TLA Recap

The TLA annual conference always refreshes me. I love being around other library professionals, authors, and book lovers. The love of literacy is contagious at this conference!

This year, I had the privilege of attending with two of my library BFF's.

     

Characters of Color 

The first session I went to was lead by Louie T. McClain of Melanin Origins. He spoke about the importance of children being able to see themselves in books. His message was really eye opening about how black history does not have to be about slavery and struggle, especially at the young age. It made me really think about my collection, and if I have characters of color represented, not just in books about civil rights movement and slavery. I really appreciated his message about being age appropriate and how young children need to see their race portrayed in a happy, appealing manner. 

Speed Dating the Bluebonnets 

This was my first time to be a part of the Speed Dating the Bluebonnets. It was amazing being able to meet the authors and illustrators of the Bluebonnet lists. If I could change one thing, I would like to have more activity ideas to use the books with the students, but I especially enjoyed listening to the author talk about how they got their idea for the book and how the illustrator created the illustrations. 

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is a fabulous book!

Angela Cervantes, author of ME, FRIDA, AND THE SECRET OF THE PEACOCK RING, was super nice! 

AND, she let me wear the peacock ring!! 

The illustrator of THE BOO-BOOS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD talked about adding his family to several of the illustrations. 

Confessions of a School Librarian

This was probably one of my favorite sessions, and by some of my favorite library leaders. It was a fun, fast paced session where the presenters and audience members played "Never Have I Ever". It truly made you assess your library practices, and if they are in the best interest of the students. Sometimes, we get so caught up in protecting the books, we don't always do what is best for our students. 

• Have you ever forced kinder to check out from an assigned shelf or table all year long?
• Kept a child from getting a book because they owe a fine?
• Dressed unprofessionally?

We've all been there! Be aware of your strengths AND weaknesses, and surround yourself with people that will help you grow. 

I Survived! 

This year, I was honored to have been chosen to present two of my passions to TLA attendees. My first session was over using Google Apps with Little Learners. Then my second session was over being an instructional partner. Both went very well, and I had several attendees asking questions afterwards. It gave me ideas on what to present next year as well. 

Meeting the Authors 

Don't get me wrong, I love learning from all the other amazing presenters, but I also truly love going to the vendor floor! Particularly the author area!! Meeting the authors and getting the books signed for the students is the highlight of my week. The students love to see the pictures of me getting to meet the authors, especially if it is one of their favorites! 

Game Changer

Another favorite session was by Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp. If you have not read any of their books or follow their blogs, YOU SHOULD! They are huge advocates for children reading and having librarians in their schools. I recently purchased their book GAME CHANGER, so I was extremely excited to be in this session with them. 

Now it is back to my regular schedule. I missed my students like crazy, but I've learned so much during my week away. Now it is time to reflect on the school year, along with my new learnings, and begin to plan for next school year. 

EdCamp Library 2018

As a school librarian, you are the only librarian on your campus. You go from being a classroom teacher with many other peers, to the only one of your profession on your campus. That is the reason that professional development with other professional librarians is so important to your career. Being a school librarian is the BEST job in the world, in my opinion, however the hardest part is not having another librarian next door to discuss work issues with. 

EdCamp Library is one of the best professional development days for this very purpose. Hundreds of school librarians gather together for this "unconference", build a schedule together based on the current needs of those attending. If you've never been to an EdCamp, I highly suggest it. Upon arrival, the attendees make the suggestions for sessions over topics they are interested in. Attendees can also sign up to facilitate a session on a topic they are passionate about, excel at, or are just highly interested in. You don't have to be perfect or a pro at the topic, you are simply there to faciliate the session and keep the conversation going. 

The schedule is built on a google spreadsheet, and the collaborative notes are linked. 

Sessions 

After the schedule is built, we get to choose our sessions that we want to go to. The best thing is, if you get to a session and it isn't what you thought, you can go to a different session during that time. 

Digital Badging

The first session I went to was over Digital Badges. I met some new librarians and had some great conversation. Two of the librarians had used digital badges with their students and their teachers. I learned a lot, and I cannot wait to implement this next year. These ladies were so awesome to share their amazing resources!! 

Genrefying the Library 

Next session was over genrefying your library. Most attendees were secondary librarians, but a few were elementary. This is something I am definitely thinking about next year, and I love that now I have other librarians as a resource to turn to for questions. Students are constantly asking for a certain genre, and while a few librarians said "Why can't they just look it up in the catalog", I try to be more positive and think of how I like to look for books. Public libraries and book stores are all organized by genre. Everyone has their favorite genre, and while I believe we should encourage children to read multiple genres to find their favorite, by 4th and 5th grade those good readers usually know their favorite genre by now. 

I'm really excited to start my genrefrication journey!! Stay tuned...

Self Checkout 

The next two sessions I agree to facilitate and guide the conversation. Self checkout has been an amazing life-saver for me, which is why I wanted to facilitate this session. Some of the attendees also used self-checkout, but several were wanting to implement the process an had several questions. I'm glad I had a picture of my self-checkout station to show, which several people said was helpful. 

One question that was posed by an attendee was, "How do I talk this up to my principal so he will allow me to do this in my library?" I'm thankful that my principal lets me run the library the way I feel is best for our students, but I know many principals like to have a say. So, we discussed reasons why you should implement self checkout:

• Opens up the library for more check out time.
• Frees up librarian to work one-on-one with students.
• Allows for more co-teaching time.
• Teaches students independence. 
• All ages can utilize self-checkout. 

Collaborating with Teachers

If you've been following my blog, or following me on twitter, you know how passionate I am about collaboration with teachers. We had a fabulous conversation about collaboration and the importance. We first talked about the obstacles and ways to overcome them. I always like to get the obstacles out of the way first. :)  Many questions were how to get teachers on board. While many teachers forget that we are also teachers, we have to remember that student success is our goal. Start small, maybe only one teacher or grade level at first, and let others see how you can TOGETHER impact students.

Smackdown

At the end of the day, everyone meets together to share highlights from the day. I like being able to hear ideas others got from sessions I did not get to attend. Plus, we get doorprizes. :) I won this cute shirt from FlipGrid!