Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The boat is leaving the dock.......and.....

I'm jumping on board!
A few years ago, I came up with an idea to do a newsletter for my staff. I wanted to incorporate the three main areas that I deal with--the library (and all the stuff that entails!)--media--and technology.
I liked the idea of luring people into the library, students and staff. As a librarian, I LOVE BOOKS! Anyone who knows me will agree that one of the highlights of my job is connecting middle school students with good books. I'm always on the lookout for new books, reviews, anything that will help me find materials that I can get into the hands of students. In order to get them into the hands of the students, I also have to be attentive to my staff and what it is that they are looking for or recommending. I have been known to cast a line out to staff and students and then reel them in for more. Hence, I use lures.
Media? Well, there is so much that media encompasses within a school. There's the logistics piece of handling all of the equipment and the professional development side of training all users--staff and students, and then, there's the actual teaching--the part that I love almost as much as connecting students with good books--and for me, it ranges from basic research to creating bibliographies, from taking or finding photos to creating slideshows, from writing scripts and filming raw footage to creating videos and documentaries.
And then, there's the technology piece--not only being knowledgeable about technology, but also keeping in touch with what's new, what's available, what will help my staff and students, and how do I get it, and then how do I train others on the use of that technology...
As you can tell, it's a lot! A lot to think about, a lot to process, and a lot to do.....

My hope for working with 23 things on a stick is to streamline my newsletter through the use of this blog. I am also excited about the potential to share this newfound knowledge with the rest of the staff.

So, I've jumped on the boat. And I'm ready to see where the captain leads me.