A New Direction for a Conference Staple

The Board Book Social has been a key component of the annual AISL conference for a number of years now. I have to admit that when the initial gathering was announced and the preparations were being put in place, I had no plans to attend as I thought there would be discussion of books enjoyed by toddlers (Board Books!) Of course, eventually I came to understand the social as a great opportunity to discuss books of professional reading in a relaxed setting with colleagues. There was always lovely food and liquid refreshments as well. Many of the conversations and much of the networking that has taken place at these events has been beneficial to the attendees. In recent years, though, the members of our AISL Board have noticed somewhat of a downturn in participation. This seems like the right time to explore a new direction for book selection and for the social.

Initially, one title was selected by the board members for discussion at the social. Later the line-up expanded to two titles with attendees choosing to read and discuss either. All of the titles selected to date have focused on topics of interest to information professionals, especially those engaged in working with young people, and the membership at large has been canvassed for suggestions. This year, we would like to propose a bit of a change. The idea is to expand the scope of the selected title or titles to include trending fiction and non-fiction titles of interest to librarians working with any level of students. In the interest of evolution, we are reaching out to you, the membership, and especially those who will be in attendance at AISL in Atlanta in April. We ask that you submit titles for consideration. In so doing, you would also be expressing your willingness to lead discussion of that book.  Once we have received a healthy number of submissions, we will poll the conference registrants to gauge interest. With this design we hope to offer opportunities for discussion that would be engaging for all. The social will continue to feature light appetizers and beverages.

We hope that the submissions run the gamut from serious professional development titles to interesting non-fiction to up-and-coming fiction so that everyone can find a title to their liking. This event offers a wonderful opportunity to mingle with and get to know other conference attendees in a relaxed setting. If this piques your interest you can submit a title to Board member, Renee Chevallier at rchevallier@ursulinedallas.org. The Board Book Social itself will take place on Wednesday evening following the events of the day. We aim to make this a must-do at the conference!

Measure for Measure : A Surveyor’s Guide

The AISL listserv recently had a discussion of reading preferences, digital vs print, and someone asked about student practices. I was able to zip over, open a file, and respond that our students have shown a steady preference for print, particularly for leisure reading:  71% prefer print, 8% prefer digital, and 21% don’t care about format.  For research, 50% prefer print, 15% prefer digital, and 35% don’t care about format. These ratios have been fairly stable over the past several years.

I had those numbers at my fingertips is because those questions have been included on our annual student survey for the past 5 years.  An annual survey is a challenging tool. It’s tricky to build, and arguably trickier to interpret, but it can provide supporting information to help craft your curriculum in the most useful direction, or to make an iron-clad case for a much-needed capital improvement project.

We use SurveyMonkey to create our surveys. Our school has a subscription so we’re able to incorporate useful ‘advanced’ elements like Logic, which allows respondents to be routed to different sections depending on how they answer multiple choice questions. Our 2017 survey was sent out last May 16. We sent the survey out via all student email, following that up with a reminder on the 22^nd. This year we had 339 responses, out of an Upper School population of 970. The number of respondents fluctuates yearly, and we’re always trying to increase the number. In 2013 we had 260 responses, in 2014 we had 382, and in 2015 we had the highest number of responses ever with 474. That number has been dropping again. I’m thinking adding a (candy?) reward for those who fill out the survey may bring more responses. It’s clear we also need to work on our promotion of the survey.

There is always need to achieve a balance between creating a survey that is comprehensive and one that is brief enough to be quickly completed. Our most recent survey had 27 questions divided into 3 different sections (or ‘pages’ in SurveyMonkey lingo). I’m not confident in our arrangement of pages, but here’s how we do it for now.

