books and teach research skills, but it is very rare to hear them shushing students, or hiding meekly behind the stacks. Librarians wear a number of hats and information literacy is closely tied to educational technology.

“Research” skills have evolved rapidly in the last 20 years and much of that evolution is because of educational technology. “The role of the librarian continues to evolve, and technology is the driver behind that. This group represents an essential voice within the national and international edtech and connected learning conversation,” says Marshal Conley, senior consultant, American Institutes for Research. When computers first made their way into schools, they were often found in the library. One computer terminal, possibly with dial-up Internet access, served an entire school. Librarians sought out ways to utilize those computers to increase student achievement. Fast forward to today: libraries are filled with desktop computers, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, ebooks, Web 2.0 tools, databases, and maker spaces. “The current jobs of librarians are not only enhanced by edtech, they depend on it. The best in the library field are not only utilizing edtech, but they are the experts in the field,” says Sudah Narsipur, school media specialist at the Ossining High School in NY. We surveyed 43 librarians to gauge their daily technology use.

More than 75% of the librarians surveyed estimated that they spend 50% or more of their day working directly with students, teachers, and technology. “Librarians have worked with and through educational technology for years—they have just moved from projectors and microfilm to Kindles and online databases.” says Krista, an LMS administrator in Denver, CO. Some would argue that you can’t have technology without the librarians.

Having technology and knowing how to effectively integrate it into the curriculum are two different things. A school can purchase the latest and greatest technology, but without someone on the receiving end knowing what to do with it, it becomes an expensive dust collector, much like microfilm. Marifran DeMaine, a school media specialist at Putnam Valley High School in New York reminds us that librarians are “information experts who have the unique capacity to tie edtech meaningfully to classroom instruction and student achievement.” Coupled with the fact that librarians are connected to everyone and everything, you create a perfect storm. “Librarians cross all content area lines and are in a unique position to support and share tech initiatives in many different capacities,” says Sherry Fisher, an ELA teacher at Webutuck High School in New York.

Librarians are often a known face in a school. “They are often on the front lines handling the tech with students and generally know about what tech is out there or soon to be out there. The most professional [librarians] make sure to educate themselves about the best edtech tools and will be ready and willing to use them when they [hit the] mainstream,” says Tara Thibault- Edmonds, a school media specialist at Rondout Valley Middle School in New York. Librarians are helpers and collaborators by nature, and they love to share. When a librarian finds a new edtech tool, they share it with colleagues, enthusiastically showing how it can be used to increase student engagement and achievement. “We showcase utilizing educational technology by modeling it in our everyday lessons and the creation of Web pages of resources for all of our constituents,” says Melissa V. Rentchler, a teacher librarian at Marshall Academy of the Arts in California. We asked the same respondents how they share new technology.

While librarians are often at the forefront of technology, they are often overlooked as a resource when making purchasing decisions and driving technology initiatives. This could be a costly mistake for schools. “Librarians are vital to ensuring that faculty can easily apply education technology in the classroom,” says Cherie Bronkar, director of Regional Library at Kent State University, Tuscarawas, Ohio. “They are the link to pushing educational technologies to teachers who don’t have the time or training to use new technologies.” LeAnn Weller, a librarian at the University of New Mexico, Celencia Campus, believes librarians offer solutions and provide the initiative and encouragement that many faculty need to confidently utilize technology in their classrooms.

To be 21st-century college and career ready, students need to know not only how to find information, but how to evaluate, curate, present, and create it. These are all skills that librarians teach, often using the newest technology. “I am proud to be a librarian because I get to do what I love each day. I get to foster a love of reading and literacy in others while teaching students how to be digital learners. Our field is changing and growing and I’m just excited to be working during this change to combine traditional library services with edtech,” says Erin Marone, a library media specialist at Dayton Avenue Elementary School in New York.

When faced with the next technology initiative, school leaders need to not only consider the cost of the program, they should ask their librarians to help them determine the effectiveness and the long-term value of the investment. They also need to have librarians onboard to help spread the word about why any new initiative is vital to increasing student achievement. As Kim Hopper, a school media specialist at John Jay High School in New York says, “[Librarians] need to be more involved in their districts’ advisory committees or selecting process.” Rebecca André, an educational technology director at Temple Beth Am Day School in Miami, Florida, points out “their unique perspective is highly valuable for planning and implementing initiatives. We accomplish much MORE with our librarians!”

Shannon Mersand is a School Media Specialist at Yorktown High School and an Associate Lecturer at UW Stout.