SENIORS' LAST DAY!

Here are...Friday, May 15, 2015.  The last day for Uni High's Class of 2015.  I know I've only known most of them for nine months, but my life is better because of them.  Being a teacher and working with kids, teens, young adults, or whatever you call them, is a life affirming and life changing career choice.  I have been blessed knowing some of these students for nine months, and I'm even more blessed because I've known some of them since they were 11. 

One of my former students, who I taught in 6th grade, came up to me yesterday and asked, "Is it weird?  You know, seeing us again and watching us go off into the world?

I replied, after composing myself for a moment so I wouldn't start bawling, "No.  It has been WONDERFUL and the greatest honor to see you again and watch you go off into the world."

I never thought I'd see my 6th grade students who got into Uni again, but this assistantship has offered me the unique opportunity to see them again, as they ready themselves to transition into adulthood and attend college.  This has been the greatest and most humbling part of this job for the past year.

Here is my last bulletin board as a grad assistant at Uni, and it's one I made with the Seniors' help.  I got A LOT of responses, and I think it looks great.  I hope some of the underclassmen check out some of their recommendations.

Today's a GOOD Day!

Look what I found!  Some seniors just hanging out, reading some of our new releases.

This is probably the FIRST time they've been able to read for pleasure ALL YEAR.  I'm so glad we had so many fresh, new books to meet their needs and pique their interest.

 (Seriously...we have SO MANY.  There isn't room for any more...but we have more coming in!)

One of those seniors even checked out a couple of books to take home and read.  Hope he gets them done fast...tomorrow's (May 15) their last day!  :(

Great Ideas to STEAL!

April and the beginning of May got REALLY busy, because of final projects/end of the semester, so I'm just getting caught up on some blogging right now.  I want to quickly post about a couple of great ideas that came to my attention last month.

As I previously mentioned, April is National Poetry Month.  On the last day of April, Paul, our library technician extraordinaire, copied a variety of poems.  He left them out on one of our tables for students and staff to take with them throughout the day.  He wanted to make sure we all had a POEM IN OUR POCKET.  His selections was varied, eclectic, and all around awesome.

All of the poems Paul had ready.  Most were gone by the end of the day!

The Uni Student Council also did a great thing at the end of April.  During the last week, students could come in and write brief (or lengthy) notes of appreciation for the teachers, for the first week in May was Teacher Appreciation Week.

I was so glad they chose the library as their main hub for this activity.  It was great seeing students huddled around the tables writing notes of thanks to their wonderful, dedicated teachers.

 My favorite poem that I carried around in my pocket on 4/30/15 and the Appreciation Station we had at the Circ Desk.

Muwahahaha!  I love being a Library Thief!  I plan to use both of these ideas for my future library...wherever that may be.  I hope you consider stealing them, too!  

Fancy a February Display?

Oh, I have to admit...I kind of REALLY loved putting together our two February displays.

Our Author Spotlight is on THREE authors this month.  I knew I wanted to have a female author.  I was super stoked when I found three awesome YA female authors with birthdays in February: Meg Cabot, Donna Jo Napoli, and Jane Yolen.  I love the varied styles and themes of these authors' works, but they all have one thing in common: they champion female characters and give girls something amazing to read.

I didn't want to do a humdrum Valentine's Day display.  I'm not anti-Valentine's Day: it's all about the LOVE, people!  But, at the same time, I didn't want to do drippy, sappy romances, or anti-romances, or anything like that.  Then, I finally hit on it: BOOKS WE LOVE.  Since Valentine's IS all about love (as I previously stated), I wanted students and staff to celebrate the books they love.  I sent out a couple of emails asking for titles.  All that was needed was a simple reply: no summary, no huge effort, just the title.  I think this helped drum up initial support.  

I think the display looks great.  I wanted to give props to all the books that I was sent, even if they aren't in the Uni collection.  I took old magazine boxes, attached construction paper to dress them up a bit, and made little book bouquets for the ones we don't have in our onsite collection.  I think these book bouquets add an extra fun element to the display, and if someone is interested in those books, we can still get them from another library.

"Book Bouquets" on the top shelf.

 We put our three picks on the bottom shelf, so the students could see their peers' selections easier.

The coolest part about Books We Love?  As more and more students notice it, they want to add their own favorites to the display.  I love this participation!  Yippee!!!

QB is Ready for Uni!

Nope.  No.  That is not quarterback, if you were wondering.  QB is short for Question Board.

Here at Uni, Supervisor Amy is taking a little bit of inspiration from our friends at the UIUC Undergrad Library and starting our very own Question Board.  This will replace our Suggestions Board, and we are hoping for two outcomes: 1) students still feel comfortable to request books for the library, and 2) students AND staff will feel free and excited to fill up the envelope with questions for QB to answer.

QB has been a long-standing tradition at the Undergrad since 1972.  During my brief stint at the UGL as a grad assistant in the Fall of 2013, I got to answer some questions for QB.  Questions there run the gamut from the mundane (Why do public toilets have a U-shape?) to the fantastical (Is Santa Claus real?) to the just downright silly (Who would win: Dumbledore or Gandalf?).  We are hoping the Uni students will have some fun questions, too, and we hope they will look forward to the responses QB will give them.  QB can't guarantee to answer ALL questions, but QB sure will try!  (QB does not believe in gender status, so QB just goes by QB!)

QB does believe in research and citing sources.  With each answer QB will tell what sources were consulted and give any necessary citations.  So, for the Santa example above, QB couldn't just answer, "YES!"  QB would have to provide the research done and some background on how the information was found as well.

The UGL QB started as part of their reference services over 40 years ago, and it's a favorite of UGL staff and patrons.  Our QB is an homage to the original, the biggest, THE BADDEST reference & info board on campus.  We hope we do the original QB justice!