* Overall Library Experience includes questions on what year you are, what libraries you use, do you ask a librarian for help with specific resources, (that one includes an ‘Other’ box), How could your experience be improved, has it been ever too noisy, and Silent Study use. Silent Study is our ‘absolutely silent’ room with 36 carrels that is used for study and testing. When Silent Study works well, I’m not so worried about noise in the rest of the library, so this is a vital question to track

* Library Resources asks if students have skills required to effectively search a database such as JSTOR or ProQuest: (yes, no, sort of and a box for “please explain”), how easy or hard was it to manage citations, do students buy books for research (and if so, why?), do students prefer print or digital, and have students ever taken a book out without checking it out (and if so, why?).

*Recreational Reading explores whether students use library materials for leisure reading, which format is preferred, and if students were aware the library had various materials available. This section also has a box for “any suggestions for books, magazines or other resources”, as well as a box for “anything else you’d like to comment on not covered in the survey”.

As I look at it now, I can see a number of changes we may incorporate for our next survey. For one thing, by naming these pages in this way we may be causing students to alter their progression through the survey. By calling the last section “Recreational Reading” we may inadvertently lead students to quit early, thinking they don’t do anything called “Recreational Reading”, so they don’t need to continue.

Interpreting Results

Each year I comb through the survey results for useful data. It’s important to be consistent with some questions because then you can compare responses from year to year. If you alter your questions too dramatically, you lose the ability to gauge changes over time.

Like other librarians, we hope to provide a positive UX: User Experience. Many survey questions reflect how students interact with library staff. With one question, we were noticing a reduction in the number of students who would ask librarians for help from year to year. My first reflex reaction was that we must be scary librarians and don’t encourage return business.  Then I noticed the following answer in a ‘tell us more’ box: “During one of our history classes, a librarian came in and told us how to use the catalog and datbases, so I did not have to ask for help”. A carefully crafted survey will help tease out reasons for the answers students give.

Another caution: before wigging out at one specific negative response, look at the numbers. Even though 339 responded to the survey, it might be that only 8 people answered a question. Data may show that 25% of students don’t like a particular thing, but if only 8 students answered that question, and 2 didn’t like that thing, then that would account for a 25% negative response.

Acting on Results

A few points of action come to mind as I reflect on our surveys. When we started seeing student comments mentioning discrepancies between teachers’ instructions and librarians’, I knew I needed to touch base with the team leader to clarify where we may have strayed apart in our presentations. It turned out that a new teacher had not been managing things the same way as the other teachers.

Another important point came from a question asking whether students felt they could successfully search a database. This number responding ‘yes’ was lower for Sophomores, higher for Juniors, and – surprise—lower again for Seniors. Looking at this facet of the survey, it makes perfect sense. We teach information literacy to our Sophomores and Juniors, but we don’t teach Seniors, in large part because many teachers assume (falsely, it seems) that Seniors ‘know this stuff’. We can use these details as support for adding Seniors to our curriculum.

On a practical note, last year’s survey indicated many students wanted more soft seating, so we got 2 additional beanbag chairs. They’re a big hit. We also had students asking for more carrels. No, we didn’t go out and buy more carrels, but we are more aware that they are a valued commodity, so we patrol more often and keep students from ‘claiming’ a carrel as their own private territory between classes.

Reflections

Each year I learn more about our library, our program, our strengths and our challenges. It is important to have a staff meeting to discuss the survey soon after it is complete to take note of how the survey worked ‘this year’, discussing about how it might be changed for next year. A final piece of advice: never ever send a survey out on a Friday. Ever!

Our survey is one of the most important tools we have to help improve our library. Do you have a survey you find useful? Please share it here. I’ve included a link to the questions on our 2017 survey. Let me know what you think.

In this second part of our two-part blog series on Guatemala, we will share with you another organization that needs your help, as well as an excellent programmatic opportunity for your schools related to Guatemala…Thanks for reading!

Grassroots Community Assistance

Numerous non-profit initiatives sprang up throughout Guatemala after the civil war. Some, like Safe Passage (discussed in Part 1 of this series), were started by visitors and activists from other nations, while others are home-grown. One such example of a grassroots foundation is Fundacione Corazones Libres (FUNCOLI)--or the Free Hearts Foundation.

(Photo Courtesy of FUNCOLI)

In the mountainous region just beyond the city of Antigua lie the Vuelta Grande, Agua Colorada, and La Cumbre communities. FUNCOLI serves over 200 families in these communities which are largely Mayan and subsistence farmers. Because the areas are quite isolated, education and health services are not accessible. FUNCOLI’s mission is to “provide health services, education and local development to people of limited resources, with the aim of promoting empowerment and economic growth in these communities”. FUNCOLI’s Learning Center now serves 28 children between the ages of 4 and 12. Students attend daily classes, receive a nourishing meal, and participate in art workshops.

At the medical and dental clinics, adults and children receive free medicine and consultations twice a month on Sunday mornings. Additionally, FUNCOLI has provided motivational workshops for adults, donations of eco water filters, and support for local community leaders’ negotiations with the Municipality of Antigua in an effort to obtain potable water.

(Photo Courtesy of FUNCOLI)

While staying in Vuelta Grande, we happened upon FUNCOLI quite by accident. Unbeknownst to us, Ingrid, the proprietress of the guest cottage we were renting, is one of the founders of the organization. FUNCOLI’s  learning centers and medical clinic were a short walk from the cottage. During our stay at the cottage, we were given a tour of their learning center and the medical clinic. FUNCOLI’s facilities are modest. It is touching to see how much love and thoughtfulness are being put into these spaces with very limited resources.

Over the next  two years, FUNCOLI is aiming to expand their workshops for adults in areas such as literacy, carpentry, sewing, crop cultivation, cooking, clothing design and plumbing, in addition to constructing or improving upon the learning center facilities (bathroom, kitchen, cafeteria, storage area). Just recently, the Learning Center received donated computers for providing computer classes to both children and adults. The computers are stored, somewhat insecurely, at the foundation.  Due to the isolation of the foundation’s location, they need to install a chain link fence and lighting for security. Installation of the chain link fence is estimated to be approximately $7,500.

FUNCOLI is also in need of providing all-weather driving access to the foundation, and for local farmers for the purpose of working their fields and extracting their harvest of flowers and vegetables.  The intense rains common to Guatemala wash out the road and make it impossible for vehicles to extract the harvest. Construction and expansion of the Foundation has been greatly limited due to the inability of receiving construction materials. Construction costs  associated with improved road access are estimated to be approximately $5,000.

If you are interested in helping FUNCOLI realize its mission,  the best way is to contribute a monetary donation (postal service is practically non-existent in Guatemala). Donations may be sent via a bank transfer through one of the following channels:

• BANCO AGROMERCANTIL, 7TH Ave. 7-30, Zone 9, Guatemala, C.A. Tel: (502)2338-6565 Ext. 92002-92066

• Instructions for receiving monetary transfers from the US, via Citibank: NA Citibank, New York, NY, ABA 021000089, SWIFT CITIUS33, To: BANCO AGROMERCANTIL DE GUATEMALA, S.A., GUATEMALA, C.A., SWIFT AGROGTGC, FUNDACION CORAZONES LIBRES, Cuenta No. 31-4002954-6, 14 Calle A 15-27, Zone 10, Oakland, Guatemala

(Photo Courtesy of FUNCOLI)

Related programming for your schools…

We all know that building awareness in our students can lead to inspiring positive action. If you are looking to educate students at your school about Guatemala, then look no further!

My (Laura) first real entry into gaining an understanding of Guatemalan culture was a documentary film. In the Fall of 2014, tipped off by more than a little hype, a colleague and I watched the documentary, Living On One Dollar, a film chronicling the experiences of several college seniors who conducted an experiment whereby they farmed radishes and lived in rural Guatemala on one dollar a day. The filmmakers endured sickness, hunger, and fatigue to generate awareness about what it is like to live in poverty in the developing world. This experiment spun off into the Change Series, a 6 episode series about six issues that Guatemalans living in extreme poverty confront every day complete with ancillary multimedia resources and a curriculum packet.  After viewing the film, we subsequently rushed to book one of the project’s central creators and speakers, Chris Temple.

Anyone interested in helping young people understand the realities and challenges faced by the poor of the developing world would do very well to have Chris visit their school. He is a charismatic, engaging speaker who connects with young adults in an effervescent way. Most importantly, he inspires empathy from his audiences.  Living On One Dollar sparked an outpouring of donations from viewers raising over $750,000 for education and micro-finance work for the village featured in the film.

Chris and his collaborators are still active with their work in Guatemala, but have since branched out to explore and understand the Syrian refugee crisis. They were the first embedded filmmakers to live inside a refugee camp, where their second film, Salam Neighbor was filmed. The film led to the dynamic web collaboration between Chris, Google, and the UN: Searching for Syria. Both Living on One Dollar and Salam Neighbor are on Netflix. I encourage you to check them out! 

(Photo by Laura Bishop)

About the authors:

Laura Bishop has been “librarian-ing” for thirteen years now. Previously she was a Senior Children’s Librarian for The New York Public Library, and the Middle and Upper School Librarian at Léman Manhattan Prep. Laura is currently in  her fourth year as the Director of the Library and Media Center of The Hun School of Princeton, where she is fortunate to activate her passions for social justice, travel, and cultural competency work through the Cultural Competency Committee, advisement of the gender equity group, and chaperoning global immersion trips abroad.

Maria Falgoust is the librarian at the International School of Brooklyn (ISB), a Nursery–8th grade independent school in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York. ISB offers French and Spanish language immersion programs as well as an International Baccalaureate curriculum, which is reflected in their multilingual library collection. Prior to ISB, Maria worked at The American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) and Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn Heights, NY. She is serving as vice president of the Hudson Valley Library Association (HVLA) for a second term, is an organizer of the Building Bridges Through Books  book club through the Human Rights Pen Pal organization, and is on the planning committee for NYSAIS Education and Information Technology Conference.

This summer, we (Laura Bishop, Maria Falgoust and Maria’s sister, Katie Falgoust) took a two week trip to Guatemala. Like good librarians, we researched, chatted up everyone we knew who has traveled/lived there and gathered information before planning our itinerary. Our primary goal for the trip was to experience Guatemala’s beautiful landscapes and culture, but we also wanted to see and understand some of the realities of life in modern-day Guatemala as well.  Everyone we spoke to (as well as every guide book) emphatically advised us to skip Guatemala City due to the crime and extreme traffic. As a result, we limited our time there; however, we did manage to get a glimpse of what life is like for some in the capital through a visit to Safe Passage (more on that below.)

In order to understand the needs and present conditions of Guatemalan society, it is important to take a look back at their history and understand the forces most strongly affecting the country today.

(Photo by Laura Bishop)

Guatemala in context…

2016 marked the twentieth anniversary of the end of Guatemala’s 36 year civil war. The war began in 1960 with a rebellion that attempted to overthrow the military regime; this regime was installed with help from the CIA six years earlier when it assisted with the overthrow of Guatemala’s democratically elected president who wished to implement land reform largely benefitting the indigenous populations, while compromising the interests of private corporations including that of the United Fruit Company, an American corporation. The conflict disproportionately affected indigenous populations who made up the majority of the over 200,000 killed or “disappeared”.

Along with Honduras and El Salvador, Guatemala completes what has been termed the “Northern Triangle Countries”. Maras, or gangs, are responsible for the vast majority of violent crimes and extortions which plague the country today. Large numbers of Guatemalans have been fleeing their homeland for fear of forced gang initiation, violent crime, extortion, and an overall lack of economic opportunity, including a large number of unaccompanied youth. This number of asylum seekers from the Northern Triangle spiked dramatically between 2000 and 2015. In 2000, the number of people born in those countries was reported at 1.5 million, with that number jumping in 2013 to a reported 2.7 million.

