I scoot down the school hallway, copies in hand, shuffling my keys to unlock the library when I see her, she's standing still and looking at posters.

“Good morning,” I say quickly, shuffling by.

“Aren’t these neat,” she says--slowing my pace--gesturing so that I will stop and really look.  “They really are saying something.”

I have walked past these motivational hallway posters what feels like one million times and never taken the time to read one.  As I stand here with her, reading one after the other, I feel my shoulders soften, my to-do list feeling somehow more manageable.

Yes, we teachers and librarians move fast to get things done, but this woman also had things to get done–and one of the things on her list was to notice the good stuff around us.

The library is a great place to foster gratitude practices (intentionally noticing the good) this winter season--in virtual spaces and in real life.  While we might not feel thankful in 2021, we can mine for gratitude in ways that impact our days, our colleagues, and our students.  Here are some easy-peasy, plug-and-play ways to jumpstart gratitude at your school this season:

• Create a Gratitude Wall:  You can print and cut out physical leaves from this template (these are great for water-color if you print on card stock, or you can print on colored paper) and simply ask students to write out what they are thankful for and hang it on a bulletin board.  If you are operating virtually, you can set up a Padlet Virtual Wall in about 5 minutes and ask students and teachers to type in their gratitudes.. 
• Start a Gratitude Mail List:  Ask teachers to share a small list of gratitudes with you and then mail them out to everyone at week's end.
• Gratitude Art Center: Set out paints/markers/crayons and plain white sheets of paper in a library nook and ask patrons to draw what they are thankful for and create a mural/quilt from the blocks.  With little direction, I've been surprised at the meaningful squares that students will create.  You could also e-mail this out as a challenge and ask patrons to scan/e-mail their art.
• Gratitude Note Center: Set out cards/paper and pens and simply ask patrons to write a note of gratitude to take with them.  Or you could e-mail a student/faculty challenge to send a thank you note this week--anonymous or otherwise.
• Send Sneaky Notes. . . librarians have the opportunity to sneak gratitude notes to colleagues maybe more than anyone in the building.  Take the time once each week to slip an anonymous gratitude sticky note on the desk of a colleague.  You'll be thankful you did.

By Evi Wusk

By Crys Bauermeister, NSLA President-Elect

A reading culture. Words my ears savor, and words I love to say often. After ten years of building a reading culture at my school, it was time to tackle the next goal: renovating the library. To support the high volume of checkouts, the increased presence of students, and the number of elementary library classes, it was time to improve the library space. 

Two years of preparation were needed for the library addition to take shape. The process was challenging to convince administrators and board members that enlarging the library space was a necessity for our growing district. I attended several workshops that gave me points to ponder on how to approach this money-taxing project and how it could be made possible with fewer dollars. First, I outlined the necessity of space for our elementary students. It was once shared with me that the percentage of space should be equivalent to the percentage of students I serve at each level. Elementary students frequent the library more often than the middle and high school students; however, the space in the library tended to appeal to the older students. Second, the number of books in the square footage of the library meant very little space for teaching, learning, or relaxing. Third, it was time to upgrade our facilities for the growth of our district (and continue to find more room for books!). Finally, I convinced a National Honor Society member to tackle the process of reorganizing the library as her Individual Service Project. It was a win-win situation for us both! And, the administration along with the board members were ready to make this library addition happen. 

In the summer of 2018, the preparation for enlarging the library finally came to fruition. The preschool classroom located next to the library was vacated because the building across the street was purchased for the Tiny Tiger Early Learning Center.  An opportunity for making more space for books! A large doorway was created in the wall to connect the library and the old preschool classroom. This created an opportunity for an elementary section and a middle school/high school section for the library. The moving of bookcases, books, and furniture were completed by the NHS member. Her project also included painting the rooms, storing and reshelving the books (over 15,000). It was quite the project for her, but I am so grateful she was part of the process. Her eye for design and detail were invaluable. This endeavor made the elementary room of the library larger and allowed for library classes to be conducted more easily while other students peruse the shelves. I also purchased shelves that were lower so our young patrons no longer needed to use stools to reach the books on the top shelves. Our shelves are no longer “stuffed” so students can retrieve books more easily. 

I am a proponent of the idea that the library is the heart of the school. I want students to feel safe and comfortable in the library environment. This project gives students the opportunity to feel good about coming to an environment that supports their reading needs. Creating an addition to our library only enhanced the reading culture that was already thriving in our district. 

