I’m a PhD Student?!?

So, I have gone back to school…. AGAIN. For the LAST time. For real.

No, seriously. 🙂 I don’t think I can go much further than a PhD! 🙂

I don’t think I ever would have gotten this far. If you would have asked 18 year old me, graduating high school, if she would have thought about going to school for a PhD someday, I think she would have laughed her ass off. She was a lost child, just trying to survive her chaotic existence, little stability, her grandparents as her guardians (that alone should tell you something….). I was a mess. I was headed to the University of Illinois. Not because I really wanted to go there…. no, I was following my boyfriend at the time. Yeah, brilliant move. I had never set foot on the campus prior to move-in day. I know, I know, not the smartest. But, hey, at least I was smart enough to get in! – I just wasn’t smart enough to stay. See, I didn’t know how to learn. School came too easy for me overall. I got by doing the general amount of work, found hacks as I could, and overall just survived. Literally always was surviving. Lied as necessary, manipulated, whatever it took. I was whatever I needed to be. It was a sad, sorry existence, but it was what it was. I had a difficult childhood, whether or not my family wants to admit it. When you make a child lie to authority figures, when half of her life is a lie, she just gets better and better at lying. Until she no longer knows how to tell the truth. Even to herself. Took me years to figure that out. But I digress.

My first major in college was photography. I loved taking photos. Still do, honestly. I consider myself semi-pro, cause I’ve been published and have shown, but I do it for fun, not for profit. But back then, I decided I was going to major in photography… because I had no F’in clue what else to do. Seriously. Oh, and mind you, I hadn’t taken an art class in high school other than the year of photo. Yeah, you can imagine how well it turned out. Because apparently, at least in the program I went to, you have to know how to DRAW in order to be a photo major! Doh. I managed C’s. I’m not complaining, because honestly, that was pretty generous. I lasted 2 years at U of I.

My mother told me school was not for me.

Do you know how much that pissed me off? To be told, after years and years and years of basically being told you MUST go to college after high school, that school wasn’t for me? I couldn’t fathom it. It was just incomprehensible. School was EVERYTHING to me. It was the ONLY thing to me. If I didn’t go to school to make something of myself, well, I was a complete failure in my mind. (DISCLAIMER – that is MY mind. I am NOT saying that everyone who doesn’t go to college is a failure. We all go on different paths in life. My path in my mind was only college. There are many life paths that are just as acceptable. Do what is right for YOU.)

I should also mention my mother is also someone who gives up at the first sign of defeat and never works at anything. Running away is easier. I refused to be like her in any way.

So, I went to community college in the summer. Took an “online” class, which is not like online classes today, but much more independent back in the early 2000’s. Got a better GPA. Applied at NIU, got accepted, found a major I liked a lot more, moved in there, restarted school, got involved in stuff this time (which I didn’t last time because I was too hung up with the stupid boyfriend – now ex-boyfriend), and finally graduated with my Bachelors degree.

That degree came hard-earned. I did not graduate with the best grades, but I did graduate. I started to learn how to actually study, how to actually learn. And I got better at it the farther along I moved through my degrees, which has led me to here, to now. I’ve learned to write so much better along the way, thanks to my amazing proofreader, my now dear husband. It’s all come to this point. I’m actually here, working on my doctorate. And this first month is going well! I’ve gotten great feedback (and grades!) from my professors, even on one assignment that I didn’t think I was going to fair well on, which was very encouraging. It’s almost like that little girl from that chaotic homelife got herself together, made her life what SHE wanted, gave her mother the finger essentially when her mother told her school wasn’t for her (and also turned my back on her for the last 12 years), and went off to do what she needed to do for herself.

I like what that girl turned out to be. Took her a hot minute, but I like her.

Token Black Girl – ARC Book Review

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley. Token Black Girl will be published on Oct. 1, 2022.

Token Black Girl by Danielle Prescod was a great read! I was really impressed by how Ms. Prescod described her childhood and explained growing up black in an elite (white) private school. The pressure she felt to fit in, to conform to a standard that was not her own, to essentially change, code switch, and manipulate herself to feel accepted by her age-range peers just because she was the only black girl in a sea of white girls was extraordinary to read. And then her college and professional life was really telling.

