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President's Column: MSLA Conference

2/11/2020

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MSLA President Laura Luker is the library teacher at Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, MA. ​

Dear Colleagues,

Every year as we near the time of our annual conference, I feel myself getting more and more excited. I look forward each year to our time together - a time to learn, connect, and grow as educators - and I hope you all gain as much from it as I do.

This year’s conference theme, We Can Do It: School Libraries Build Strong Communities!,  is especially near and dear to my heart given the troubled waters many communities are facing. As we all know, libraries of all kinds serve as a safe haven for people and for free and reliable information, and now more than ever that’s needed. School libraries, however, have an especially sacred charge. We are tasked with helping the children in our communities make sense of the world around them and to become informed and participatory citizens. Youth-led strikes to call attention to climate change and school gun violence come to mind as perfect examples of teenagers working to bring about change and to impact their communities in a positive way. They also highlight the power of an informed citizenry. Greta Thunberg’s message would be nowhere near as powerful without the facts she cites. The March for Our Lives movement depends upon research and knowledge. Somewhere along the line, someone has armed these kids with the skills to do this work.

Please join me at this year’s conference. As we immerse ourselves in learning from one another and refreshing our skills, we not only strengthen our own professional community, but we also reaffirm our commitment to lead the students in our charge to become vital members of their communities. Is there anything more important? 
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Leading From the Library

2/11/2020

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 by Amy Short and Kendall Boninti

Amy Short (ashort@cpsd.us) is the Assistant Director of Library Media Services at Cambridge Public Schools and a 2019 recipient of the Peggy Hallisey Lifetime Achievement award.
Kendall Boninti (kboninti@cpsd.us) is a Library Media Specialist at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

“It's no secret that teacher librarians are leaders. Teacher librarians work with all members of the learning community--students, teachers and administrators. They are uniquely situated to be educational leaders within their school communities. They have a valuable skill set as instructional leaders” (Kleinmeyer).
According to the AASL Position Statement, “The Strategic Leadership Role of School Librarians”, “School librarians provide strategic leadership in instructional design, collaboration, and co-teaching through their global perspective. Because their work impacts all disciplines and grade levels, school librarians are in a unique position to leverage their skills and implement cross-curricular initiatives.” An example of this level of leadership is the work that Kendall Boninti and Emily Houston, Librarians at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), have undertaken in collaboration with colleagues to lead programmatic and instructional changes at CRLS. 

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The "Mirrors and Windows" of the United Arab Emirates

2/11/2020

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Laura Beals D’Elia is the Library Teacher at the Armstrong Elementary School in Westborough.

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Each year, ALA partners with the Sharjah International Book Fair and Sharjah International Library Conference in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates to send two American school librarians to present at the conference as a way to bridge cultures and share best practices. This past November, Andrea Trudeau @Andrea_Trudeau and I were honored to represent the United States as the two school librarians. We could feel the weight of this honor as we followed in the footsteps of school librarians such as Sherry Gick @sherryngick, Andy Plemmons @plemmonsa, Todd Burleson @todd_burleson, and MSLA’s very own Wendy Garland @dancelibrarian.

​There is so much to say. Summarizing or condensing this experience feels impossible, yet I will try. In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop wrote about the idea that books can be “
Mirrors, Windows, or Sliding Glass Doors.” Once I stepped foot off the plane in Dubai, it was obvious to me that this concept could also apply to experiences and I wondered where I would find mirrors and where would I find windows?


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Advice Column: Ask a Library Legend

2/11/2020

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Valerie Diggs is a former President of MSLA and currently works as a Senior Visiting Instructor at Salem State University, where she also serves as the Graduate Program Coordinator of the MEd Library Media Studies program. 

