Tom Bober is an elementary librarian in Clayton, Missouri, USA; a former teacher in residence at the Library of Congress, a member of the Teachers Advisory Board at the National Portrait Gallery, and a 2018 Library Journal Mover and Shaker.
Rebecca Newland is a high school librarian in Fairfax County, Virginia, USA. She is a former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress where she specialized in creating resources for teachers to bring primary sources into the English Language Arts classroom and libraries. She contributes regularly to the blog of the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress is the author of Engaging Students with Library of Congress Primary Sources in the ELA Classroom with NCTE and the Library of Congress.
What is your school library’s brand? This book will help school librarians improve their practice and strengthen their influence within their learning communities, increasing positive perceptions of school libraries through developing a brand in alignment with the AASL Standards.
Sara Kelly Johns (l.), Susan D. Ballard (r.)
A former Director of Library, Media and Technology, Susan D. Ballard guided her district to AASL National School Library of the Year Award recognition. She has served as an adjunct professor and lecturer in various school librarian preparation programs, published numerous articles in professional and scholarly journals and edited and contributed to several books. A Past-President of AASL, the New Hampshire School Library Media Association, and the New England School Library Association, Susan served on the Standards and Guidelines Editorial Board for the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries.
Sara Kelly Johns, an online instructor at the Syracuse University iSchool and a long-time school librarian, is a past president of AASL, the New York Library Association (NYLA), and the Section of School Librarians of NYLA. She received the NYLA Lifetime Achievement Award and the first AASL Social Media Superstar Advocacy Ambassador Award. Active in ALA Council and ALA committees, Johns was a member of the Implementation Task Force for the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. She has written articles for several school library publications and contributed chapters for various books.
Judi Moreillon, PhD, is an editor, author, literacies and libraries consultant, and a former school librarian educator. She began teaching preservice school librarians in 1995. Her research and publications focus on school librarian leadership and classroom teacher – school librarian instructional partnerships. A former classroom teacher, literacy coach, and classroom teacher educator, Judi served as a collaborating school librarian at all three instructional levels. She is the editor of Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage (Libraries Unlimited 2021) and the author of four other professional books for school librarians and four books for children and families. She earned the 2019 Scholastic Publishing Award. Judi currently serves on the Advisory Council for the SLIDE research project and as co-chair of the Teacher Librarian Division of the Arizona Library Association. She earned both an MLS and a PhD in education at the University of Arizona. Judi’s homepage is storytrail.com. She blogs at schoollibrarianleadership.com and tweets @CactusWoman.
Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.
Stacy Brown is a librarian and the 21st Century Learning Coordinator at The Davis Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, where she manages two media centers in a kindergarten prep through eighth grade academic environment. Recognized for creating a culture of innovation and for facilitating the integration of technology into the curriculum, she leads Maker Monday for PreK through fifth grade, facilitates a fourth grade programming and robotics class and a fifth grade course focused on text-based programming languages, game design and 3D printing. She developed a sixth grade entrepreneurship and technology course, facilitates the coding curriculum, leads the student technology leadership program, Network Sherpas, and leads teachers’ professional development in the area of technology integration. