Hello!
This is Jessica Tracy with my blog gadget update. I've added the Page Views gadget to the bottom of the list of gadgets. I opted for the lifetime count as our little blog would see very little traffic in just 7-30 days. I think it would be beneficial to see the number of people who have found our blog.

Added Search Box

Hello! This is Jeanne Marie. I added a Search box to the sidebar. It is right at the top (for now), which is where most folks would look for a search box. There are so many posts now, I thought this would be handy for people to find a particular topic or blogger on the blog.

Combating the Demise of School Libraries

      For some time, school libraries have felt the sting of budget and staff cuts. Some districts have done away with school libraries completely, much to the detriment of both students and staff. In order to combat these budget cuts, Nancy Everhart, former AASL President, decided to tour school libraries throughout the country in order to showcase their programs. This "Vision Tour", as she deemed it, helped put the hard work and student-based results of school librarians into the forefront. While school librarians protested budget cuts, Ms. Everhart brought government officials and school superintendents into the library to see just what goes on in the space. These were the people who were making the decisions to cut funding and programs. Some of the librarians noted that it was the first time the superintendent has ever visited their library. This information begs the question, how can anyone make an informed decision without even basic knowledge about the support and programs these libraries provide?
       While on this Vision Tour, Nancy Everhart spoke with the students about their school libraries. There are no greater experts than those who utilize these spaces every day. The phrases most often heard by Nancy were that the students go to the library to "solve problems", "have fun", and "use their imagination". Without these spaces and the knowledgeable people who run them, students will miss out on opportunities to problem-solve and use their imaginations in a different and sometimes freer environment than classrooms allow.
       By the time she was finished touring the country and showcasing examples of innovative and resourceful school library programs, Nancy Everhart had made a list of 100 things students would miss out on if all school libraries were no longer a priority. This was then turned into a poster and marketed in schools and across districts who were seeing a decline in school libraries.  Highlights of the list pictured below include sharing information with others, a safe haven, confidentiality, and the ability to construct and defend arguments using correct sources. This, along with evidence of how librarians help students in the areas of reading and technology, was very eye opening. Schools should support their libraries and school librarians.They should give students every opportunity to fall in love with learning and reading and encourage different forms of media and technology usage if they want to give them the best chance to succeed.

Everhart, Nancy. "Responding to School Library Cuts". Knowledge Quest. 

       Sep/Oct2016, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p16-19.

       https://login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?  url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?       direct=true&db=lxh&AN=117821871&site=ehost-live&scope=site

     

Popular Posts

Hey all,

I added the popular posts gadget to the sidebar. I think this could increase read blog traffic and readership. Popular posts may provide the most interest to a wider range of visitors, and providing them all upfront allows for easier readability. If visitors spend more time, initially, on our site because of the popular posts, they might be more likely to follow links in those posts or return to view more later, and our traffic and readership may increase.

Here's hoping!

Jonathan

Added Gadget

Hi Library Techagogy Team,
I added an additional Gadget that listed our Archive posts.
I DID NOT remove the previous Gadget that was in place,
I just added another one that would count the posts/postings.
Be Safe,
BarneyMont

Added Gadget

Hello Everyone,
I added a new Gadget to our Blog" Translate" I thought this Gadget would be useful for anyone who preferred a different language to view our blog in.
~Keli Ingrande

The Demise of School Libraries . . . or Not!

Hello all, Vivian Sanchez here! When I think about school libraries I think back when I was in elementary school, at the beginning of the year, we made the first visit to the library. Oh, happy days for me. It’s a special place for little kids who have inquisitive minds embarking on the new excitement of learning to read and explore. How could anyone think about closing or eliminating the school library?

Well as the adults know, in most cases, money is a core issue. I reviewed several articles and studies that were done over a decade ago, and they discuss the trends of funding. In this one study by the American Association of School Librarians, School Libraries Count!, you can see that funding increased and decreased every other year from 2008 to 2012.

http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/advocacy/research/docs/AASL-SLC-2012-WEB.pdf

Did they eliminate school libraries all together? No. In my opinion, they never will. Budgets go up and down. Will this budget trend continue? Yes, it will, however, in our current time, school libraries are more essential now than ever. As Stephanie Rosalia states in this YouTube video, she is a “multi-faceted information specialist who will guide students through the flood of digital information”.

https://youtu.be/idjmD04IpDI

In general, I used to hear people say libraries were going to go away altogether. Again this was a decade or so ago. I came across an article done by the Pew Research Center (2016) which shows millennials are the ones most likely to use a library to find trustworthy and reliable information.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/30/most-americans-especially-millennials-say-libraries-can-help-them-find-reliable-trustworthy-information/

With the new technology and the vast amounts of information available, school librarians are now the information superheroes or "Super Librarians". 

According to the key findings in a compendium, School Libraries Work! (2016) from the National Center for Literacy Education, along with the School Library Journal’s (SLJ) who did a national analysis of the relationship between librarian staffing and the National Assessments of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth-grade reading scores; they have a plan or what they call a “road map." The graphic below shows the framework for bringing the “Place, Professional, and Program” together for student success. Technology is now a big benefit to school libraries. Maintaining professional training and providing a road map for a successful program is a win-win in my book. No pun intended. 😃

Scholastic, Inc. (2015) School Libraries Work!  A Compendium of Research Supporting the Effectiveness of School Libraries (2016 Edition).

Having a plan is a good thing. The budget, well . . . that’s always a work in progress.