I am a strong proponent of public education, but I'll be the first to say I don't like the track we are on. What I see is heavily prescribed learning with little choice for students. We can debate which schools have the better teachers and which schools have the best opportunities. But what we need desperately is for every single school to be place where children flourish.  We don't need a choice of school. This just opens up a whole different set of problems. We need consistency in all schools. ALL schools need to offer high quality reading materials time to be curious a variety topics to explore meaningful techniques of expression other learners, teachers, experts outside of their school wall opportunities to fail instruction in how to write personalized action plans to hear viewpoints that are different from their own a community with shared ideas and plans time for thinking and reading and exploring independence and some choice. We don't need a...

Yesterday, I spent the day at East Carolina University at the Librarian to Librarian Networking Summit! This was the first one I've attended (thanks to Sedley Abercrombie). I've looked at it every year for the past six years thinking I should go, but just haven't made the commitment. Thanks to Alan Bailey and his team at ECU for putting on this great event! Pros: Quality sessions led by NC librarians. Food - breakfast, lunch, and snacks (and it was all really good!) Networking - this was actually easier than at larger conferences Cost - $30 covered opening session with John Claude Bemis, three sessions, door prizes and more food than I could eat. Location - we were all over Joyner Library. (I love being at my alma mater!) Cons: Location - don't laugh. It's a long haul on Friday afternoon from Winston Salem to Greenville. Although not as long because Sedley and I travelled together. Traffic is never as bad when you have someone to talk to. So next year, b...

am I still a librarian? Periodically, I see districts, schools, and other groups trying to come up with a new name that exactly portrays what we do. I get it. Librarians do EVERYTHING. We want a title (other than super hero) that clearly portrays our job to the world. Most every profession has changed. Most every professional in most every field has had to take on new and different responsibilities, grow in their technological awareness, and move in directions that just a few years ago, they had no idea would exist. And yet, we still call teachers, principals, salesmen, doctors, lawyers, etc. by the titles they have gone by for years, and everyone understands that their jobs, roles, responsibilities have evolved. AND here's what I think has happened in all this effort finding the perfect title in the school library world - no one knows what we do. This pursuit of constantly seeking just the right title has diminished our profession. While people are trying to figure out what to cal...

NCSLMA annual conference is this week! We have awesome speakers, authors, vendors. We get to see much missed friends. We get to talk library talk and know everyone will understand! A ton of effort goes on behind the scenes making this event a happening. Many associations have a paid administrative assistant and may even have a director. NCSLMA is run 100% by volunteers. These volunteers are active in their own libraries and give enormous amounts time to help improve our profession. Thanks to their efforts, we have an exceptional organization to represents us! I want to especially thank Brene Duggins, president-elect and conference chair, and Sedley Abercrombie, president. I've learned so much from both and am looking forward to serving with them again next year. This year, NCSLMA, AASL, and NCLA all have vendor booths. Please stop by and say hello!  

Last year was my first at Old Town Global Academy. We spent a lot (did I say A LOT) of time working on procedures and routines. That had a huge payoff semester 2 with quick reviews and lots of action. I did wonder how much time I'd need to spend getting us back up to par this year. We reviewed procedures. Did they remember them? They did. We practiced movement around the library. Did they move correctly? They did! Bingo! Every 1st - 5th grade class got to spend some time in stations for their first class of the year. This year, we are going to add components from Ron Clark's 55 to the mix. Can't wait to see the results!

I love the start of school! I love seeing my educator friends and getting back into a regular routine. I love the organization and planning. I LOVE seeing the kids again! So just what does back to school look like for a school librarian? Meetings - lots of meetings. Some on campus, some off. Some are online. Some I don't have to go to, but they are in the library, so I am kind in those too. We meet as a whole school, we meet as librarians, we meet as specialists, we meet as smaller groups of librarians, we meet to talk about curriculum & schedules. We meet as a district. Don't laugh! The district meeting is something I rarely look forward to only because it takes more time away from the library. BUT we always have a fabulous speaker and this year was no different. Ron Clark is incredibly inspiring - he's innovative and practical. Prepping for open house. Putting up some bulletin boards. Equipment & technology - lots of things have to be checked out t...

The library should be a place of wonder and excitement. I think it should be very different from everywhere else students go. But there are some definite organizational issues involved with seeing classes all day long, allowing for continuous open check-out, and maintaining your sanity. Enter stations as a sanity saver. First. You have to have a plan. What stations will you use? How often will students go to stations? How will students rotate through stations? What do students need to know to be effective station users? What routines will you establish to make stations work for you? Do you want your stations to focus on reading alone or also support a subject area? A regular class: Students come in and sit on the rug or at tables. We talk about expectations and I may do a mini lesson or read a story. Station/check out time. Return to rug/tables for reflection, sharing, and dismissal. When I first started stations, we practiced moving and voice levels. Everyone station was the same - pu...