COLLECT + CONNECT

As you prepare for this new school year, have you... Become acquainted with the  Starting Well 2020 page  from the South Dakota Department of Education? This is loaded with information for South Dakota schools as they return to school during pandemic circumstances. Reviewed the resources, updates, and reopening guidance specific to SD school libraries at  Starting Well 2020: A Guide for School Libraries  &  Newest Updates on School Libraries & COVID-19 Resource Guide . Introduced yourself to new staff in person and by email? Don't forget to share critical services and resources while keeping it short and simple. New staff are already overwhelmed, right? Reached out to staff in a staff meeting to communicate the library's plan to address COVID-19. Share critical resources, changes in programming, Makerspaces, schedule changes, updates, etc. Touched base with your administrator IN PERSON? Created your back-to-school newsletter with vital resources for stud...

Congratulations to all of the recipients of the Library Technology grants funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the federal CARES Act.  This grant funding is intended to update, expand, or improve technology in the public and school libraries.  pixabay.com/images/id-820272/ And... a special shout-out to school library recipients! Huron School District Kimball School District Watertown School District See news release for all 16 second-round recipients. See  news release  for all 19 first-round recipients.

Do you need to jazz up your book talks? Want your students to create their own talks - maybe using FlipGrid  or Loom or a classroom YouTube Channel ? Allow me to share just two resources about book talking: Bring the HEAT to Your Book Talks This excellent blog post from  The Reading Roundup  leans more toward student book talks and provides free templates to help students create better book talks. Rebellious Reading - Book Talks This curated Wakelet list triples as an instruction manual and an assignment. It's concise (we love that!) and also thorough. It outlines best practices and provides examples of both hot 👍 and not-so-hot 👎 book talks.   Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

Copyright and Creativity for Ethical Digital Citizens  provides a variety of practical resources designed to help teach digital citizenship concepts. It's our job as educators to teach and then reinforce to students the protections and limitations of fair use and copyright as they learn online, create online, and share online. Check out free, easy-to-understand lessons and videos for  Elementary , Middle School , and High School pages under the Resources tab.  For your own learning, there's a  Professional Development page. 💪 copyrightandcreativity.org/why-teach-copyright-2/ Lastly, check out the  Copyright and Distance Learning  page with a handy printable for teachers and administrators. Maybe you'll display the printable in your library?  Maybe you'll add it to your curated list of teacher/professional resources?  Perhaps you'll share it with staff in a weekly update email or a quick staff meeting? Make it more digestible by also providing q...

To assist school library staff as they prepare for the 2020-21 school year, the SD State Library, in partnership with the SD Department of Education, has created a document titled Starting Well 2020: A Guide for School Libraries . The document contains questions and considerations intended to help school librarians and administrators think about from-the-library and in-the-library adaptations that may be needed for face-to-face learning, distance learning, or a hybrid of the two. Locate this document on the Starting Well page , in the Toolkit for Schools, under the General Guidance heading.  The State Library has also linked on the  COVID-19: Information for SD School Libraries page.

Thinking about heading back to the school library either in person or virtually... or both? Be sure to check out the COVID-19: SD School Libraries page on the SD State Library Resource Guide.   There you'll find a collection of back-to-school and at-school/at-home resources aligned to what we do in our school libraries. Topics include cleaning and care, digital books, read-alouds, copyright and fair use, digital learning tools, professional time, and SDSL K-12 databases. Newly added:  COVID-19 Publisher Information Directory from School Library Journal Lists numerous publishers and revised copyright and fair use policies due to the pandemic. Starting Well  from the SD Department of Education Provides South Dakota specific guidance for reopening and daily operations for the 2020-21 school year. Second Snapshot of School Librarian Roles during School Closures from AASL School Library Closure Impact Surveys via Knowledge Quest Captures trend data and includes questi...

Did you know that American Indians in the United States have a status that makes them distinct from other minority or underrepresented populations? What is it? Learn about it on the esteemed American Indians in Children's Literature blog ! AICL was established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo. Today, it is co-edited by Dr. Jean Mendoza. The AICL blog provides readers with critical analyses of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. In addition, it allows for the opportunity to become more aware of the misrepresentations of Native people in media and literature. BLOG americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com BEST BOOKS LIST  Be sure to check out the annual  AICL Best Books List  to help analyze and build collections. LESSON PLAN  Check out Reese's lesson plan on ReadWriteThink. PODCAST EPISODE Listen to Reese via  Teaching Slavery through Children's Literature, Part 2 . SUPPORT BY FOLLOWING Native Writers, Illustrators, Scholar...

This article got me thinking. When I started off in the school library profession back in the early 2000's, I referred to myself as a Media Specialist. That was what my degree listed and so that was what I went. I spent a decent amount of time explaining exactly what I did. I mean, nowhere in the title was librarian or library, so I usually just ended up saying "I'm a School Library Media Specialist." A mouthful. For sure. Then I started seeing the word librarian re-enter the school library world. I liked this because people instantly understood this term. Short, sweet, and relatable. But then, on occasion, people would then confuse me with a public librarian. Truth is, I've never worked a day in a public library other than volunteering and serving on boards. So... school librarian. Yes, that succinctly summed it up. Then teacher-librarian came into the game. And, that felt right too. It explained the teacher in me and the librarian in me. After all, I ...

SYNC   is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. This year it runs April 30th and continues weekly until July 29. audiobooksync.com SYNC offers participants two thematically paired audiobooks per week. Titles are delivered through Sora , the easy-to-use student reading app from OverDrive. This means participants should download the Sora app before attempting to download and listen to these books. One important thing to note is that each SYNC audiobook will be available to borrow /download for a period of 7 days only. To be in-the-know, sign-up to get notifications each week of newly available titles. Here's a preview of  titles and release dates. One other great thing about this program - titles, once loaded into the app, are 'for keeps' for participants. We love that, right? meet.soraapp.com Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

On April 20, South Dakota-based TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education) offered a virtual conference in lieu of their face-to-face conference held each year. I not only learned a lot thanks to the keynote speakers and the well-rounded sessions, but I was also able to present on a very library-based topic. DIGITAL CURATION Sometimes You’re the Subject. Sometimes You’re the Direct Object. Curation isn't just a trendy word in education. It's a core competency for participation in our digital world. Humans have been curating for centuries and continue to do so on a broad scale and with modern tools. Learn the basics of digital curation and how the process can be used to enhance our lives - both professionally and personally. Access all of my session resources. Bonus #1! TIE is making all of the speaker/presenters session resources available! You're sure to find loads of good stuff for yourself or to share with your staff. Bonus #2! You can earn CEU h...