By Mary Gregoski

Submitted by NSLA President, Angie Blankenship

Whether you are teaching students in person or remotely or a little of both, it’s important to make sure all learners are engaged.  Here are my favorite tips for helping remote learners stay in touch with what is happening in their classrooms.

1. Greet your learners. When we greet students at the door, they feel welcome, connected, and ready to learn. Greet each student by name as they enter your virtual classroom.  If you are teaching remote and in-person students, turn your camera around to give your remote learners a chance to greet their in-person classmates and vice versa.  Make things more fun by using special greetings like air high fives, waves, or fist bumps.
   
2. Don’t forget the power of breakout rooms, if you can use them.  I generally thought breakout rooms were only for group work, but I was so wrong!  You can send students to individual breakout rooms to work quietly or conference with them.  The bonus is you can virtually hop from room to room checking in on your students.  Imagine the power of using breakout rooms to make book recommendations to students and learn more about what they like to read.
   
3. Please, please, display picture book pages!  Okay, I have to hop on my soapbox here.  Please use an ebook or a document camera to display book pages.  Remote learners and in-person learners can not see detailed illustrations or follow along with you as you read if you just hold the book up to the camera.  Your hand is going to shake, you can’t zoom in, and it’s just not going to look good.  Take the time to learn how to use technology to make sure your learners can enjoy the books.  Students can’t enjoy books they cannot see.
   

If you need more ideas, you only need to harness the power of the web or social media to see the innovative ways teachers and librarians engage with remote learners. What great ideas will you discover?
Contributed by:
Joy Harvey, Coordinator of Library Services for the Lincoln Public Schools

Like many of you, school librarian summers are spent catching up on books to share with my students and thinking and rethinking ways to engage students and teachers in our library.  This summer, however, was much different.  Measuring tape in hand and library map prepared, I spent the summer calculating how many students I could safely fit into the library and what six foot of social distancing looks like. I worried, I freaked out a bit, and I’m on level 520 of Bubble Pop.  In the end, I sat down and prepared a two page document of library operating procedures for the coming school year.  I had to let a few things go to make room for safety procedures.  The end game was to keep students in our library and build a robust digital platform to serve every one of our 1800 students regardless of their location - school or home. 

In my heart, I felt the least prepared I have ever felt before the first day of school.  However, when the students hit the halls and the questions started rolling in, I did what comes naturally.  I helped, problem solved, directed, and escorted a few shaky freshmen to their classes.  I worked with teachers through the kinks of the Google Classroom transition knowing whatever came our way, it was the platform that would support learning. The worries of the summer fell away and within our safety procedures, we rolled. We helped.  And we persisted.  

School librarians have an opportunity to take a seat at the table providing resources and support to meet the needs of students in large and small ways. As our teachers rethink their instruction plans, we can offer collaboration and insight. Rethinking the workflow in our libraries shows our students ingenuity and grit. We can move through this season of uncertainty with courage. My hope for all of you this fall as school opens in whatever capacity, is that you roll and you persist. 

​By Cynthia Stogdill

How does it compare? In July 2019, we had 334 active memberships. Our membership rate is a bit lower at this time. However, these are unique times and our offerings to Nebraska school librarians have not depended upon membership for access.

The good news... Our membership is growing. We had 15 new memberships from March 2020 to July 2020.

More good news... No emails "bounced back" when members were emailed about summer PD opportunities from the contactnsla@gmail.com email address. This shows that our members are receiving important information at this time. If you switched districts or retired, please email the above address to update NSLA.

All new memberships... New memberships received from July 28 through September 30 will automatically be extended to September 30, 2021 and will not need to renew in 2020.

IMPORTANT AS WE LOOK AHEAD: In August, members will begin to receive information about the NSLA School Librarians Day in October as well as membership renewals. Current members will receive one of two emails: membership needs to be renewed or membership is active for the upcoming year. September 30 is our universal membership renewal date.

In the face of COVID-19, the NSLA has been able to provide and promote many professional development opportunities through email, social media, and our listserv. None of these opportunities were limited to only NSLA members. Our goals regarding professional development, despite the cancellation of NETA 2020, have been met and exceeded.

In July 2020, the NSLA strengthened its standing committees and established new goals in its action plan. Committee chairs and their contact information can be found on our About NSLA page.