I will be honest, I started reviewing my own childhood and adulthood and thinking if I ever made expectations of friends to either conform or adopt a certain way of being just because of who I expected them to be. This book has definitely made me more aware of those who are living black in white society (because let’s be honest, it is a thing within itself in the middle/upper middle/elite world…) and the pains they go through just to be “accepted” when they shouldn’t have to be. This is definitely something that everyone needs to read in order to understand the black experience in the world of white superiority (whether or not they believe in white superiority…)

Adding a Tag to MARC Records

Ok, am I one of the only ones who actually enjoyed cataloging class? … I think so.

It’s the analytical side of me I guess. I do enjoy organization and logic, ADD aside. I just cannot keep my life organized for anything. But I digress.

On Twitter, there was recently a discussion about using the 650 tag. This has to be one of my favorite tags, and honestly one of the few I change in the MARC records. I do occasionally change some other things in the MARC records, like the title of the series or the volume number, but more often than not, it is the subject that I change.

In Follett Destiny there are two ways to do this. Both in my opinion are really easy – one is using their MARC Editor (you need to know/understand the different MARC numbers and letters for that) OR you can use their Easy Editor. Both work just as well, it really is just your preference. If I am changing the subject, I tend to use the MARC Editor. If I am changing anything else, I’ll use the Easy Editor. Then I don’t have to think about the specific number. I don’t like cataloging THAT much.

I have quick demo videos of how to use both to add a subject to a book.

This video shows using the MARC Editor:

And here’s the video using the Easy Editor:

So, as you can see, it’s not something that is toooo difficult to do. I use it a lot to add the LGBT subject in so students who are looking for books with characters who are LGBTQIA+ can find them easier. Not all books seem to have that identified for whatever reason, and my students have asked for this, and since they asked, I can definitely help.

These Deadly Games – ARC Book Review

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.  These Deadly Games will be published on Feb. 1, 2022.

This is the type of book I have to put down and pick back up over and over throughout the book. And that’s not because it’s a bad book. It’s just the opposite. It’s a great book! I’m just one of those type of people that any time something makes me anxious I have to stop! lol.

This book is great because it really has a modern day feel to the kidnapping mystery. Gaming friends, on the hunt for the title and prize money, meet at Crystal’s house daily. But when Crystal’s little sister is kidnapped, she has to keep the secret and complete different tasks the kidnapper has set up or watch her sister die. However, some tasks seem have consequences – deadly consequences for her friends. Crystal is torn between the love for her sister and the trap that was set for her and her friends.

This is going to be a very popular book I think. It has all the right elements – suspense, thrill, misdirection, today’s technology, little bit of romance but not enough to make the book one of those blooks. 🙂 This book will definitely keep you guessing until the end… and even then will keep you on your toes. Great book, highly recommended.

3 of me – OR, how I don’t know how anyone runs a school library by themselves

I think there needs to be at least 3 of me for my library. One of me to take care of the basic library day-to-day including the ordering, processing, checkouts, etc, one of me to take care of social media, internet, apps, how-to videos, and the other “techie” stuff I want to do, and one of me to take care of the teacher collaboration piece for my school, to make sure my teachers are really getting the full benefit of a teacher-librarian.

I have a school of around 450 kids. MO DESE recommendation is such that:

1.0 full-time librarian assigned full time to a library in a school* with a student population of
1-750
1.5 full-time librarians assigned full time to a library in a school* with a student population of
751-1,500
2.0 full-time librarians assigned full time to a library in a school* with a student population
exceeding 1,500 (DESE 2019)

So, yeah. It’s gonna just be me for quite a while. I know 3 librarians is a total pipe dream anyhow. But, really, I think in this day and age, to do anything well these days, you need another person.

This is really true when I look at how much of my time is spent with Chromebooks. Now, to be fair, this year isn’t as bad as most, since I’m not doing dayloaners. But, if I counted dayloaners in this, I would say at least 30-50% of my day every day would be spent dealing with Chromebooks and Chromebook issues. Now it’s more like 10-15% most days, which isn’t nearly as bad, but still more than I like.

What is the rest of my time spent on then?

