Library Media Tech Talk

This was the first Common Core project we attempted in the library media center nearly 2 years ago. Our eighth grade English classes had been studying exerpts of 9/11 survivors and eyewitnesses. To reflect on their learning, they had also written an essay called, "What Makes a Hero?" The English teachers asked me to do a book talk on Fearless  by Eric Blehm. This book had just been released and it is about Adam Brown, a Hot Springs native that gave his life in Afghanistan while serving as a Navy SEAL. We wanted to do more than book talk about this local and national hero. We wanted to do something different, something to make it real and relevant for our students. We all brainstormed ways that we could bring this unit to life for students by using the library media center and its vast resources as a staging area. The photo below shows one of our planning meetings. We decided to make the book talk like a military briefing. Ray Borel (Library Assistant) and I were both i...

I will soon be starting my seventh year as a Library Media Specialist (LMS). One of the most important tasks I have tried to do each year of my experience is to provide an "End of Year Report" to school administration. It is crucial that school leadership receive something that reflects what happened in the library media center over the course of the academic year. School administrators are very accustomed to viewing student statistics and data during the summer months. When we share library circulation reports and statistics, we allow them see how many materials we have handled, the number of materials added, the number of items deleted, and how many days the library has been reserved. Reporting can truly give a small return on the financial investment districts have made in the library media center. Click here for the current form of our annual report. Each LMS should create a report that best suits the needs and expectations of their learning community. Our report ...