This column includes two questions from members. The first addresses a challenging situation with a paraeducator and the second, the struggle to get kids reading. 
I have a new paraeducator in the library this year. This is her first year working in education and while she is GREAT at supporting the academic needs of our students, she is struggling with the classroom management aspects of the job, especially enforcing student behavior expectations. She's young and close in age to my high school students, and because she started mid year, there has been limited opportunities for hands on training. How do I support her developing those classroom management skills so that she can help keep the library running smoothly while I'm teaching?
I am assuming that this paraeducator has no formal training in education, and has perhaps never worked in a school before? I would start with a serious conversation around expectations and her ability, or lack of ability, to manage the library environment successfully. We really can’t fault her too much for not knowing the ropes when it comes to classroom management.

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LGBTQIA+ Representation in the Elementary Library

2/11/2020

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 Barbara Gogan is the School Librarian at Peter Noyes Elementary in Sudbury, and
a recipient of a 2019 MA Super Librarian Award.

Although there are people who think an elementary library is just about reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we know how much more there is to it. For instance, when I have requested or shared LGBTQIA+ resources on LM_NET or the MSLA listserv, I receive many requests for a HIT or get asked whether I ever experience pushback from the school or parents. It appears that many elementary school librarians are turning their attention to this underserved and underrepresented area of our communities and I hope sharing my experiences may help others.
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I want to preface this by saying I am a straight cis white woman and am by no means an expert. I am doing my best to learn and am grateful to so many people who identify as LGBTQIA+ for their generosity in helping others support students.

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Woke Books for Middle Schoolers (Grades 5-8)

2/11/2020

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Emily Remer is the Librarian at Michael E. Smith Middle School in South Hadley, MA.

Librarians have long been promoting diversity in library collections. We understand that diverse books make for stronger and more socially valuable collections. Woke books (#ReadWoke), as part of diverse collections, are increasingly recognized as essential to libraries and schools because of their particular focus on marginalized and repressed groups, and because of the influence they can have on the reader in waking them up to injustice – reading  diverse and woke books can help readers (students, librarians, teachers, and everyone) develop respect and empathy for others, feel like they have a place in the world, become aware of inequalities and biases, and understand today’s complicated societal issues. These books can also provide a good jumping-off point for some of those difficult discussions that youth and adults often need to have. 

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Building a Culture of Reading with a School-Wide Reading Challenge

2/11/2020

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Lynda Moylan is the Library Media Specialist at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School in Peabody, MA ​and a recipient of a 2019 MSLA President's Award​.

Stepping into the role(s) of a Library Media Specialist after someone else can be daunting, especially if that person was in their position for a long time. When I started at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School I was coming from the elementary level into a school that was just starting to rollout a 1:1 Chromebook program. The previous library media specialist was retiring and I was excited to be a part of this unique time of change in the Library and in the school.

One thing I noticed about my new school was that the culture was very different from the elementary level. Teachers mostly kept to their own departments and there wasn’t much of a collaborative culture. I wanted the library to be the heart of the school so I focused on ways that I could create a positive culture in the library that would hopefully influence other areas of the school. I started
Instagram and Twitter accounts for the library and took advantage of our new switch to Google Apps for Education to make a new library website. Once I created an online space for the library, I wanted to update the physical space. I painted over the existing brown cork boards with chalkboard paint and put out colorful chalk to encourage students and staff to write down their current reads right in the library entrance. A Special Education teacher was running a free “store” in her classroom where students could take clothes that were donated but since her room was being used most of the day as a classroom I offered to move it to the back corner of the library so it would be accessible to everyone throughout the day. The IT specialist for our school moved his office to the library so we could be a one stop shop for tech support.


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Secondary Column: Social Media: Evil or Effective?

2/11/2020

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Felicia Quesada Montville is the Library Teacher at Charles E. Brown Middle School in Newton, MA. 

The social media landscape is wide and varied: Millennials posting too many pictures of avocado toast and claiming a color as their own. Gen Z unknowingly giving their data to Chinese tech companies. Boomers and snowflakes at war over who is most at fault for what is wrong in the world. Celebrities oversharing and doling out unsolicited advice. The tweeting Commander in Chief. Oh, and the cats. So many cats. There’s no doubt that social media has impacted our society and how we interact with each other on a daily basis, and debates over whether those changes are positive or negative persist. 