In Guatemala, efforts such as the “Sweep Up” plan have resulted in mass incarceration of gang members, but this has not stemmed the tide of the high incidence of extortion (considered the central source of gang sustenance) since a staggering 80% of extortions are believed to be “commanded” from within the prisons of that country.  The heavy fortifications in some Guatemala City neighborhoods–security checkpoints to enter, and locked, high metal walls barricading the facades of many of the buildings within the neighborhood–stand as a testament to the high rates of crime and increased fear of gangs over the past twenty years.

While numerous crime statistics continue to place Guatemala as one of the countries with the highest rate of violent crime, recent homicide statistics  demonstrate a downward trend and provide hope. In addition, Human Rights Watch notes that the Guatemalan government is making progress with prosecuting human rights and corruption cases. Together Guatemala’s Attorney General and the UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), have made important strides in bringing perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity during the civil war period to justice. Included in these was the court convictions of two former military officers for sexual violence and domestic and sexual slavery against 15 Maya Q’eqchi’ women. According to Human Rights Watch, this was the first time the Guatemalan courts tried a case of sexual violence related to the civil war conflict.

The CICG–which receives substantial funding from the U.S–has also played a pivotal role in investigating and exposing corruption. One of the most high profile cases being the million dollar tax fraud case involving the country’s then president, Otto Pérez Molina, and led to his arrest and resignation in the fall of 2015.

The Obama administration earmarked $750 million for the Alliance for Prosperity plan for FY 2016. The guiding principle behind the plan is to address the root causes for mass emigration from the Northern Triangle countries, and thus reduce the numbers of undocumented immigrants coming the the U.S. It is subsidized by the foreign aid the U.S. gives to the region and seen by proponents, which include Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, as a long term solution.

What we found…

Guatemala is a beautiful, accessible, and traveler-friendly place to visit. Its numerous micro-climates, forests, stellar hiking, and rich Mayan heritage are, unfortunately, often overshadowed by its reputation for crime. Like anywhere one travels to, one should certainly exercise caution, stay alert and be vigilant and street-smart in Guatemala. I’d say we did all of the above, and perhaps that’s why we experienced no troubles in this area!

In both Antigua and Lake Atitlan we found numerous artisan cooperatives. Weaving (back-strap) or textiles, coffee, chocolate, and herbal remedies are just a few examples of the types of enterprises one can find there. Run by women from various indigenous groups, these cooperatives not only produce beautiful examples of Mayan and Guatemalan culture and natural resources, they are symbols of the resilience of the Guatemalan people and an act of cultural preservation.

The needs and challenges  in Guatemala, however, are significant. While we were there, we heard about many non-profits working to improve daily life for Guatemalans. Here we will share two we had the opportunity to visit.

(Photo Courtesy of Laura Bishop)

Non-profits working toward change…

Safe Passage, is a non-profit that focuses on providing education, health care and other programming to some of the 60,000 children and families who work in and around the city’s dump. Watching Leslie Iwerk’s moving documentary, “Recycled Life” about Guatemala City’s toxic landfill and Safe Passage’s work convinced us to check it out.  

Leaving at 5 am from our cozy mountain lodge, we happily arrived at Safe Passage where we learned about the history of the founder, Hanley Denning, a native Mainer. In 1999, a friend brought her to see the dump and slums surrounding it. People who couldn’t find steady work would go to the landfill to collect materials to sell for recycling. As big trucks barreled in and out, methane and toxic substances were everywhere, and the workers’ children were exposed to all of it. Hanley felt driven to create a safe place where the children could be children, meaning that they have a safe place to play, learn, eat healthy food and be treated with dignity. She accomplished her dream when she founded Safe Passage later that year. Though Hanley tragically died in a traffic accident in 2007, her vision lives on. Today, Safe Passage serves 500 individuals a year!

On our tour, we had an armed bodyguard with us, in addition to our driver and tour guide. Our first stop was the landfill. As vultures swooped in and out, we stood on a precipice in a city cemetery to see the landfill and learn about everything that goes into it, from toxic hospital waste to household garbage.

Most of Safe Passage’s students live in cramped, squalid and unsanitary, makeshift houses that their families build using materials they find. There is no running water or electricity. Many of the parents are illiterate.

