Services
The Library Learning Commons should offer services that meet the needs of its community and should be responsive to changing needs.
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Visual Book Lists
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Book Tastings
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Book Recommendations
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Book Delivery
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Student/Teacher Requests
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Unrestricted Check-outs
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Flexibility & Forgiveness with Fines
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Picture Books
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Regularly Updated Foreign Language Titles
01
Reading Culture
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Monthly Reading Challenges
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Project LIT Book Club
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TOME Literary Society
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Rotating Book Displays
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Book Fairs
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Book Drives & Distributions
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Community Partnerships
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Author Visits
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SORA
We agree with the American Association of School Librarians Position Statement, "The School Librarian's Role in Reading" (2020) and believe strongly in creating "a rich reading environment and culture...[in order to] nurture learners' journeys in finding their passion for reading and lifelong learning"; we also believe that every student in our building should have access to "a current, diverse, and inclusive collection of reading and information materials in multiple genres and formats that support the developmental, cultural, social, and linguistic needs of all learners" (Shared Foundation: Curate). Finally, we seek to "provide opportunities and advocate for all learners to exercise choice and curiosity in what they read, view, and hear" (Shared Foundation: Explore). We support our students' right to read because we believe literacy development is a crucial component of our students' development and a free democratic society.
One way to support reading and literacy development is through the creation of book rich environments. First, we ensure that new books come consistently throughout the year with a subscription to Junior Library Guild that includes categories specific to our community, such as Spanish titles, Hi-Lo titles, and upper elementary graphic novels. We also build book lists throughout the year based on teacher and student requests, professional reviews, book information from the publisher, author events, and professional development webinars; we make book purchases based off the lists at least twice a year. We are constantly weeding and curating both our fiction and nonfiction sections, and we maintain robust collections in our most requested and circulated genres, including graphic novels and Manga, realistic fiction, and comic books. We also have well-developed collections of picture books, audiobooks, and eBooks in order to ensure every student can access literacy in our building. We house many special education units as well as a large population of IEL and ESL students. To best serve them, we have a large foreign language section, but we also have an unusually large collection of picture books, including picture books covering content-area standards. Teachers often check out picture books to use in classroom instruction, and many students check them out to practice their English or to read to younger siblings or cousins. We want to support literacy across our community, so we promote book events and partner with both our public library and local independent book store to increase access to relevant and engaging texts. We host two book fairs throughout the year, and for the past several years, we have promoted, hosted, and supported book drives throughout the district while also collaborating with the public library to disseminate free books into lower income areas. Finally, to ensure all students always have access to information and reading materials, we support unrestricted checkouts and collaborate with students and families to mitigate the impact of fines from lost or damaged books.
Another component of reading culture is celebrating readers' identities and interests and promoting all types of literacy development. We support two reading clubs through the LLC: Project LIT Book Club and the Jr. TOME Literacy Society. In Project LIT, we focus on diverse, historically accurate, culturally relevant, and engaging texts. We invite parents and community members to read student-selected texts along with us throughout the year and participate in a community meeting where we reflect on the book's theme and impact through discussion, games, or crafts. Students also participate in community service by signing up to read both in-person and virtually to students at our elementary feeder schools. Students in TOME have the option to participate in a year-long reading bowl competition as well as individual literacy-focused events in the fall and spring. Students can choose to read some or all of the TOME It List Books, and some of the individual events also allow students to read any book of their choice. In addition to our clubs, we have a curated collection of Young Adult books in every genre to support the reading interests and capabilities of our advanced readers. While we believe every student has the right to access material appropriate to their level, we also recognize that not every book is for every student, so we support a guardian's right to monitor their own student's reading and place restrictions on their own student's account. Finally, we encourage reading for pleasure by giving away free books to students who complete our monthly reading challenges through Beanstack. We support this initiative through donations, publisher and vendor coupons and rewards, and various fundraisers throughout the year. As a Title I school, we also benefit from low cost books through First Book. We buy reward books in our most requested genres, including graphic novels, adventure, and scary books, as well as Spanish titles in various genres. On average, we give away 15-20 books each month.
02
Inquiry & Creativity
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Take and Make Crafts
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STEAM Challenges
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Scavenger Hunts
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Art Competitions
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Literacy Competitions
We believe that inquiry-based learning opportunities increase students' abilities to think deeply and critically about topics, problems, and issues. We also believe that inquiry can support creative thinking and problem solving. We support inquiry through various STEAM Challenges, such as a coding activities, prototype construction, and engineering or physics-inspired task cards. We try to incorporate inquiry and creativity into all our activities, programs, and lessons.
After we shifted the focus for our Maker Space, we wanted to find a way to still support crafting, so we implemented our monthly Take and Make activities. We provide detailed directions and all the supplies students will need to make the craft. They have become extremely popular, and some months it's hard to keep up with the demand. In addition to a rotating monthly craft, we also try to offer a monthly competition related to inquiry, design, and creativity. For example, this year we have held a 2-sentence horror contest, a haunted ghost scavenger hunt, and a character-themed snowman decoration contest.