The debate around the impact of social media is fiercest in regards to its use by tweens and teens. The Wait Until 8th pledge, a parent commitment to no smartphones before 8th grade, is gaining traction as the negative impacts of smartphones on interpersonal relationships, academics, and more have come to light. At the heart of many of these arguments is access to social media. Cyberbullying, sleep disruptions, and increased anxiety and depression are real risks of social media use, especially when use is excessive. But regardless of the risks, social media is here to stay — the power of connection and the spread of information is too strong. Therefore, we should take advantage of this powerful tool to forge connections with both students and stakeholders.

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A visit with Oge Mora: Breaking Rules to Create Beauty and Community

2/11/2020

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Jennifer Mason Stott is the Library Teacher at King Open School in Cambridge, and a recipient of a 2019 MA Super Librarian Award .

I have a secret: I don’t really like conferences. I get restless, the vendor floor is like a game of avoid-eye-contact pinball, and I just want to sit with a handful of librarians or authors and have long conversations. In the summer of 2018, I shushed my inner introvert and attended the School Library Journal Basecamp. It was worth the effort. When debut author/illustrator Oge Mora got to the mic and read her book Thank You, Omu! she lit up the room. I knew I had to have her visit my school, and I invited her that day!

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Broadening Collaboration Among the School Library, the Public Library, and the ELA Classroom

2/11/2020

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Sarah Woo is the Library Teacher at the Dr. Betty G. Allen Library at Holten-Richmond Middle School in Danvers, MA and a recipient of a 2019 MSLA Super Librarian award.

As we all know, middle school students have many choices as to how they spend their time; many and varied screens, not to mention numerous clubs and activities available to them after school, provide often irresistible alternatives to sitting down and reading a book. Even the development of our makerspace in the last couple of years, while certainly valuable in terms of promoting creativity, problem-solving, and social emotional learning, seems to work against time on reading. Accordingly, in the library we always look for new ways to encourage and promote reading. I usually manage to establish a goal for the year around developing and supporting readers.

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Elementary Column: Do your parents know you by name?

2/11/2020

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Ms. Samantha Silag is the Library Teacher at Manchester Memorial Elementary School.

Over the years, I have formed the habit of referring to my K-5 students as my kids and referring to their parents and guardians as my parents. My relationship with my parents has in turn become a critical piece of the puzzle that, in my mind, completes the surprisingly complex jigsaw that is the Library Teacher role within the school community. 

There are many pieces to the jigsaw that make a successful library program and many of them are behind the scenes (collection development, policy development, standards review and curriculum writing, for example.) These responsibilities are critical to a strong library program but to the general public they sound like a snoozefest and make it easy for the Library Teacher role to blend into the background, often misunderstood or overlooked. Gone are the days when being a school librarian consisted of sitting behind the circ desk, reading glasses permanently affixed just below the eyes, with a finger at the lips shushing patrons. Today’s Library Teacher (Teacher Librarian​, Media Specialist, Learning Commons Manager, call it what you want!) has curriculum development responsibilities, direct instruction responsibilities, often plays a tech support role, is an ambassador of books, multiculturalism, community interaction...the list is long. But how is anyone to know this if we don’t COMMUNICATE?! In order for the school library program to be valued and supported within the school community, the Library Teacher must be a known entity. He or she is the face of the library program. Without a dynamic, progressive, motivated Library Teacher, there is no dynamic, progressive, motivating Library program. So do we need to toot our own horn? Sure, at times we do, but there is more to building relationships than just basic advocacy.

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Tech Column: Check Your Website for Accessibility Issues

2/11/2020

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Margaret Kane Schoen is a Library Teacher at Newton South High School. 

As librarians, it’s important to make sure our resources are accessible to all of our patrons. When designing the layout of your library, you’ve probably thought about physical accessibility. Are exits and entrances wheelchair accessible, will people with disabilities be able to work comfortably at tables or reach printers? Did you know you also need to evaluate your website for accessibility?
​

Proper design and coding allows people with disabilities to navigate and interact with websites, and access the information and materials you’ve curated there. The World Wide Web Consortium has laid out guidelines for accessibility in its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and the American Library Association recommends that libraries comply with them.

