the .5 school librarian

The .5 School Librarian

Adventures in School Librarianship

A Little about Me• Graduate of Maryland’s iSchool

December 2012 • Maryland iSchool’s Alumni Association Young Alumni Officer

• School Library Media Specialist at two Title 1 elementary schools in Montgomery County Public Schools – Brookhaven ES (Rockville) and Clopper Mill ES (Germantown).

• At Brookhaven ES – Reading Committee, Webmaster

• At Clopper Mill ES – SERT Committee, Sunshine Committee, PBIS Committee, Cougar Book Club, Library Helpers, Webmaster

• MCEMSA (Montgomery County Educational Media Specialist Association) Webmaster

The Creative Librarian Blog

The Creative Librarian blog

• School Website

Brookhaven Website

Clopper Mill Website

School Website

MCPS Innovation School

Five Roles of the School Librarian

The Many Hats We WearMeet Your New School Library Media SpecialistLibrary media specialists empower students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. The LMS is not confined to the library or to a single function. According to Sara Kelly Johns, president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL)library media specialists:

Teacher Librarians at the Heart of Student Learning:

Click here for teacher-librarian video

In the News• Cutting School Media Specialists in Half Hurts Education

by Linda Caldwell, Ocala Star Banner“It is the job of each educator in each school to assist students in becoming proficient in the maximum number of skills each school year. Media specialists are a vital part of this process … Students need a media specialist to help them along the way as they learn about new cultures, the environment, ideas, technology and careers. Media specialists are truly priceless. They shouldn’t be cut in half.”

But How Do We Meet Everyone’s Needs with Schedules Like These?

Brookhaven Schedule

Clopper Mill Schedule – A Week

Clopper Mill Schedule – B Week

The Reality of Dual Schools …Pluses Deltas

There is never a moment to get bored There is never enough time in the day

Experience two different management styles

Navigating two management styles can be exhausting

Can take what works well at one school & bring to the other

Principals and staff may be resistant to change

Twice the opportunities to collaborate ….if you can find the time to meet with teachers

Twice the opportunity to make a positive impact in a child’s academic life

Difficult to make personal connections with all students (and to learn all their names)

Work never stays at school

Queen/King of your Castles Sometimes feel like you’re all alone in your castle – the moat can be deep!

The library is used by all (heart of school) You cannot physically be there all the time

Challenging and can stretch your wings Can be overwhelming

Have a full-time job with benefits Have TWO full-time jobs, but paid for ONE

“Work Smarter, Not Harder”Sheri Anita Massey, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Assistant Program DirectorSchool Library Specialization

Maryland’s iSchool

“School librarians also have another longtime ace up their sleeves—a special relationship with students as readers.”

Marilyn Joyce, librarian at Maine’s Brewer High

Lead with your strengths & stretch your wings!

Seeing Double …• Duplicate everything you can – don’t reinvent the wheel

for each school! • Copy service? Use it!• Use LiveBinders, Scoop.it & Symbaloo to store your

online resources• Share books and other resources between your schools• Share lesson plans with your PLNs & media listserv• Use same lesson plans in both schools• Prepared lesson plans• Common Sense Media – digital citizenship• Library of Congress - history• Read Write Think – language arts• Scholastic – language arts, science

Try a creating a podcast – Check out The Busy Librarian’s new series of podcasts for inspiration!

Gift of Gab?

Try blogging!

Take a look at some of these blogs for inspiration:

Edublog

Top School Library Blogs

Is Writing Your Thing?

Identify successes – keep your efforts on your principal’s radar:

• Invite your administration to attend your library events

• Create engaging bulletin boards to highlight the media program and update them regularly

• Hang up student work, or post pictures and digital projects on your school’s website!

• Share your circulations stats

Toot Your Horn!

Must Haves

• Mentor – Your Go-To Person

• PLN (Professional Learning Network) • Within your school system• Social Networks – Twitter, Facebook, Google+, blogs• Magazines - School Library Journal & Teacher|Librarian

• Top-Notch Media Assistant

• Good Time Management

• Sense of Humor

Very Important

• Professional Development

• Professional Organizations

• ALA, AASL, MLA

•MASL, MCEMSA

•Maryland’s iSchool Alumni Association

Nice to Have

• Supportive Principal

• Supportive Staff

• Supportive PTA

• Volunteers – Student & Parent

Blogs to Follow

• A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet (

http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/)

• The Busy Librarian (www.busylibrarian.com)

• The Daring Librarian (www.daringlibrarian.com)

• The Unquiet Librarian (www.theundquietlibrarian.wordpress.com)

• The Adventures of Library Girl (www.librarygirl.net)

• Technology Rocks Seriously (www.technologyrocksseriously.com)

Things to Remember• Don’t reinvent the wheel – you don’t have time to!

• Take advantage of prepared lessons• Your school system’s curriculum• Common Sense Media (great source of lessons about

digital citizenship)• Edutopia • Promethean Planet • Read Write Think

• If you do reinvent the wheel – share it!

Questions? Comments?

References & ResourcesALA/AASL – Program Standards School Library Media Specialist Preparationhttp://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/schoollibrary/ala-aasl_slms2003.pdf

Five Key Roles for 21st Century School Librarianshttp://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/08/02/five-key-roles-for-21st-century-school-librarians/

Librarian Required, School Library Journalhttp://www.slj.com/2013/03/research/librarian-required-a-new-study-shows-that-a-full-time-school-librarian-makes-a-critical-difference-in-boosting-student-achievement/

Schools at a Glance – Brookhaven Elementary Schoolhttp://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02807.pdf

Schools at a Glance – Clopper Mill Elementary Schoolhttp://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02100.pdf

School Library Journal – This Blog's for You: Ten of the best blogs for folks who take kids' lit seriously (but not too seriously)http://www.slj.com/2009/11/collection-development/this-blogs-for-you-ten-of-the-best-blogs-for-folks-who-take-kids-lit-seriously-but-not-too-seriously/

School Library Journal – All Aboard!: Implementing Common Core Offers School Librarians an Opportunity to Take the Leadhttp://www.slj.com/2012/03/standards/common-core/all-aboard-implementing-common-core-offers-school-librarians-an-opportunity-to-take-the-lead/

The Creative Librarian – Adventures in Librarianship http://melissalewismcdonald.wordpress.com/

The Same Difference: Making the Principal Connection, School Library Journalhttp://www.slj.com/2013/01/librarians/the-same-difference-mark-ray-asserts-that-principals-and-librarians-have-a-lot-more-in-common-than-you-might-think-and-he-should-know/

The Busy Librarian – Twitter is My PLN

Professional Organizations:

• American Library Association (ALA)

• The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®)

• Maryland Library Association (MLA)

• Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL)

• Montgomery County Educational Media Specialists Association

(MCEMSA)

• Maryland’s iSchool Alumni Association

My Contact Information

Melissa McDonald, MLSMCPS E-mail: melissa_a_mcdonald@mcpsmd.org