I tried to tally up my time once. Between time I was interrupted by teachers asking me questions or coming in to talk to me (some reasonable, some inane), students needing assistance (usually with the printer – I have it down to a science for the most part – tap card, hit print all, hit ok, hit log out), and misc emails, well, that takes up about 40-50% of my day. The other 45, 50, 55%+? That is when I try to get my work done. That is where I try to get the ordering, processing, checking in, collection development, weeding, emails to vendors (I don’t call people), cleaning, organizing, displays, social media, tech how to’s, collaboration discussions, etc. all in.

And when I get home? I sit and do more stuff. Currently I’m in between reading research on independent reading and looking at non-fiction collection organization (ditching or reorganizing Dewey.) Oh, and I also am the assistant Color Guard and WinterGuard instructor, I play oboe for the local community college concert band, I am the sponsor for the library club, I am stepping up to co-coach the scholar bowl team, I’m going to be the official timer for the track meets starting this spring, and I do have a family, where I take my kiddo to TaeKwonDo, and am involved with his BSA troop. Oh, and I might be starting my PhD program in the fall if I get into the program I applied for.

Needless to say, I don’t know how some of these super-librarians do it. I don’t know what sleep, what “other” things they sacrifice to be the amazing superstars they are. I want to be them, and I know someday I can and will. Until then, I’ll baby-step along, continue to do the best that I can for my school and my program, and know that I am continuing to build my dream program, piece by piece. “If you build it, they will come.” Right, Field of Dreams? That’s what that movie was all about… right?

Resources

DESE LIBRARY RECOGNITION SCORING GUIDE [PDF]. (2019). Jefferson City, MO: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This Ain’t Your Momma’s Library Anymore

I was asked by my school’s newspaper staff to write an article for them about my job, what I do during the day, and how I help virtual students in our school. When I asked their advisor (more or less to ask if she put them up to it, which she said she didn’t!), she clarified that they were thinking about services that I offer to students and teachers now that the library is basically “out of commission.” And that got me thinking – I’m really trying to create a place that, for better or worse, “ain’t your momma’s school library.”

But. What does that mean? Let’s flash back a moment. I promise there’s a reason.

I think back to when I was in school. Back in elementary school, I remember my elementary library. My librarian was a gentleman. I don’t recall his name, but I recall the room had a step-down area for story time, and I remember clearly that our hands were covered with cloths to teach us how to type without looking on a big Apple computer. I don’t really recall my middle school library other than there were a couple of rooms, and it was literally right in the center near the stairs, and I think we played the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago and Oregon Trail games. My high school library was really old and dated if I recall, and I really don’t recall going in there much. I don’t recall reading a ton, definitely not like I do now – the books weren’t there. Looking back, the quality of books was just starting to be there, but it wasn’t there yet. I don’t recall ever really checking out books from my high school library; I’m embarrassed to say I don’t even recall my high school librarian! (I DO remember who took over for them – she was my Junior year English teacher, who I know look up to as someone I aspire to be as a librarian some day!)

According to Teen Epic Reads Blog, YA lit started to grow in the 70s, with an increase in 80s with Sweet Valley High and Baby Sitters Club books (which in my opinion are more middle grade than YA), and the 90’s came Goosebumps (again middle grade) and finally the late 90’s the big titles start to come out – Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999), The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999), and Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (1998) for example (2018). So, power titles that were starting to be there, but definitely not what we have today. Probably a big reason I never went into my high school library – there was nothing there of interest!

So, between there not being a whole lot of book options (I read freaking Crime and Punishment people!!!) and not even going into my libraries, well, I know I don’t want my library to be like that, and I know I have to do more and be different. To be fair, the libraries of today are not the libraries of the 80’s and 90’s. We no longer are the “shush” libraries of the past, the quiet places to take a test or find something in those big reference books. Many of us no longer even have long lines of computers sitting there waiting to be utilized (though I know many still do…).

What are we now then? Why are we still around? Are we really still relevant?

To answer it plainly…. YES! We ARE still relevant, we just ain’t your momma’s library! I’m not running the library that I went to school with, that’s for sure! Cause if I did, I would lose the students in a heartbeat.

So, that brings me to my point. What am I doing that brings students in, that makes students want to come into the library, that makes them want to stay? I’m creating a culture that the library is THEIR place. Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t order in there. It is a library in a school. But, it is geared towards them, not towards me.

