It’s National Library Month and a great moment to celebrate libraries and how they’ve endured this COVID year and found ways to support our students and teachers! There are many Twitter hashtags where librarians are sharing stories about their libraries like #TXAsl and #AASL. But in a recent session(Digital Library Tools) at the Computers in Libraries Conference, Patrick Sweeney from EveryLibrary reminded participants that every celebration of libraries also needs an “ask.” What do we want people to do if they believe in libraries when […]
Tag: library advocacy
Becoming a better leader — Joining the Lilead Fellows
We know librarians are leaders, both in the library and “beyond the library” as the Future Ready Framework points out. But we all need help to improve our leadership skills. I’m fortunate to be part of the The Lilead Fellows this year, a program that pulls together library leaders from around the country to build their leadership skills and to tackle an important project in their own districts. I am part of the 2017-2018 cohort of librarians, who met last week at Old Dominion University to […]
Time to broaden our strategy?
You’ve gathered the statistics, you’ve had an active library program, you’ve served teachers and students consistently well, your usage has increased, and you’ve publicized what you do, through sharing, videos, newsletters, visibility at meetings and more. You’ve shared research on the impact of libraries on achievement scores, the importance of staffing, and studies galore. Yet your library staff or program still gets cut, your budget gets cut, librarian positions are reduced. Frustratingly, this scenario has been playing out around Texas (and around the country). It’s […]