Paradigm Shift: Education Dreams

A lot of people have told me that Uni isn't a "real" library.  Students want to come to the library, they want to study in the library, they're sad they don't get to do enough pleasure reading (because of their rigorous course load), and they are extremely self sufficient.  They still need guidance on finding reliable sources, and they might need some help navigating the University of Illinois online catalog, but they are schooled in this during their first year at Uni.  By the time they are Sophomores, they have a pretty good handle on this.

So, why am I here?  What can I really learn from working in a library where the librarian isn't "as needed" as they might be in a public school library?

1.  I've learned how much students love to interact with their teachers on a personal level.
At Uni I have learned that the gap between teacher and student needs to be bridged.  The conversations I hear between teachers and students at Uni are so much more beneficial than almost any I had with students when I was a teacher.  There still needs to be respect for the teacher, because the teacher is the expert, the one passing on knowledge, but having conversations with students as human beings and not charges is something that I want to encourage and provide in my next step as an educator.  I think this is one reason students love Uni so much: they are respected, and they are encouraged to voice their own opinions.

2.  Students are encouraged to teach others and share their knowledge with everyone.
Every February Uni hosts Agora Days, when staff and students veer off the curriculum map and spend a week exploring things that are interesting to them.  Staff AND students lead sessions during this week of alternative classes.  Here in the library we've started a series called Agora Unleashed, for students who want to get a jump on the February festivities.  This week's topic?  Beyonce and Feminism: The Pop Culture Queen, Her Music, and Her Message.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE working here??

3.  Study Hall is NEEDED.
Remember when you watched 16 Candles when you were little, and you saw Samantha, a Sophomore, in study hall with Jake, a Senior?  You don't?  That was just me?

Well, anyway...study hall is required here, and they are multi-class affairs.  Students getting time to work on their homework and projects during school time is a beautiful thing, and even if they don't work on their homework, they can take a moment, breathe, and read a book of their choice.  Working in schools where study hall isn't required, because we have to be doing curriculum all the time or interventions all the time or making sure we're ready for a test all the time is tiring!  If it's tiring for the teachers, just think how bushed the students must get!  (Oh, and don't even twist this to make it sound students should never get interventions when needed.  They just really, REALLY need a break, too.)

4.  Freedom and responsibility are hallmarks to building student trust.
Students have one free period a day.  They are given the freedom and responsibility to use this time as they see fit.  They can leave the building, study, take a nap, or do whatever they need during that period to better themselves.  I wish I had this.  I wish all buildings could encourage this and build trust between staff and students to make this possible.

Will I be able to do these four things in my library?  Probably not, because they are school-wide initiatives.  Will I be able to encourage a mind shift in my colleagues to experiment with these things that I've learned?  Maybe I could with a few.  I wish that schools would start to rethink education for students, though.  I wish that some teachers would stop thinking of school as a place to cram curriculum down students' throats and to complete timelines.  I think if we could shift our thinking to education as a joyful lifelong pursuit and to instill this in our students, a lot more genuine, authentic learning would take place in public schools.

Encouraging others to think in a new way, to stand up to what has always been, is not easy.  It's scary, intimidating, and I don't know if I can do it.  Maybe this really is just a dream I have, that I'll never see come true.  But, with ideas I'm gaining from Uni, how can I not at least try when I get a school library placement?  With Beyonce telling me I can do it, how can I resist at least trying???

Teen Read Week!

It's Teen Read Week!  

I promised I'd let you know about the shenanigans I'm trying to get our students to participate in, so here we go:

1.  FLASH US YOUR BOOKS!  I'm collaborating with friend Kristi Danger Murray Costello at Arkansas State University Writing Center for this one, everybody.  Her group had the great idea that everyone should flash their favorite books.

They are meeting at their campus' fountain, by the student union, on October 22 at noon.  Everyone will read aloud the first line of their favorite book.  Sounds awesome, right?  Well, we might not have a fountain to gather round here, but I am hoping students AND staff will come take a picture holding up their favorite book, so I can create an iMovie/slideshow.  So far we don't have any takers, but it would be a great way to participate with A-State's Writing Center, and I'd upload the iMovie to our YouTube channel at noon on 10/22, as the A-State students are reading.

2.  RECORD A BOOK TRAILER!  Supervisor Amy and I are hoping that this week's recorded book trailers are just a jumping off point for a year-long trailer drive.  We want to post these on our YouTube channel.  We ask, however, that the students have a small index card to consult during their reading/recommendation recording, so it's not just a bunch of rambling.  We'd like them to have a bit of structure and to have their book with them.  We want to continue to record these throughout the year.

3.  TEEN READ OUT!  We want to end the week with a read out.  During our Uni Period on Friday, we want students to come in and read their favorite poem, short story, or the first chapter of their favorite book.  We will have snacks to try to lure those teens in....MUHWAHAHAHA!

Didn't like my ideas?  Well, for Teen Read Week Inspiration, visit the official website.  There are programming ideas, products for purchase, and other information for this awesome week of reading.

I'm super excited about all of these activities, and I hope there's a high level of participation.  I'd love to have at least ten students present for the Teen Read Out on Friday.  We'll just have to wait and see!  Read on, Teens!  Read on, EVERYBODY!!!

October Suggestions Board

I said I would keep posting our Suggestions Board every month, so you could look at/criticize the monthly theme.

This month it has to be HALLOWEEN!  (Duh.)

I don't know if the border is "too kiddy," but I like it anyway.  And, we already have FIVE suggestions!  (OK, so one is mine, but four from students is a GREAT thing!)

Tune in next month to see what theme November will bring you.  Any guesses???