(Photo from Safe Passage)

Today, Safe Passage’s campus includes three schools, a community center and an office building. It provides health care, dental care, character education, an expansive well-rounded education, healthy meals and much more. In their schools, committed, certified, local teachers practice a Montessori-style pedagogy. An Expeditionary Learning curriculum is offered as an alternative approach to the style of education offered in most schools in Guatemala, where the focus is on rote learning and memorization.  Teachers at Safe Passage offer care, hope, skills and spark curiosity. In stark contrast to the dump, the courtyards at the schools are thoughtfully designed, meticulously kept and full of flowers and colorful murals. Students are also provided with the essentials they need to attend school: uniforms, school supplies, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and social services. Safe Passage continues to support their students after graduation by paying tuition at a public or private high schools (both cost money) and by providing a variety of support services including tutoring and job fairs. Parents and grandparents also get support in the form of workshops, literacy lessons, education and community fairs.

Visiting Safe Passage (and the library in particular) hit a nerve. It was impossible not to compare the experiences of the children who live in or near the dump to the experiences of the children who attend our independent schools. So much of what we take for granted is non-existent for the children of Safe Passage: access to quality, new books, teaching supplies, databases and general safety. Despite the dramatic differences in resources, the vibe of the classrooms throughout Safe Passage felt very familiar: lots of learning, group work, joy and colorful art work. It was clear that the founder’s vision to create a space where “children could just be children” had become a reality.

(Photo from Safe Passage)

Safe Passage’s library made us see how the AISL community could potentially contribute. Librarian Jessica Marchina gave up an hour to talk with us about the library, which currently holds about 4,000 volumes. As trained and experienced school librarians, we could get a group together to help out with cataloging, processing and even collection development. As connectors, we could potentially inspire other schools to host book drives to boost both Safe Passage’s library and classroom collections. A little goes a long way in Guatemala City!

What you can do to support Safe Passage:

• HOST A BOOK DRIVE and collect books in Spanish (preferable not translated) for children ages 12 – 17 (this is the age-range they are in most in need of.) Ship the books to their office in Maine at 81 Bridge St # 104, Yarmouth, ME 04096. Volunteers will bring the books in their suitcases because Guatemala currently has no public postal service and private companies can take three months to arrive!
• FORM A SUPPORT TEAM FOR A COMMUNITY SERVICE TRIP with your school’s community service director/coordinator to bring a high school group. Volunteers must be at least 15 years old.
• SPONSOR A CHILD OR MOTHER OR A CLASSROOM by holding a fundraiser.
• ORGANIZE A GROUP OF LIBRARIANS to volunteer in the library and assist with cataloging. Email Safe Passage at volunteers@safepassage.org for more information.

Now we know we are preaching to the choir but quality literature offers us more than just knowledge; it encourages imagination and a respect for a variety of points of views and it gives us  a broader sense of the world and the options it holds.  Your donation of time, effort, books or money could provide these students with hope and change their lives.

~Stay tuned for part two of this blog post on Wednesday, November 29th~

About the authors:

Laura Bishop has been “librarian-ing” for thirteen years now. Previously she was a Senior Children’s Librarian for The New York Public Library, and the Middle and Upper School Librarian at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School. Laura is currently in  her fourth year as the Director of the Library and Media Center at The Hun School of Princeton, where she is fortunate to activate her passions for social justice, travel, and cultural competency work through the Cultural Competency Committee, advisement of the gender equity group, and chaperoning global immersion trips abroad.

Maria Falgoust is the librarian at the International School of Brooklyn (ISB), a Nursery–8th grade independent school in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York. ISB offers French and Spanish language immersion programs as well as an International Baccalaureate curriculum, which is reflected in their multilingual library collection. Prior to ISB, Maria worked at The American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) and Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn Heights, NY. She is serving as vice president of the Hudson Valley Library Association (HVLA) for a second term, is an organizer of the Building Bridges Through Books  book club through the Human Rights Pen Pal organization, and is on the planning committee for NYSAIS Education and Information Technology Conference.

