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.

“Ok...Here we go. Focus. Speed.” 
Lightning McQueen says at the start of the movie Cars this famous line. He learns a few lessons along the way, but it still comes back to his finish and how managed to accomplish this task.  

I’d like to add to his two words—attitude and discipline. We need to have all these things at the end of the year. We ask our students to take state tests; we ask our students to wrap up their end-of-the-year projects; we ask her students to show up and continue learning even though the days are really nice outside and they’d rather be somewhere else. 

How about school library? Are we ready to finish strong? What is our focus at the end of the year? I know many times we are “busy” and caught up with other things. You may have requisitions on your plate; you may have weeding; you may have inventory; you may have teachers who want to try something new.  We are librarians. We persevere. We still need to continue and finish strong. Whether it’s students, teachers, your entire school family, I remind you, remember your focus.

Speed...when we’re looking at the rate of things that need to be done between now and the end of the year (and then you throw in having no school), what’s the speed in which we need to accomplish certain tasks? Although sleep is sometimes an afterthought, take care of yourself too. You can’t be up to speed if you’re not up to yourself. How can we have school librarians support our teachers in finishing the end of the year and finishing strong? 

We hear attitude is everything. We teach that attitude is everything. I remind you that you wake up each day and you decide who you’re going to be, you wake up each day and decide how the day is going to go. We are in charge of our lives; we’re in charge of our school library lives. Our attitude determines a lot. The attitude that we as school librarians have is one of the biggest influences in our school. Time to help you with making a connection to project even though we are swamped with things going...we sure do have the time! We always have the attitude that we still need to be there for our students. For some, the book that is checked out from us is the only book they have at home. For some, the conversation they have with us about a book is one positive adult relationship that they have in their life. For some, the library is a place for them to make and create. How can our attitude better support students in their ongoing quest for knowledge? 

Finally, what discipline do we have? This is the 4th quarter—it’s time to dig deep. I myself need to rise to the occasion so I can be a stronger person. What can I learn? What new skills can I gain because then I can export those onto my students? Or better yet, what new books can I read that I can then share with a student? I know on days off from school there are so many other things pulling at me...potentially new books that I want to read, always my housework, the nice days that make me want to be outside, there’s probably something that needs to be organized in my life...but I need to have that discipline to finish what I’m doing.

I challenge you school librarians to have your focus, your speed, your attitude, and your discipline in check and finish strong.

So as we wrap up the final quarter or term of the school year, let’s all finish strong.

​by Crys Bauermeister

(Credit: St. Louis Public Library)


Ideas
Something I am incorporating into my library in 2020 is Adopt-A-Shelf. I originally saw this idea on Facebook. I am at a large middle school and you could say that by the end of the day or week, my shelves need some love. This is an awesome way for students to hold ownership within your library. Students will “adopt” a shelf to take care of. This can be just a row or even a whole shelf. A fun way to get students to buy in is to make adoption signs about who “owns” the shelf. You could allow students to decorate their area or not. Let them run with it! Students can come in before or after school, during their library time, at the end of the week, etc. However it will work for you. In return, it saves you a few extra minutes of straightening up your shelves.

Here are a few links to get you started:
Adopt a Shelf!
https://www.elkhorn.lib.wi.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Adopt-a-Shelf-Brochure-7-14-15.pdf
https://elementarylibrarian.com/adopt-a-shelf/
A fun twist on adopt a shelf https://shawnacoppola.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/our-adopt-a-shelf-program-the-deets/


Happy New Year!

By Rachel Westphalen

by Kelly Kenny, Hillside Elementary

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your top five tips for saving your sanity in the school library! If you'd like to contribute a blog post for the NSLA blog, please email Mandy Peterson at contactnsla@gmail.com.

On the day of the Fall Spectacular, I went to Papillion LaVista South High School ready to learn alongside my fellow school librarians.  My warrior strength cup of coffee was in my hand and I was ready to go. It was a blast! To be honest, it was difficult to present because there were quite a few other sessions I was interested in attending!  The first break out session of the morning, I presented on makerspaces. It's fun to share some of the things I've learned about makerspaces over the last couple years. Part of the time was devoted to discussion and collaboration.  There's a collaborative PowerPoint I set up where everyone was able to share their makerspace goals and accomplishments. It's so great to learn alongside fellow librarians. Setting up and maintaining makerspaces without pulling your hair out is a big ordeal.  It's a lot easier when you've got awesome colleagues to work alongside.
 
Next, I attended McKenzie White's session on trauma and culturally-invested libraries.  The conversations we had were very honest about the climate of teaching these days. And as supporters of all learners in the school, us librarians have heavy responsibilities.  We have more and more to tackle every day. Research has come out concerning the negative effects that teaching in a trauma-infested environment can have on our roles as educators.  McKenzie shared practical tips and tools for librarians to implement to combat tough teaching conditions. Students crave and deserve predictability, adaptability, and connectedness.  To provide this to every learner in our busy libraries is often an daunting task. But with the tools shared by McKenzie, I feel more prepared to tackle anything life throws at me and the kids at my school.
 
My second presentation that day was the panel of school librarians:  Cindy Jackson, Kelly Kenny, Jen Prasch, Liz von Nagy, and myself. It has been an honor to work close to these amazing and spectacular ladies.  Getting to know them better, I can attest to you that they are as kind and funny as they are brilliant! Although I like to share cool stuff going on in my library, I also enjoy listening to these rockstar librarians.  Every time I talk to them, I learn something new. I go away with a thought--something I might like to try out or improve. That's what days like the NSLA Fall Spectacular are all about!
 
For the last session that day, I attended Jenna Reeh's technology life hacks.  She always has something new to share! And she is so tech-savvy.  Any time I've attended any of her sessions at previous events like NETA, I always feel engaged, heard, and like I've learned.  She is a great example to anyone who wants to try presenting to adult learners. I've stolen a couple of her ideas for my own presentations, to be honest.  Some cool tools I've bookmarked to check out from her session include: Insert Learning, Go Synth, Brush Ninja, and Yell key. I'd definitely recommend anybody check those out!
 
And, oh my goodness--that was the end of the NSLA Fall Spectacular.  I wish I had Hermione's time turner so I could go back and attend more sessions.  And I am not ashamed to let my nerdery show. As much effort as it takes to get something like this prepared, it felt like such a short day!  I wished it could've lasted all weekend long! I had a great time. I am very grateful to those on the NSLA board who've put so much work into getting the event all organized and put together.
 
The environment surrounding learning and libraries is changing.  Education is on the brink of a revolution. Improving school libraries is more than a method of job insurance.  Every librarian I have met through NSLA is resolved to trying new things for the betterment of all library users.  We see that the traditional librarian role is enough--it's more than enough. Be we aren't willing to settle. We are willing to go the extra mile, make every moment count, and revolutionize this profession to help every library user build a better future.
 
See you all soon, you rebel librarians.
 
Thanks,
 
Erin Solheim
Library & Technology Teacher
Walnut Hill Elementary
Microsoft Innovative Educator
Minecraft Certified Educator
TeachSDGs Ambassador
Common Sense Media Certified Educator

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