Musings from the Front Porch

Suzanne Brooks Midway Elementary School Lexington, SC https://sites.google.com/lexington1.net/meslearningcommons/home   “Key Commitment – Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed  through experience and reflection” (AASL 2018, 104) .   This is Ms. Brooks second year as the school librarian at Midway. Covid restrictions were still in place when she began so this school year has required her to introduce the library to many students for the first time. Students in kindergarten and first grade have not had experience in the library, while the older students had not been in for a couple of years. Much of the work she has done this year has been to teach the students how to use the library space. Ms. Brooks has focused a lot on the collection at Midway. Since arriving, approximately 20,000 items have been weeded. Many of these items removed were old and not useful. She is currently trying to purchase more items to increase the average number of ...

  Stacey Merritt River Bluff High School Lexington, SC https://www.lexington1.net/domain/1812      “Key Commitment – Demonstrate safe, legal, and ethical creating and sharing of knowledge products independently while engaging in a community of practice and an interconnected world” (AASL 2018, 112)   As the school librarian, Mrs. Merritt implements this standard when she teaches proper citation. Depending on the subject matter the citation technique may be different. For example, when collaborating with the English classes, Mrs. Merritt teaches MLA citation. In contrast, she teaches APA citation when working with the law and business classes. She also teaches students to find proper citation for resources by using Purdue's OWL website  https://owl.purdue.edu/ .   Every student at River Bluff High School is assigned to a “Crew" for two years; a small group of students with a faculty member (e.g. Mrs. Merritt). Each cr...

  Regina Taylor Saxe Gotha Elementary School Lexington, SC https://www.lexington1.net/domain/1047   “Key Commitment – Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community (AASL, 2018, 76).   As the school librarian Mrs. Taylor provides a range of activities and displays in the learning commons for the students of Saxe Gotha. For example, for students who speak Spanish there is a bookcase of bilingual books near the center of the library and bilingual eBooks available. She places a couple dozen pre-selected picture books for the preschool students on a bookcase she can pull over to the class when they visit. This practice enables these young students to easily pick something to check out to look through.   The main programming in the library consists of centers each class participates in when they visit the library. These centers consist of various activities the students ...

  Creating a Makerspace in your Library     In the Don't You Shush Me blog, Low Tech Makerspace in the H.S. Library , Kelsey Bogan (2021) described a makerspace she created in response to disruptive and sometimes destructive behavior the students were displaying during free time in the library. She recognized, at the time, the library was a place for the students to engage in passive activities: reading, studying and scrolling on their phone.  Instead of a makerspace tied to academic standards, Bogan identified a need for the students to take a break from the demands of their curriculum. A bookshelf of board games, puzzles and cards was placed in the library. The students did not need to check the items out, just use them in the library and return when they finished. Over time, she added other low-tech and inexpensive items such as coloring sheets and crafts, rotating them monthly. She reported a positive response and decrease in negative behavio...

  Cyberbullying in the School Library One of the biggest challenges in combating cyberbullying is the rapidly changing social media technology. It seems like apps are introduced so quickly it is impossible to know what students are using and how they are using it. For example, when my children were in school, I knew about the big 3 (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) but then they came home talking about the anonymous site, Yik-Yak. As a school librarian, it will be vital to be vigilant about what new apps the students are using but more importantly, the enormous number of places cyberbullying can occur illustrates the importance of teaching students digital citizenship skills that can be applied in any on-line situation. As the research shows in Faucher, Cassidy & Jackson (2015) bullying does not stop when children leave school, it continues into post-secondary institutions and the workplace.   I think it is important to create a culture of acceptance...

 The South Carolina Talking Book Services (Blog #4) Administered by the South Carolina State Library, the South CarolinaTalking Book Services , https://www.sctalkingbook.org/ , provides access to a variety of resources and programming for individuals of all ages that have a difficult time accessing physical books. This includes individuals that have difficulty hearing, seeing and/or physically holding a book.   To access the materials, a person or an organization must complete an application which includes authorization from a certified professional (e.g., physician, nurse, agency).  Application for Individual     Once approved, audio books, Braille and Audio Reading Downloads (BARD), Braille, large print books, audio descriptive DVDs, magazines, and assistive devices can be accessed. Orders for physical items to be shipped can be completed online, by phone, fax, mail, or email. No postage is charged and no fines are levied if items are h...