The Daring Librarian

Introducing the SLJ Librarian of the Year Award Advocacy is always important. Advocacy for kiddos, teens, literature, creativity, giftedness, special needs, technology, a filterless society, community projects, connection with parents, geeks, goofballs, oh and LIBRARIES! Transparency IS the new black ! In our profession, being an advocate for your kids, your library,  your program, and yes...for YOURSELF is ESSENTIAL! I Nominate YOU to Nominate Yourself! You can and you should nominate yourself for this award. The first education honor or award I got was the  Teacher of the Year Award in 2001 from PBS & the NTTI (OMGosh the write up is hilarious! CD-ROM's & the Handspring Visor! LOL) , I filled out the paper, got my principal on board and went for it! And Kathy Schrock presented it to me! (I know, pinch me, right?) I was also the first school librarian to get that award, too! That felt awesome! If you win this one, you would be the first one to get it! Tha...

We were SO excited & flattered to host the Bob Edwards Sirius XM show a few weeks ago! They were doing a month long series called “ Shhhh… Libraries at Work !” (of course I HATE the Shhh! part!) and chose my school, Murray Hill Middle School to represent school libraries. (I know...like, WOW!) They found us through this blog and the interview focused on the future of school libraries, digital literacy, creating a positive digital footprint, research strategies, creating student assessment products, audio books, and how we always push the love of reading to our kids! In Part 1 (#6 on the iTunes list) you can listen to the Bob Edwards XM Show Podcast featuring my MHMS kids, MHTV crew, & our school library! It starts with Mrs. Singleton's 6th grade reading & research class visited for seminar book selection & talked about the kind of books they like, transitions into our MHTV crew creating our news show, and finishes with...Mrs. Cullison's class coming in for th...

Tomorrow morning I leave for Chicago. I've never been there and I'm SO excited. I'm honored, humbled, floored, & flattered (and frankly gobsmacked!) to have been asked to come to the School Library Journal’s 2010 Leadership Summit ! As the summit starts today I think I can safely announce why...and it makes me squirmy, happy, and strangely bashful to do so! GAH! 20 days ago I got this email out of the blue... "On behalf of Gale, part of Cengage Learning, and School Library Journal, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as one of five people to attend SLJ ’s Leadership Summit as part of the Cengage Learning / SLJ New Leaders program. The Cengage Learning/ SLJ New Leaders program is designed for school librarians who are new to the profession, and have already displayed leadership within their building, district and/or state; are advocates for students, libraries, and 21st century learning; and are actively engaged in sharing and colla...

From Joyce Valenza, on the NeverEndingSearch Blog: New Book Video Trailer Awards! "On September 27th, School Library Journal will ask readers to vote for the best video trailers that promote books and encourage reading. Voters will be asked to select the best video in six categories: Publisher/author created for Elementary readers (PreK-6) Publisher/author created for Secondary readers (7-12) Student created for Elementary readers (PreK-6) Student created for Secondary readers (7-12) Adult (anyone over 18) created for Elementary readers (PreK-6) Adult created for Secondary readers (7-12) There will be four nominations in each category, selected by a committee of librarians. Winners will be announced at the School Library Journal Leadership Summit on the Future of Reading on October 22, 2010 in Chicago. The primary purpose of these awards is to recognize the important role that video plays in bringing readers to books as well as the wonderful creativity of th...

WOW! Thank you Lauren Barak & School Library Journal for the lovely article - (update: that doesn't work anymore! Doh!)   pinch me! I hope my principal Mr. Donyall Dickey doesn't get irked by the last line...but I'm ready to help him set up his blog.....when he's ready! He's a great Admin, very supportive & inspiring, and has a lot to share! He also wrote a book! "The Integrated Approach to Student Achievement: A results-driven model for improving performance, leadership, and the culture of instruction at your school " I would love to inspire all Admins to share more with the community in an ongoing conversation their hopes, dreams, & plans for their kids! No need to have JUST a newsletter home - an Admin can have an online relationship and inspire the world! A great list of Admin blogs can be found in this excellent blog post by Mrs. Smoke called Educational Blogs You Should Be Investigating And yes, dear readers...I did admit ...