2018-11-30 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 2, Issue 3
Featured Story
Can You Speak Above a Whisper?
I love school libraries. I should, I work in one! I know that libraries in schools are so important, for a lot of reasons. There is even a plethora of research that shows why they are important. However, talking to others about your school library program can be a challenge, and sharing that information with administrators, staff, and parents can be intimidating. After all, you want to get people’s attention, but not necessarily their scrutiny. You may also find yourself in a position where people aren’t just asking questions about your curriculum or materials, they are openly challenging some aspect of your library. Suddenly you are being asked to justify who you are and what you do. How can you speak up for your school library when all you are brave enough to do is whisper?
Thank goodness the internet is full of great resources for school library staff who want or need to advocate for their library program. The American Association of School Libraries is a great place to start. You can find definitions, tools, and more at http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy. Definitely start here if you find your library program under threat. Another great site is School Library Journal. I recommend starting with Jonathan Hunt’s excellent article Advocate This, Not That.
My advice on advocacy is be proactive. Get used to telling your school library’s story. Evaluate your school library program and make sure the services you offer are relevant to your staff and students. Spend some time writing a mission and vision statement if you haven’t already done that. Let people know what you do, and what you want to accomplish. Use social media, the school newsletter, or the district website to share what your students are doing in the library each month. Invite your principal and district administrators to your library on a regular basis. You don’t have to have a special program or extracurricular activity to advertise. Let people know that your library is used everyday by your staff and students with no special invitation needed. Be open to collaborating with others. Step out of the library and into a classroom. See what’s important to your staff and students, and identify how the library can help. Finally, be aware of trends in school libraries and education in general. I’ve found the best ways to do that is to ask yourself, How can my school library help prepare students for the 21st century?
Loving school libraries means sharing them with others. Sometimes, it can also mean speaking up for them, too. As I school librarian I don’t mind wearing the hat of advocate. As long as I can improve a student’s experience at school through the school library then I will. In this way school libraries can create positive change in the world. Knowing that I can change a student’s life for the better gives me the courage to speak above a whisper.
Fail Forward
We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.
Coding: A Study in Humility
I’m taking a course on markup languages, namely XML. My prior exposure to coding is minimal- a bit of HTML, a bit of CSS, little bit of SQL. I thought I had a handle on how learning would go- type in a command, get a result, easy peas. Wrong. It’s been an exercise in staying humble, since a single missing character can gum up the entire work. You begin to realize that every time the code doesn’t work right it’s on you- either for a typo or giving the wrong command. I’ve become a big proponent of rubber ducky debugging– when you absolutely, positively can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong, explain it out loud to a rubber duck (spouses, coworkers, and dogs might fall asleep). Often, by working the problem out loud and explaining your steps, the problem becomes apparent.
Crush Corner
Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you in the work you do? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!
Lizard Butte Public Library
I’m totally crushing Lizard Butte Public Library in Marsing, ID. This spring they hosted a program during which 3rd 5th grade students from Marsing Elementary came to the library to showcase new technology to Lizard Butte patrons, including Virtual Reality headsets, coding, Google help, photography, and robotics. What I love about this is how the students are teaching others about emerging technology while learning valuable presentation and instruction skills. What a great way to get multiple generations involved at the library! Check them out at their website or at their Facebook page.
SPLAT explores new ways to build capacity and support library folk as they serve their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org
SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and is funded in part with a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-00-18-0013-18). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.