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A Tribute to Sharon Hamer

2/11/2020

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Kathy Lowe is a past president of MSLA, and has recently retired as the Executive Director of MSLA.

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I first met Sharon about 20 years ago when we were both high school librarians in the Boston Public Schools. At the time, I was immediately aware of her intellect, competence and innovative ideas, but I didn’t really know much else about her beyond our professional interactions. After a few years, she and Richard relocated to Connecticut and we lost touch, but years later, when I had become the Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Library Association, Sharon returned to Massachusetts to take on the revitalization of the library at the Belmonte Middle School in Saugus and she became active in MSLA, ultimately joining the executive board as an area director, participating in planning our annual conference, and serving as MSLA’s representative to the Affiliate Assembly of the American Association of School Librarians. I was impressed by Sharon’s directness and the practical and creative ideas she generously shared with her colleagues. And she wasn’t at all shy about curtailing rambling executive board and conference committee discussions, ensuring our meetings DID NOT run overtime. One of my favorite memories of Sharon during this time was when she and another colleague energized the attendees at our annual conference with their altered version of the song Titanium, soon having us all belting out “I am Librarian!”


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Is 2020 Time to Retire?

2/11/2020

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Patsy Divver is the School Librarian at the Millis Middle/High School Library.

Welcome to the new decade! So many great opportunities lie ahead for us. Included in my outlook for the upcoming ‘20s is retiring. But, as ‘that time’ comes closer, it also becomes much harder to make a firm decision and commitment. I thought I’d share some of the steps that helped me to collect the needed information... and then touch on your personal choice for timing.

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Your PAL the Librarian

2/11/2020

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Claudia Palframan is the Library Teacher at Dupont Middle School in Chicopee and
a recipient of a 2019 MA Super Librarian Award.

I am not sure when I became a PAL, or Political Action Leader. It was somewhere around the No on 2 campaign. I had been attending meetings with local legislators about issues I considered important, and the next thing I knew, I was a PAL. We work with MTA senate area coordinators, who arrange meetings with local legislators and also arrange for other advocacy work and opportunities. Because Chicopee is split into several different districts, I work with at least three different senate area coordinators. Election times are busy, but interesting.

When we meet with our local legislators, I speak about what I know, school libraries. I am able to advocate for school libraries. My experiences and membership with the MSLA, and the MTA Library task force are very valuable when advocating for school libraries. When we talk about school funding, I can talk about how many schools do not have librarians, or lack budgets, or have limited student access to the library due to testing, and more. I can talk about how we support English Language Learners and students with special needs. The trick is - keep it short and simple!

For librarians and para librarians who want to learn more about local politics (isn’t it all local), I recommend you become a PAL. Our voices are often lost, there are so many educational issues that seem to take priority, yet we work with all students and staff, and have a unique perspective on educational policies. We know how to do the research, we are good at elevator speeches, and we advocate for our students and staff and need to be at the table. Also, you’ll meet some really nice people who get what we do!
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Secret Lives of School Librarians: From School Library to Aquafarm

2/11/2020

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In the summer, I work on Cape Cod for Ward Aquafarms. I farm oysters and scallops. The company also has a research component (the owner is a PhD. in marine biology), so we always have federal grants and research ongoing. This summer, I worked specifically with the School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford on several collaborative research projects on tautog fish and trout. I love this work in the summer, when I transform from an academic and librarian to a scientist and researcher in the field
-- John Maxwell, Hastings Elementary School, Westborough, MA.

​Submit here to share your secret life -- what you do in the summer, on the weekends, or before you became a school librarian, 
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    Forum Newsletter

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    Reba Tierney and
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    Reba is the School Librarian at Waltham High School; Luke is School Librarian at  Wilson Middle in Natick

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