Last month, I shared easy ideas to get stations started. While making sure you have engaging materials is half the battle, the other half is that the students understand what engagement looks like! They need to know what to do from the time they enter the library until they leave it. And there is only one way to make sure that happens! Teach it, model it, and practice it. Read More

Yesterday, we had a fabulous visit with Christie and Mark Pickel, the founders of Love, Erin . Their mission: Our family's mission with Love, Erin is to continue to share Erin's love and light to those in need.  Items such as baby wipes, food, school supplies, clothing, and first aid kits fill a Love, Erin tote and are given in memory of Erin. AND the Old Town Library was the recipient of their generosity. We currently have a Donor's Choose ( Gardening: Bringing Reading to Life! ) and an Amazon Wish List for gardening supplies. These wonderful presents are just the supplies we needed to get our gardening project off the ground. I've got a few pix, but hope to add more as they come in! Oh! See that cute little Panda? It's engraved with our name on it! Thank you Christie and Mark for generously sharing Erin's love and passions!

Have you heard the old proverb about the moth being drawn to a flame? That’s me, but I’m drawn to disorder. Crazy, right! Having a deep need to reorganize the messy things in life is both a blessing and a curse, but it makes for a natural pairing with the library. Libraries, by their very character, are prone to gather items that clutter the landscape. Technology, discards, cords, posters, and many mystery items can accumulate astronomically in no time. Read more . . .

Happy Friday morning! NC School Library Media Association had its first State Library Legislative Day, and for the most part, it was a huge success. We have several follow up opportunities and need to gather information to make the most of them. One of our needs is to find out what models other states use for funding school libraries. Our model in NC: State allocates funds for a librarian and materials (I'm not sure how much yet. That is another thing I'm working on.) Funds go to Districts which have discretion on how to further allot them.  Funds go to Schools which have discretion again on how to use.  I'm sure you know where I'm going with all of this discretionary use of funds. Most of the time, the library ends up with no funds for materials. A large number of our schools have librarians (so far), but that funding is also discretionary. The position is currently recommended but not required. Bottom line: the most common scenario appears to be that the library...

This week, NCSLMA had our first Library Legislative Day. We had librarians from across the state participate and meet with NC Senators, Representatives, and their assistants. A few huge thanks are in order. The first goes to Dr. Anthony Chow from UNCG who serves as the adovacy chair for NCLA. Dr. Chow has been extremely generous with his time and knowledge leading us through the process. Crystal Joyce, Advocacy and Governance Section Chair for NCSLMA, and her team, Lila Morel and Faith Huff worked closely with Anthony to learn the process and recruit people. They were willing to take the first steps to get this huge event underway. Their hard work certainly paid off! Thanks to all who participated. The event itself was amazing and numerous positive contacts were made. I have every confidence that this is just the beginning!