27 Things Your Teacher Librarian Does -- A Cool Infographic

Another wonderful infographic entitled 27 Things Your Teacher Librarian Does is making the rounds of library circles this week.  Have you seen it?  And it is so true.  How many hats do you wear?  In any given day, how many different technologies, different teachers, different students, different projects.... do you see, help, work on, teach, problem-solve, etc.?   A few years ago, I had the privilege of working with a small group of library colleagues in our Putnam/No.Westchester BOCES School Library System on a Power Point presentation and video about what all happens in our libraries.  We were bouncing around ideas one summer day and I offered up the fact that "it all happens in the library" meaning all subject areas are taught/studied in the library, all students and teachers are served by a library program, all manner of skills are practiced in the library - even though we don't teach them ourselves.  Our video was part of the AASL advocacy toolkit and we all use(d) it for parent meetings and presentations.  With all these great tools, we can arm ourselves for the daunting task of advocating for school librarians, school library programs, and library resources.  We would love to hear about your advocacy efforts.  What works for you?  What additional resources or assistance would be beneficial?  Let us know at SLMSSENY. 

Here are some other advocacy tools.

Strong School Libraries Build Strong Students an infographic created by the AASL Legislation Committee  http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf

School Library Program Health and Wellness Toolkit  (AASL)

It's National Library Week! Speak up and speak out about your library, your students, what you do!

This is National Library Week. It is a perfect opportunity to write your legislators and let them know how important libraries are to you and about the positive difference libraries make in your community. Libraries need your voice!

Although they continue to be busier than ever, many libraries struggle to maintain budgets, staff, and resources to serve the needs of their communities. Your message of support is important because state governments provide much needed funding for libraries. Without funding, libraries will be unable to continue making available all the resources they do (e.g., books, public access to the Internet, homework assistance) to your community. Like you, families, job seekers, small businesses, and students need their libraries.

If you agree with Walter Cronkite—“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”—take this opportunity to write now. Your message will make a difference, and your state library association has provided an easy and effective way for you to write your elected officials to let them know how much you value the libraries in your community. Here is that link:

http://capwiz.com/ala/ny/home/

Consider sharing a personal story about how your public, school, or college library makes a positive impact in your own community. For example, let your elected officials know how much your children depend on their school libraries to help them succeed in school, or explain how much you depend on your public library to connect you to information you need.

Please forward this message to your friends, family, and colleagues in your state. Ask them to take this opportunity to support libraries in their communities, too!

Thank you for advocating for libraries and library staff.

Sincerely,

Michael Dowling
Director, Chapter Relations Office
American Library Association

School Libraries build Strong Students infographic--how can you use it?

School districts are making decisions NOW about what positions to cut and school librarians are vulnerable. Support from people who are not school librarians is crucial, talking to school board members and superintendents, attending budget hearings.

How could you use the new AASL "Strong Libraries build Strong Students" infographic? In an AASLForum message, Virginia school librarian Ann Crewdson said: "The infographic has style! It’s succinct and shows the importance of school librarians in a visually appealing and educational way. I’ve forwarded it to PTAs, Parent FB groups and the superintendent of public instruction in my daughter’s school district. I plan to forward it to more groups and leaders soon."
It's here:
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf

Thanks in advance for any ideas, Sara

--
Sara Kelly Johns, School Librarian
Lake Placid Middle/High School Library
Instructor, Mansfield University School Library & Information Technology Program
AASL Division Councilor. ALA Council
AASL Legislative Committee
67 Canaras Ave.
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
johns@northnet.org
skjohns@gmail.com

Librarians at Occupy DOE

They came, we came! Grey haired retirees, union presidents (yes, that IS Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers' Union), administrators, student poets, teachers who quit rather than continue the abuse excessive testing imposes on the most vulnerable students (and all the rest), professors of education, students who organized walk outs in protest of the tests, authors, librarians, musicians, lawyers, parents, grandparents, graduate students of education, education historians, patient spouses (mine!), and more. Susan Polos, librarian in the Bedford School District, pulled me into this and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to her.

It was a small but powerful group gathered in front of the imposing Department of Education fortress. So much information: dots connected that reveal the deliberate unravelling of public education.

Some folks to read in books or on blogs: Diane Ravitch (http://dianeravitch.net), Lois Weiner, Stephen Krashen, Sam Anderson, Nancy Carlsson-Paige. I encourage you to look at the United Opt Out website. We can begin to dismantle this takeover of education by corporations bent on making millions/billions from their irrelevant tests that harm our children. Remind all parents of children in public schools: their children's data including test scores, any services received, SS#s is for sale to the Gates foundation, Rupert Murdoch, and all the testing companies. It is possible for parents to opt out of these tests---and schools are required to provide an alternative learning environment for the testing time. 

The Common Core State Standards are another travesty: Created largely by a representative of a testing corporation and without a single early childhood educator---which explains why they are so developmentally inappropriate. I've heard, but haven't yet verified, that there actually wasn't a single educator in their development. 

What you can do:

Write letters to local newspapers, congressional representatives, state education commissioner, senators, Arne Duncan (whose ties to big testing companies are mind boggling). 

Onward!

Melissa H.