• Displays that have their interests in mind.
• Seating (other than the standard tables/chairs) that is comfortable and inviting (in a non-COVID year, thanks COVID…).
  • (That also doesn’t account for the furniture that I’ve inherited when I got there – its a totally 1980’s looking library, but we are planning on going to the voters for a new HS soon… so there are future hopes and dreams in the wings, but for now we work with what we got….)
• Organization that is not the standard (genrefication).
• Making it user-friendly – going outside the box to make it for THEM, not ME – “standards” and “tradition” be damned.
• A welcoming place where they want to come in, even if it’s just to say hi for a moment, or if they need a moment to regroup from some drama, or if they have something celebratory to share, or if it becomes their safe spot, or if it becomes their home at school and they spend literally 4-5 hours a day there (all has happened in the last 3 years.)

There’s probably more, and I generalized some, but I think the point is there. The librarian is no longer the “gatekeeper of the books.” They no longer hold them under lock and key, where you must beg their help for you to find something, then they begrudgingly help you, and gods only knows what happens if you lose a book. Nope, the librarian is now a mentor, a partner to the teacher, a source of a wealth of information, someone you can go to for help, whether it is for research, a title of a good book to read, or if you just need someone to complain to about life for a few minutes. The library is completely different than it was 20 years ago, and I think I like it this way much more.

References

Team Epic Reads. (2018, September 25). A Brief History of Young Adult Books: Epic Reads Blog. https://www.epicreads.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-young-adult-books/.

Musings on Librarianship during COVID

I just wanted to blog a little about teaching and library during this time we call COVID. There has never been a time like this. It is so very different than anything we have ever done, anything we have ever trained for. Some schools are completely in person. Some schools are in a hybrid-type situation, where some students come in to school, while others stay at home for the day, and then they switch. Other schools are completely virtual. Still others have some students go in for full days while others have elected to be taught virtually for the semester or year. Basically, there is no consistency around anywhere and it’s a hot mess. Sorry, it’s true.

Where does that leave us in the libraries? Finding our own pathways, that’s for sure. I know there are amazing colleagues of mine who have done INCREDIBLE things since COVID, though. They have literally transformed themselves into distance librarians, creating virtual booktalks, grab and go checkouts, (I’m looking at you Mrs. Asmus and West Leyden!). I am always in awe of what and how much that woman accomplishes. I look on Twitter. I see other colleagues just doing these amazing things.

And I look what I’m doing. Now, I’m not disparaging myself. But, comparably, I don’t feel like I’m doing nearly as much.

My numbers are down a bit, but that’s because I don’t have the amounts of students in like I used to. Thanks, COVID. I still have my partnership with my amazing Freshman ELA teacher Annie Holzen-Mason, and that helps my circulation numbers immensely, and the fact that we’ve created a culture of reading within the school that definitely has continued for several students as they’ve matriculated to the next grade, but it’s still not enough.

I feel like I’m doing more collaborating with my teachers more, but it is only because they have to teach BOTH in person and virtually, and they need all the help they can get. So I am constantly trying to find resources and ideas for them. The ones who know I am a fountain of ideas will come to me for help. And for the ones who don’t know I try to give ideas to in order to let them know I’m here to be their collaborative partner. So, this week alone I’ve been working on a Digital Breakout, set locks for Breakout boxes, continued to help with an Empathy lit unit, and created several Wakelet collections to help teachers (cause I’m addicted, another story for later…). And that’s just what I can remember at the moment.

I think the hardest part is truly getting the relationships with the students. I like to think I have a pretty good relationship with my sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Seniors, especially, as they were my first freshmen class. They have only ever had me as a high school librarian. But I don’t feel I’ve been able to truly develop a good relationship with the current year’s freshmen. Some have never even met me before!!! To me that is just crazy.

Looking back on this first semester (as I sit here at home in quarantine – yes, even teacher-librarians, if they’re doing it right, can end up quarantined!), I know I have some changes to make. I know that this week is the perfect week to work on that, too! No real interruptions (ie Chromebooks!!!!) other than maybe an email or my boy, or maybe a kitten wanting attention (see below). I think I’m going to use today to plan, maybe tomorrow to, and the rest of the week for execution (other than getting a COVID test, because now I gotta know….). Now, off to so some planning!

