Last week two librarians from another small East Texas town visited my library. They observed me during 1st grade library time. I read a new book, Look UP! by Jing Jin-Ho. This book has few words and mostly pictures. This might be one of my new favorite books!
While students were checking out books Martha jumped right in and helped me check books out to students while Lisa walked about the library helping students pick books. Let me tell you, this spoiled me! I've never had a fully staffed library and seeing how a library could function if it was fully staffed... let me say one word, WOW!
After the class left we had a chance to sit down and talk. We each run our libraries a little differently so it's nice to chat and learn from each other.
We talked about everything from the design of my space (a huge thanks to my mil for helping me with that 3 years ago) to how many books I let students check out to why I'm on a flexible schedule. One thing that struck me was how different we did run our libraries. Not that there's anything wrong with that. No two classrooms are the same. But at the same time, I wish there was a bit more continuity from library to library.
I wish this mostly because I think if we were banded together in a common likeness it would be "easier" to show our worth. If we are all different in how many books students can check out and the type of schedule we follow and whether we have time for collaboration it seems harder to show why the library is an important part of the learning team.
There's no real way for us to each be exactly alike but I wonder what it would like if we were more alike. I wonder if it would make a difference in this fight to have people understand what we do and how we help. #DeepThoughtsByLinsey
Anyway... back to my original post. We had a great time learning from each other! I wish we had more opportunities to visit each other's libraries. Certainly being apart of #txlchat and two Facebook groups for librarian is so helpful but there's nothing like being there in person.
I wish this mostly because I think if we were banded together in a common likeness it would be "easier" to show our worth. If we are all different in how many books students can check out and the type of schedule we follow and whether we have time for collaboration it seems harder to show why the library is an important part of the learning team.
There's no real way for us to each be exactly alike but I wonder what it would like if we were more alike. I wonder if it would make a difference in this fight to have people understand what we do and how we help. #DeepThoughtsByLinsey
Anyway... back to my original post. We had a great time learning from each other! I wish we had more opportunities to visit each other's libraries. Certainly being apart of #txlchat and two Facebook groups for librarian is so helpful but there's nothing like being there in person.
I love visiting other classrooms for ideas - collaboration is so helpful! My librarian switched to a Makerspace model a few years ago and has collaborated with other libraries in the district on this. It is amazing and has become one of the best parts of our school!
ReplyDeleteIt is always so helpful to spend time visiting and brainstorming.
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