03
Collaboration
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Lesson Development
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Co-teaching
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Technology Integration
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Reservations
As an instructional partner, I am eager to collaborate with any CCC team or teacher in order to create deep and meaningful learning experiences for students. As a classroom teacher, I found collaboration to be invaluable, and I have carried that belief into my library work. I also think that collaboration can mean different things and can look different based on needs, schedules, personalities, and experience. For this reason, I aim to make collaboration easy to access and beneficial to our community. First, I visit team meetings and listen to discussions about data and standards. I also have individual conversations with teachers and other support staff throughout the building. Based on the need, I can offer the following services:
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curate resources to use during instruction
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curate or create resources for students to use
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create and/or co-teach a lesson that supports content and incorporates technology, research skills, and/or literacy skills
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provide resource or technology training for teachers to implement on their own
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work with small groups of students to support scaffolding and differentiation
*services can be provided virtually, in the library, or in the teacher's classroom
In addition to hands-on services, I have also found that some teachers just need a space to implement their lessons, so we allow teachers to reserve our spaces for their own use. We ask that they give us at least a week's notice so that we can prepare the space to meet their needs. For example, our 6th grade social studies teachers reserved our Maker Space for a project that required students to build prototypes. They sent us a supply list, and we pulled all the materials they needed for the project. 6th grade math reserved the main library space to run stations for all classes at the same time, and 8th grade math reserved the main space in order to host a massive, fiercely competitive Kahoot game. Most recently, 8th grade ELA hosted Socratic seminars and members of the community were invited to watch.
04
Research
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Research Skills
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Resource Curation
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Source Evaluation & Citation
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Synthesis
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Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing
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Presentation Methods
I believe that teaching students how to become ethical users of ideas and information is a crucial component of library work. How we research and how we teach research skills has evolved over the past thirty years, and it is more important than ever that students know how to find factual, relevant information and how to synthesize it in ways that lead to critical thinking and problem solving. In addition to collaborating on lessons that incorporate components of the research process, we also consistently model effective and ethical resource curation and creation. I developed a library website that had information, tutorials, and quick-links to resources for students to use; we are still in the process of transferring all the information from our website into CTLS. In addition to supports for students, over the past several years, I have also been building out the LLC section in the Faculty OneNote. Teachers can go there to find tutorials, database descriptions, log in information, copyright information, research guidelines, lesson ideas, and other available resources.
05
Professional Services
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Clerical Work
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Lamination
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Poster Printing
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Die Cut Services
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Inventory
Because we have a fulltime library media paraprofessional, we are able to extend our customer service impact without negatively affecting our primary functions. For example, we are able to support things like the school's Title I Inventory, testing, hearing & vision screening, scoliosis screening, and Reality U, as well as provide occasional clerical support for administration. We also support teachers' lamination and poster requests with delivery service, and we have helped several teachers with supplies for bulletin boards.
06
Instruction
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Library Science
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Mentoring
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Tutoring
We offer 7th and 8th grade Library Science connections classes. Students have to complete an application and get teacher recommendations, but all students are eligible to apply. Students complete weekly tasks like shelving books, cleaning, organizing, and restocking. They also complete independent projects of their choice. We provide differentiated levels of guidance and support on student projects because our goal is to help them gain professional skills and independence. Throughout the class, students learn research skills, elements of design, project management, and customer service. They also help us create a library program that is student-centered and relevant.
In addition to our rostered students, I want all students to know that they can come to the library for help with anything, and they do! We have even repaired shoes! They can ask us for one-on-one support with their assignments, and we set aside time to help them. I also provide more focused support for students identified due to grades, attendance, or behavior. I completed the Check and Connect mentor training last year, and even though we have not fully implemented the program, I have used the training to mentor several students. In addition to frequent check-ins, I also tutor them during lunch and after school.
07
Tech Support
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Instructional Equipment Inventory and Dissemination
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LMS Support
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Password Support
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Student Device Support
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Technology Guides
A couple years ago, I collaborated with other district librarians and technology integration specialists to create the Cobb Future-Ready Framework that outlines "meaningful integration of technology in classrooms from Pre-k to 12th grade." I worked specifically on the 6th to 12th Future Ready Framework. I have presented the frameworks to staff, and I use them to guide discussions about technology expectations and effective curriculum integration. We also provide support and instruction for all the competencies outlined in the framework.
We are fortunate to have Title I support, including a parent facilitator who helps us manage student devices. She houses the service kiosk and manages device returns and daily technology checkouts. Additionally, our service tech and math/science instructional coach facilitate student device distribution for 6th graders and all new students. We offer further assistance in the LLC with password support for students and instructional resource support for teachers. We manage all technology labs and carts, including reservations and routine checks for service tickets. We also manage all technology resources for the classroom, including inventory and dissemination. Additionally, we provide technology support for all testing, including RI/MI and ACCESS scheduling in LibraryTrac, as well as device distribution and collection during state and national testing. Finally, we provide basic troubleshooting support for all library patrons, including for equipment located in teachers' classrooms.
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Special Events
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Student Celebrations
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Retirement Parties
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Professional Learning
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School-wide Special Events
We have worked hard to make our space warm and inviting, and as a result, it is a very popular location in the school! We get requests to host special events throughout the year. We are happy to move furniture and even help decorate for these special occasions. We are proud that our community wants to be in the Library Learning Commons and show it off to stakeholders and other visitors. In the last several years, we have hosted retirement celebrations, student induction ceremonies and awards, professional learning events, staff meetings, family engagement events, bus driver appreciation breakfasts, cafeteria meetings and trainings, and even wedding or baby showers.
09
Professionalism & Communication
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Professional Organization Memberships
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Cobb County Associations of Library Media Specialists (CCALMS)
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Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA)
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American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
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Social Media Engagement (@smithallc)
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CTLS Updates
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Bulletin Board Displays
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Professional Development
In order to best serve my community, I am committed to staying informed about current trends in the school library profession and knowledgeable about current research in the field. I hold memberships in several professional organizations, and I have served on the board for CCALMS. Additionally, I subscribe to professional journals like School Library Journal, Booklist, and Horn Book, and I attend webinars and local professional development opportunities as well as attend conferences and other learning opportunities.
We communicate with our community through printed newsletters and flyers, social media, district communication tools like CTLS Parent and CTLS Learn, email, and our school broadcast, SBC. Examples of newsletters can be viewed by clicking the hyperlink in the bulleted list above.