Library Media Tech Talk

Back in 2015, I decided to pursue an ALA-accredited MS in Library Science from the University of North Texas. I already have an MS in school librarianship, but I wanted to expand my opportunities and knowledge beyond my public school career. After working on the second degree in librarianship part-time at UNT for five years, it finally came to completion this spring.  I decided to do a study of Arkansas' school library budgets as a major research project for a two-semester seminar class. Since 2009, I've read articles about how numerous library budgets and staff have experienced major cuts in all types of libraries. For the blog this month, I want to share highlights from my final paper and a link to the full document for those that want to read it. I also want to thank the 109 participants in my survey instrument from the membership of the Arkansas Association of Instructional Media (AAIM) for making this study possible! Below are the highlights from the research paper. Y...

Since I started working as a school librarian, I've always found a way to have a book club. In this post, I'll talk about my current method for administering a book club. It has evolved a bit over the years. Since coming to Bethel Middle School this year I have adapted it for 6th and 7th grades in my current position. The students seem to really enjoy it. This year we have read two books in 4 separate clubs. In the fall we read The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn. During the spring semester, we read Pax by Sara Pennypacker. Since we use a Scholastic Book Fair as our main fundraiser for the fall, I use some of the money to purchase book club books (usually from Scholastic). While we are reading a book, I generally have 3-4 book club meetings during lunch in the library. As long as students come to all the meetings and/ or participate in my Google Classroom discussions, they get to keep the book at no cost. I usually have around 10 students in each club. I have ...

Ever since I've been a school librarian, I've tried to include students in the library program as much as possible. This year I took a job as a middle school librarian after working with high school students for many years. One thing I remember from previous experiences with middle level students is that a large percentage of them want to help their teachers. I began thinking about how this could work well in a 6th and 7th grade library setting. I decided to try recruiting some student workers to help me cover the circulation desk. A student worker helps a student patron Recruiting When I started at Bethel Middle School this year, I immediately focused on creating a welcoming environment for students. I made a sincere effort to talk to students as much as possible. I decided to open the library before school so students could come in to use the library resources and technology. This took off with overwhelming success since each day between 40-60 students came in to ...

I started working as the teacher-librarian at Bethel Middle School in August of 2019. In my previous job, I really enjoyed helping teachers connect to distant schools and other places using Skype and Google Hangouts. It is a thrill to see students learn about destinations they may never get to physically visit through such connections. It is also refreshing to see teachers step out of their comfort zones by connecting their classrooms. Since coming to Bethel, I've been looking forward to introducing Mystery Skype to students and teachers. Luckily, I had a teacher in another state contact me about scheduling a session via Twitter in September. I pitched it to a few teachers at school, and we were able to set up a time that worked! Mystery Skype is a global guessing game that uses Microsoft Skype to connect the participating schools. The students do not know the location of the other school, and they must guess where they are by using “yes” or “no” questions only. Prior to the ...