📬 NC NEW(s) Librarian Vol 9 | Final volume of 2022-23

 

Thank you for coming along on this adventure with me in 2022-2023! When I started it back in August, I thought the 10 new librarians I'd connected with would be the target audience, but somehow, we have over 650 subscribers and I couldn't do any of this work without the generous contributions from NC school librarians, sharing their ideas and practices. It's such an honor to learn from y'all and to pass along the important work you do with this NC NEW(s) Librarian community!  

Enjoy your summer - hope it's full of some good reads and adventures! 

 

 

You have a few ways to explore this volume 9 of the NC NEW(s) Librarian:

1️⃣ Scroll down for a text-friendly version! Graphics & links still included but you don't have to navigate fonts, colors, or too many graphics

2️⃣ Click on over to view on the same Canva format as previous volumes

3️⃣ Open the PDF for offline viewing

 

Over the summer, I'll be creating a landing page for all the previous volumes of the newsletter, and will be plotting out future newsletters. If you're willing to share an initiative or project here on the newsletter, please keep an eye out for how to do so come August. The goal of this newsletter is to inform, connect and amplify good ideas so please don't hesitate if you have something you'd like to contribute!

 

Got this as a forward? Be sure to sign up to get it delivered right to you in the future!

 

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Celebrating a year in your library!

 

Whatever title you prefer - Librarian, Media Coordinator / Specialist, etc - we all firmly believe and acknowledge the impact our school library program and services have on our school communities. In fact, there's plenty of research to prove it. {AASL | Kappan | ALA NC studies}

 

One of the ways we can communicate the impact is through infographics or marketing that is high-interest, engaging, and tells the story of the school library. Several librarians in my PLN have already been sharing stats on circulation, programming, and collaboration. Jessica, Haley, Karen, and Bethany each share data that's relevant and meaningful for their own school communities, so naturally, they look different and tell the unique story of their individual libraries. 

 

At First Flight High School, Jessica Bailey, uses data to show the library is so much more than a collection of books. Students 'check in' to use the library throughout the day, classes come in to collaborate and tap into her expertise, and with the help of student techs, chromebooks are repaired as well. Of course, books are a part of the story, and one thing this first-year librarian did exceptionally well was provide engaging, dynamic book displays that students appreciated all year long! Her data is pending May stats but once it's finalized, this is a helpful advocacy tool that can be shared on social media, posted in the library, and be an artifact for her evaluation instrument. 

 

The template for this specific infographic was posted on a Facebook group, and originally created by Framingham Public Library.

 

 

Out of Durham Co. Public Schools, Librarian extraordinaire Haley Ferreira reflected on the impact the Fayetteville Street Elementary Library has had on reading and learning! During April, for School Library Month, Haley shared this graphic with stakeholders, and on Twitter, which beautifully captures the importance of the school library, from reader identity growth and read alouds, to instructional collaboration. 

 

 

BUT WAIT -- THERE'S MORE!

 

What truly inspired this month's topic of EOY advocacy and stat-sharing were these SLMCs from Chatham Co. Schools! Karen Jeremiah at Pittsboro Elementary was inspired by the Canva Librarians Facebook group to share out her August-April data using this eye-catching template. 

 

I asked Karen to share a bit more about her inspiration, and she said, 

Thank you for seeing us! I was inspired to be vulnerable and share my stats as a result of my participating in Chatham County School's ISTE Certification Cohort this year. Emma Braaten could tell you more about that. Really, it has been an opportunity to keep current with digital learning standards for students and educators and it's been a natural connect to library advocacy for supporting student learning and a love of reading. One of my ISTE portfolio goals includes offering Canva as a publishing choice to students but also increasing my facility with it. That connected to another goal of engaging with PLNs so I joined Canva Librarians and my eyes have been opened ever since. LOVE Canva. Have lots of student work samples now as well as scrolling visuals and videos to use in our library. My hope with the tweet is to catch the eye of "education stakeholders" in my district to see that we are actively supporting our students and teachers and to choose to fund our library, honestly.