Recently my 7th grade history teacher approached me about making connections with students around the globe. She wanted students to have global pen pals for an authentic interaction. I immediately started working on the project and began researching possible partners.

Many of the Google searches I created led me to results that may or not be someone pretending to be a global student! Needless to say, I did not want to put our students in harm’s way.

I thought of reputable organizations and soon began researching the George W. Bush Presidential Library. They have a Women’s Initiative program that aims to empower women and children in countries where women do not have as many rights as they do in the United States.

I reached out to the Bush Library and arranged a meeting where we were connected with one of the Women’s Initiative Fellows, Farah. Farah works as a librarian in Tunisia! Working with Farah we were able to communicate with Tunisian students when they were in Farah’s library! Additionally, Farah visited 7th grade history classrooms when she was in the United States as part of her Fellowship program.

These experiences were exceptional, authentic global experiences for our students. The Bush Library has tremendously high standards, so I knew that we were in good, reputable hands. Additionally, all of the educational opportunities were free for our students! Finally, I now have a global library friend all the way across the globe!

Partnering with an area library was a wonderful experience, and I hope to continue to build quality programs with area academic, public and special libraries.

Recently our library decided to redo our furniture. The old furniture had been in place for over 20 years! We had designers visit our school, but we were not in love with any of the choices. In addition, we would have to do a few pieces a year based on our budget. This could prove problematic if a line or design was ever discontinued.

Wanting appealing furniture that fit our price point, we decided to have our existing furniture recovered instead of replacing it with new furniture. I wanted something that would look timeless, classic and represent our school. I soon thought of our school uniform skirts for accent pieces since those are made of fabric too!

We partnered with Andrews Refinishing and they exceeded all of our expectations! We did the main pieces of furniture in one of our school colors (navy) and added tan piping to lighten the look. This combination ended up working perfectly with our school skirt fabric!

We were thrilled to get such incredible furniture! When other departments visit the library they tell us that they love the new look and want it in their rooms too! By using fabric from our school uniforms we were able to create a timeless look that represents our school so well!

This past year my school hosted Janet B. Taylor for our visiting author. She is a hard working and talented writer and an even better person. She visited four sections of 8th grade history and also taught a writing workshop for English class students. Once Janet hit our campus she was “on!” She is an incredibly engaging speaker and interacted well with our students throughout her entire 45 minute presentation. She also brought costumes! 🙂 

Additionally, we hosted a Writing Contest for our 8th grade students and Janet developed a fabulous prompt! She then graciously agreed to help judge our Visiting Author Writing Contest. She read the works from the three finalists and provided both glows and grows for the students.

Janet’s first book is Into the Dim. The book is historical fiction centered around the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Here is more information from Amazon.com: When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. And she’s alive, though currently trapped in the twelfth century, during the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Passing through the Dim, Hope enters a brutal medieval world of political intrigue, danger, and violence. A place where any serious interference could alter the very course of history. And when she meets a boy whose face is impossibly familiar, she must decide between her mission and her heart—both of which could leave Hope trapped in the past forever.

Janet’s most recent release is Sparks of Light. Here is more information from Amazon: For the first time in her life, Hope Walton has friends . . . and a (maybe) boyfriend. She’s a Viator, a member of a long line of time-traveling ancestors. When the Viators learn of a plan to steal a dangerous device from the inventor Nikola Tesla, only a race into the past can save the natural timeline from utter destruction. Navigating the glitterati of The Gilded Age in 1895 New York City, Hope and her crew will discover that high society can be as deadly as it is beautiful. In this sequel to the dazzling time-travel romance Into the Dim, sacrifice takes on a whole new meaning as Hope and Bran struggle to determine where—or when—they truly belong.

I highly recommend Janet B. Taylor for an author visit to your school since she can work with both history and English classes and is so incredibly engaging with the students. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you!

