Archives

When I first stepped into the role of an elementary librarian, I was brimming with excitement and a hint of nervousness. The previous librarian had left without offering any transition guidance, so I found myself figuring things out on my own. Luckily, I had a wonderful assistant who helped me navigate those early challenges. Today, I’m sharing some tips and advice to help you thrive in your first year as a school librarian. Top Ten Tips and Advice for a School Librarian Looking back on my journey, I realized how invaluable certain strategies were in helping me succeed. With that in mind, I’m excited to share some tips and advice that will hopefully make your transition smoother and your first year as a librarian a fantastic experience. Let’s dive into the essential tips and advice every new school librarian should know! 1. Do Not Make Big Changes A saying
As librarians, we often find ourselves in professional development sessions on classroom management or flipping through books, thinking, “This isn’t for me!” We interact with students in a completely unique way. The strategies that work for classroom teachers don’t always translate to our setting. That’s why I’ve put together some classroom management tips tailored specifically for librarians. We know the library environment calls for a different approach! What’s great is that these tips work whether you see students regularly or occasionally. No matter how big your library is or how limited your resources might be, you can easily adapt these strategies to fit your needs! Why Classroom Management Tips Are Essential for School Librarians Classroom management tips are essential for us school librarians! When we’ve got effective management strategies in place, our library transforms into a calm, inviting space. This encourages our students to explore, ask questions, and dive
Do you ever get those questions about whether you’re really that busy all day in the library? I sure do! As we know, librarians are just as busy as classroom teachers. Some days, even more so. Our schedules can be incredibly hectic, with very few breaks and back-to-back classes throughout the day! I’ve been doing this for a long time now, and I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about effective time management over the years in the library. So, today, I’m sharing my top 5 tips to have the best time management skills around. Why Do School Librarians Need Effective Time Management? Let’s discuss effective time management for a second. Effective time management is crucial for school librarians because it directly impacts our ability to support our students and teachers. When we manage our time well, we can handle the diverse tasks that come our
Well it’s ALMOST sweet summertime here in Virginia (school ends June 19 to be exact!) and that means a couple of things for me:  I think as librarians it’s really important to make sure that we are always at the “top” of our game. I like to use summer to read 1 or 2 professional development books to refresh and reset before the new school year. It helps me feel energized and excited about going back to school (Keep in mind that I never start doing this until after 4th of July!) It also gives me new tips and ideas to try in the library, as things are always changing. In case you want to up your professional development game as well, I have created a list of the 10 BEST professional development books for librarians below. (All of the Amazon links are affiliate links). Hacking School Libraries 10