Join us Tuesday

This Tuesday, March 4th, at 8PM CST, the Women of the Web2.0 program on EdTalk will be about school library media programs.

Famous person, Joyce Valenza, and I will be guests on the program. (Cathy Nelson has a great description of what's happening and how to get involved here so I don't think I need to repeat all of it here. Thanks, Cathy!)

 

So, Blue Skunk Readers, what should be the main topics of conversation on this program about the future of school library media programs? Issues? Problems? Ideas? Let me know and I'll work them into the show.

Oh, as I understand it, men who are confident about their masculinity are welcome to participate as well.

A little ray of sunshine

This came in my email yesterday (slightly edited and anonymized). After the bleak news of other library program cuts recently, this was just a little ray of sunshine!

Two years ago-in spring 2005, I sent [your] survey to my teachers and received very high marks. I, of course, made copies (especially of the section that asked, "what is the best part of the your school's library media program" where three teachers simply wrote in my name) and sent them to the principal. ...the message was clear. Teachers were happy!

Well as an un-tenured teacher, with no affirmations from my boss, it was the balm from Gilead--you know the one that heals the "sin sick soul." I still believe publishing those survey results helped me keep my job. How could a principal NOT re-hire a Library Media Specialist who was serving the staff?

This spring, as a tenured teacher, I will repeat the survey and ... I will again publish the results.

Believe me, Doug I am in a much better frame of mind this year sending out the survey.

Thank you for giving me the tools to ask the questions. Without the template, I might never have done the survey. Who knows what might--or might not, have happened. Just wanted to let you know we DO use the tools and resources you have created.

Notes like these are why many of us make our work public. I am always grateful and humbled when I get such comments, 'cause some days you really wonder if anything you've done has ever made a difference.

I believe this is the simple tool this email writer used with her teachers: (Other surveys for parents, students and principals are available here.)

Teacher Survey Questions

Questions 1-12 all use this Likert scale:

Strongly Disagree (1) Disagree (2)  Agree  (3)  Strongly agree (4)

1. I can help determine what activities, policies and materials are a part of the library media program.
2. The media specialist regularly communicates with the staff about programming and resources using a variety of methods.
3. The media budget for books, audio-visual materials, computer software, and equipment is adequate to meet my students’ needs.
4. Resources for the media center are carefully chosen to reflect curriculum and student needs, and the resources are of high quality.
5. The resources in the media center are easy to locate, readily accessible, well maintained, and up-to-date.
6. The media center curriculum plays an important part in the total educational program at the school.
7. The media center is adequately available for my use, whole class use, and individual or small group student use.
8. The media specialist provides help to me on an individual basis.
9. The media center is staffed so that its resources can be fully utilized.
10. The media staff create a welcoming and comfortable climate in the media center.
11. The learning climate in the media center is orderly and purposeful.
12. Technology is being taught and used in the media center to improve student access to information
13. Please list the best characteristic(s) of your school’s library media program:
14. Please list the way(s) the library media program could be improved to better serve you and your students.
15. Other comments or observations.

Use this tool if you can. Put your fate in your own hands.

ALA's red headed stepchild once again

Open letter to Lenonard Kniffel, Editor of ALA's American Libraries (americanlibraries@ala.org):

Dear Mr. Kniffel:

 Once again ALA has demonstrated that school libraries are truly the red-headed stepchild of the library world.

I appreciate your re-working of American Libraries to acknowledge that there is actually a digital world where libraries play a part. Adding columns by a few librarians who are under 110 years old  is a good start. (Andrew Pace and Merideth Farkas are refreshing)

But it really grinds my gears reading an article like "Mattering the Blogosphere" without even the token school library blogger being mentioned. I can just hear Alice Yucht asking, "What are we, chopped liver?"

Let me list a few of the vibrant school library voices writing blogs:

• Alice Yucht: Alice in Infoland http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/ 
• Rob Darrow: California Dreamin' http://robdarrow.wordpress.com/ 
• Diane Chen: Deep Thinking http://deepthinking.blogsome.com/ 
• Sara Kelly Johns (AASL president-elect) From the Inside Out http://fromtheinsideout.squarespace.com/blog/ 
• Frances Harris Gargoyles Loose in the Library http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/library/blog/index.html 
•  Chris Harris Infomancy http://schoolof.info/infomancy/
• Mary J Johnson The Primary Source Librarian http://maryjjohnson.com/primarysourcelibrarian/ 
• Joyce Valenza's TheNeverendingSearch  http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/
• Jacquie Henry's Wanderings http://nlcommunities.com/communities/wanderings/default.aspx 

 I hope you print this in your Letters to the Editor section. But you know it doesn't really matter since it is also out in the school library blogosphere - which I would wager has more school librariansas  readers than does American Libraries.

For a more inclusive editorial policy,

Doug Johnson
The Blue Skunk Blog http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/