February 16, 2013

Making the Principal Connection

Illustration by Jean Tuttle

Mark Ray asserts that principals and librarians have a lot more in common than you might think—and he should know. After 20 years as a teacher librarian, the 2012 Washington Teacher of the Year has become a district IT administrator. From his new perch, he shares insights into the the pivotal alliance possible between two key solo players in the school: librarian and principal.

That Collaborative Spirit: Changing times demand more complex partnerships | Editorial

Photograph by Thomas Strand.

Who wouldn’t want to work with the two librarians on our cover? To me, their joyous, open faces welcome engagement. I want in on the action—in this case, the series of projects they pull off to bring more to the kids they each serve.

Kentucky’s Teacher of the Year Advocates for the Need for School Librarians

There is a  2012 Teacher of the Year in Kentucky who “gets it.” And, she expresses well what students need to do to be successful meeting the Common Core standards, tying them closely to what it is that school librarians do. She does so in an article that can be sent to every superintendent, shared [...]

MARC Records as an Advocacy Strategy: My AASL “Advocacy Tip of the Day”

Teachers drift in and out of my office all day for the $.25 freshly ground coffee, “real” and decaffeinated. I sometimes sit at my desk with a pile of new materials, entering them into my automated catalog. Suddenly it hits me. We talk about school and life, give each other advice, plan collaborative projects (the [...]

We Need Tag-Team Librarianship: Active collaboration between public and school librarians benefits all | Editorial

Consider this number: nine percent. That’s how many public librarians say they “work directly with school librarians and teachers” on homework assignments. SLJ’s survey of public library spending on children’s and young adult services (see “It Takes Two” ) is eye-opening reading.