Taking Risks is FUN

Failure is Overrated by David Truss (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Of course this quote applies to our students, however,

I changed STUDENTS to TEACHERS.

(Photo courtesy of Chris Dupont)

I love being a school librarian because of the opportunities to work with all of the teachers in our building, working collaboratively across all content levels, taking risks and trying things that I have never done before.  I'm genuinely interested in all content areas, recently admitting that I could be a professional student or if able audit any one of the courses currently being offered in our building.

Here are just some of the various ways I support teachers:

(Supporting Teachers by Sarah Oldenkamp (CC BY-SA 2.0))

Supporting our kids in the Library

The library is bustling with students all day long and I am very thankful the environment we have created provides a safe place for our students!

Count of students choosing to be in the library throughout the day:

(This graph does NOT represent students who only stop in to purchase an item from the Novel Cup, have a brief chat with one of us or check out materials. )


Count of students choosing the library before school:

So...all of these students are coming to the library, what are they doing and why are they here?

We are working hard to provide a space that is flexible to support students in what they need at the precise moment they enter this space.  Students and staff feel comfortable asking a wide range of questions and expressing a wide range of needs.  If we can't help, we direct them on a path to get the help they need.  

• Social and emotional support:
• Providing an environment where students can de-stress
• Getting support from friends
• Coloring
• Playing games (video games and board games)
• Listening to music
• Support from any staff member in the library, we have students who use this space to check in or as a safe place to help them refocus for the day
• Academic support:
• Collaborative space to study
• Research help 
• Quiet place to study and focus
• Space to record audio/video for classroom projects
• Individual work completion
• Any type of academic support
• Learning new skills by trying out resources we have in the makerspace

People-who-need-help-sometimes-look-a-lot-like-people by Live Life Happy (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

(Want to know how to use creative commons images and cite them like I did above this line?  Check out this web-guide: Copyright-Friendly Images and Music or ask your librarian)