 

Another brilliant idea that Karen got from the Canva Librarians group is to have images and videos on the library screen. She says, "Here is a go to image that's been useful to have on the tv at any given time, especially when guests are walking the halls at school, it's easy to see from the hallway as they walk by. Something else we're about to try for the first time is a spin on the end of year book return plea! Totally used Canva Librarians and Kristina Holzweiss's step by step directions for this one. Our administrators at our elementary school are fans of a fun loving competition so their past videos from this year are incorporated, the students love seeing them and maybe we'll get a few more books back that way."

 

 

 

Karen also inspired her colleague, Bethany Harner from North Chatham Elementary to create and share their library stats:

 

 

Bethany says, "​​The stats report was modified from a template that was shared at one of our library meetings. This has been an excellent reminder of how all types of reading are successful; it is important to know your patrons so that they become the soul and driving force of the collection.”

 

 

If you have an advocacy or EOY graphic or strategy you want to share, please drop it on this Padlet! It's extra helpful if you have the Template link to share with other SLMCs interesting in making their own. 

 

I was inspired by my friend and Davidson Co. Media Coordinator Kristi Allred to create a template to share monthly stats. Check out what she created here: Media Center At-A-Glance Updates | North Davidson Middle School 

 

And if you want to make a copy and update the template I used, here's the link via Google Slides.

 

 

 

Congratulations to SLJ National Librarian of the Year, Julie Stivers! 

 

At the door to the library at Mount Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, NC, students are greeted with a sign. "You are just the student I hoped would show up! Welcome to your library. I'm glad you're here."

 

This is the opening to the article by School Library Journal, recognizing Wake Co. Librarian, and NCSLMA Librarian of the Year, Julie Stivers. You can read more about Julie in the April 2023 profile celebrating her student-centered approach - "It's not my library. It's our space." 

 

 

Mark your calendars...

 

Looking ahead for some library-specific learning opportunities?

 

In JULY: NCCAT will be hosting a seminar, "The NC Media Specialists' Connection:
The Evolving Role of the Media Specialist" concurrently at the Ocracoke and Cullowhee campuses, July 17-21 (Ocracoke) and July 18-21 (Cullowhee). Registration for upcoming seminars, including this one, is now open on their website: Ocracoke Seminar | Cullowhee Seminar 

 

In the 2023-2024 School Year: In alignment with the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Digital Teaching and Learning will be providing a year long professional learning opportunity for School Library Media Coordinators. The intention is to have four cohorts of 50 participants each, one Eastern cohort, two Central cohorts, and one Western cohort. Click here for more information on engaging as participants and/or advisors, including an application form. 

 

In October: Registration is open for the 2023 NCSLMA conference, held in Winston-Salem October 5-7th. Learn more at: https://ncslma.wildapricot.org/magichappenshere/ 

 

And don't miss these NCSLMA Hosted virtual meet-ups:
Grown-up Book Club (meets monthly)
Brew Crew
May 26 8pm-10pm
June 3 9am-11am
June 23 8pm-10pm
(pre-register - links live a week before the meeting)

 

 

Meet the Creator:

Mollee Holloman is a librarian from Dare County NC, currently on-loan to NCDPI Digital Teaching & Learning as an Innovative Learning Catalyst. I’m a steward of stories & curator of worldly experiences using text & tech.

Email me at Mollee.holloman@dpi.nc.gov

 

 

Previous Volumes:

📬 VOL 8: April 2023   Canva | PDF | GovDelivery

📬 VOL 7: Feb/March 2023   Canva | PDF | GovDelivery

📬 VOL 6: January 2023   Canva | PDF | GovDelivery

📬 VOL 5: December 2022   Canva | PDF | GovDelivery

📬 VOL 4: November 2022   Canva | PDF 

📬 VOL 3: October 2022   Canva | PDF 

📬 VOL 2: September 2022   Canva | PDF 

📬 VOL 1: August 2022   Canva | PDF 

 

NC New(s) Librarian by Mollee Holloman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.