While this is not exactly new “news,” this year I did a 7th grade history lesson on fake news and wanted to share resources that we used from the Stanford History in Education Group. Stanford collected data from over 7,800 students and researchers were “shocked” by how many students failed to effectively evaluate the credibility of information. Intrigued, I decided to test our students with the assessments that you can find in the executive summary of the study. More exercises from this study should be released before the end of the school year.

First, we had students complete the assessments. The majority of our students were not able to recognize that “sponsored content” meant that something was an advertisement and not a news story. Additionally, many students failed to note the source (pleasegoogle…..) of the flower image and instead focused on the flowers themselves to explain their reasoning. Finally, the tweet proved especially difficult, but I think this is likely due to the fact that many 7th graders are not familiar with Twitter! I was not surprised by these results and used this as a “teachable” moment. (My professors would be proud! :))

We then went through a presentation that explained to the students what fake news is and the importance of triple checking sources. The flower image was a useful transition to our presentation since the creators of the photo were trying to deceive people with a fake image that purported to provide real information.

Next, we split the students into two groups. One group wrote a real news story and the other group wrote a fake news story. On the board we wrote criteria for a real news story (author’s name, contact information, about us, quotes, reliable sources, etc.) and what you might expect in a fake news story (no contact information, no names, unnamed sources, stretching the truth, etc.)

After the students completed their stories we shared them with 6th grade history classes. The students in these classes did not know if they were reading a real news story or a fake news story. We used this as another “teachable” moment 🙂 to introduce 6th graders to fake news. After our lesson on fake news, we had a reveal to see which students had a real news story and which ones had a fake news story.

This was a fun, collaborative project to do across grade levels. Students were intrigued by the fake news, and I like that they got a bit of writing practice as well….and some of our 6th grade students were definitely fooled! 🙂

This year we started a Library Leadership Council (LLC) for middle school students. Book Club was a huge hit last year, and many of my regulars wanted to do more for the school and for the library.

For our first project, we partnered with community service for our school’s first Post-Halloween Candy Drive. We had all the meetings in the library and used the library as a collection location for all the candy. We also made posters to display around campus and made announcements in chapel. Our goal was to collect 150 lbs., and we easily exceeded our goal! Our students were able to donate candy to Homes for Hope, an organization where students from our school travel to Costa Rica to build homes for those in need. We also donated to area veterans groups for Veterans Day. Additionally, we sent toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss. 🙂

Spurred by their efforts, the LLC wanted to do more! For our next project we made thank you/holiday cards for our community members that work in dining, facilities and security. These people work tremendously hard, but they also work hours and in places where we don’t always get a chance to say thank you in person. We promoted the event by making posters and also made a presentation at a middle school assembly. We then set up a table in the library for a week where students could come and make the cards. Over 100 cards were made, and it was an honor to deliver them to our fellow community members.

These projects not only gave Book Club students more leadership opportunities but they also brought additional students in the library to participate in activities….and hopefully pick up a book or two while they were here. 🙂

In January we are doing something more literary-related and celebrating Harry Potter’s Half Birthday.  We celebrate half birthdays here for our summer student birthdays, so this seemed like a natural fit. We are organizing a writing contest (What would happen if Hermione Granger went to ESD??) and having a half birthday party before school complete with trivia, games and treats. Our Harry Potter Half Birthday celebration was a big hit last year, so we are really looking forward to our event this year!  (Photo from last year!).

Finally, this all started with Book Club last year, and this year students are the leaders of our book club. They select the books that we read, create questions and then facilitate the discussions. The discussions are lively, fun and engaging, and I enjoy seeing what our student leaders can do when you give them the chance. I especially like these types of programs in the library since they are low risk and low cost with additional benefits (reading! Not eating ALL your sugary Halloween candy! Good manners!).

I am encouraged by the participation in the Library Leadership Council, and I hope this allows students to see the library in different ways and lights. My goal is always to get the community in the door, and then I hope that they will be library supporters for life. 🙂 On that note I am definitely interested if you have library groups at your school.  What kind of activities or programs do you offer? We are definitely a grass roots start up and are always looking for innovative ways to connect with our school community. Thank you!!