The Library is My Happy Place

Creative Commons licensed image courtesy of GDJ on Pixabay In researching global libraries, I came across the Beyond Access  Bangladesh program, sponsored by IREX and Save the Children , and read about their work in libraries in Bangladesh. This program started by working with twenty libraries to develop library programs for children. Before this program started encouraging children to come to the library, the library had no activities for children and very few of the visitors were children . The pilot program libraries were given supplies for a children's area in the library as well as four Samsung tablets loaded with books and games. Librarians received training and worked with children to encourage them to visit the library. I found an evaluation of the Beyond Access Libraries Program in Bangladesh and it included infographics stating that children used tablets 60,000 times between November 2015 and June 2017 and the monthly average number of children visiting the library ...

Creative Commons licensed image courtesy of aitoff on Pixabay While watching this week's course update video, I was captivated by our professor, Aaron Mueller's image of teacher librarians as explorers, going out to learn about the newest technologies and trends in education to bring them back to the staff. I aspire to being one of these explorers and I'm confident it will happen, over time. As a brand-new teacher librarian, I feel like I'm learning so much myself that I haven't had time to think about how I might share my knowledge with my colleagues. It seems intimidating to think of giving workshops on topics that I've just learned myself, although it would likely be a good way to cement my learning. However, I am fairly technologically savvy (despite my ignorance about the term ICT skills) and I have previously had a job as a technology coach. I have a Smart Board at my disposal in the library and could easily give talks about using Destiny, our new li...

Free image by Robfoto on Pixabay, text added by Holly Broadland As a new teacher librarian, I feel like a sponge, absorbing information and skills from many sources. In addition to my coursework, I learn through meeting with people in real life, through online interactions with people I know, through attending workshops and conferences, and through social media.  In Person Interactions The life of a teacher librarian can be isolating, due to the fact that we are often the only person in our role at a school. However, I've been lucky enough to work with other teacher librarians several times and I've learned something from each of them. While I was a primary teacher at my former school, the teacher librarian saw my interest in librarianship and asked me to come along on a book buying trip. What fun! In the past six months, I have attended two meetings of the Vancouver Teacher Librarians' Association (VTLA), my local chapter of the BCTLA and I find it inspiring a...

Illustration c2018 Debbie Ridpath Ohi, DebbieOhi.com/printready, free to download and print for personal and school use I have been a teacher librarian for five weeks now and it feels like I've come home. If my job includes brainstorming ways to develop the reading culture at my school, I'm in the right profession! As soon as I met the students at my school, I realized that there is already a strong reading culture in place here. The library is abuzz with activity before and after school and our daily book exchange periods are busy. Teachers at our school give students time to read on a daily basis and it's obvious that most students at our school consider themselves readers. As Stephen Krashen states in his "Power of Reading" video, the most important ingredient in developing readers is to give them time for free voluntary reading. I would add that having access to a library with a friendly and responsive teacher librarian is also helpful in fosterin...