The best supervisor this week! 8 1/2 month old Clark

Wakelet Newsletter

I will go on and on about the amazingness of Wakelet at another time. Today, though, I will discuss the new LLC newsletter.

I’ve wanted to do a newsletter for my library for a while now. I’ve done an infographic, but wanted to do more. I really really like Smore, but I don’t like the cost. Let’s be honest, I’m a teacher, and I can’t justify spending even a little of my budget just to use that service when there are free services out there. So, I kept looking.

Then, I found this twitter post about Wakelet newsletters. And then I started playing with Wakelet. And fell in love. Again, there is so much to do with Wakelet, but I’ll save that for another post. For now, here is my first Wakelet Newsletter for the WCHS LLC. (Also available as a PDF download).

https://wke.lt/w/s/fXgRrv

the-wchs-llc-newsletter-october-2020Download

Cinderella is Dead – ARC Book Review

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.  Cinderella Is Dead will be published on July 31, 2020.

I just want to say how much I loved and devoured this book.  I could NOT put it down!  This was one of my late night reads, finishing it in a day.

Sophia lives in Lille, 200 years since Cinderella found her Prince Charming.  Now, at the age of 16, every girl gets to meet her own “Prince Charming” at the annual ball… whether she wants to or not.

Under an authoritative rule by a demanding king, Sophia is living a life she does not want.  Women are no more than property of their fathers and husbands.  There are curfews, rules, and laws.  They have little rights.  They are required to attend a ball, look their best, and draw in the best suitor.  If they don’t, after a certain amount of times, or if their parents chose, their lives are forfeit – at the mercy of the king.  They don’t get to chose their suitor – they especially don’t get to chose a suitor of the same sex.

Sophia is not like the other girls.  Not only does she question the official Cinderella story, she would rather marry her childhood friend Erin, not some male suitor.  When the ball arrives, and drama ensues, Sophia runs, and finds herself in Cinderella’s mausoleum.  From there, the story of Cinderella and Prince Charming starts to unravel.  Did Cinderella really get her happily ever after, or is there more to the story than what the official story says?  Who is the real evil in the story?

I feel that this book needs a TW right away for spousal abuse.  It’s not much, but it’s there, and may affect some people.  That does NOT take away from the story, and it actually makes such a point for the story.

This is a love story, a fractured fairy tale, and an alternative perspective to what we think we know.  I absolutely loved this book.  Sophia was a believable protagonist, who didn’t want to hide who she was or conform to the expectations that were made for her.  She wants to live her life.  Erin is a believable friend, a character who denies who she is because of the expectations put upon her, and ignores what she wants because everyone tells her to.  I hurt for Erin, but at the same time, I shake my head for her.  There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and a lot of things I didn’t expect, which I loved and kept me reading.  It is a great book, a great representation for the LGBTQIA+ population who have been forced over time to conform to societal views of heteronormative relationships and expectations.  I hope it gets the reception it deserves.

The Cousins – Book Review

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.  The Cousins will be published on Dec. 1st, 2020.

I’m just going to say first off – another wild ride from Karen M. McManus.  She has become my go to for mystery thrillers without being scary/horror, which I just can’t do.

Three cousins, Milly, Audrey, and Jonah, have been sent letters by their grandmother, stating that she wants to meet them and have them work at her island resort for the summer.  Their parents were all disowned by their grandmother over 20 years ago, and the cousins barely know each other.  All accept the offer, as they really had little choice from their parents, and head to the island to work and meet their grandmother.  However, things aren’t really as they seem when they arrive.  Everyone on the island seems to be keeping secrets, including the cousins.  As they continue to live on the small island resort, the cousins learn how very mysterious their grandmother and family really are, and secrets start to come out into the open.

I enjoyed this book.  I have come to really appreciate Karen M. McManus’ style of writing that keeps me engaged and tangled in the web she weaves – I’m intrigued, I’m curious and want to read more, and in this book I was uneasy to the point where I had to put it down for two days to get over a particular part of the book.  (I don’t do well with cringe situations, especially in books… that’s just a me thing though.)

Overall, this is another winner.  You are kept guessing until the end, and once you get there you realize all the clues you missed throughout the book.  A solid read.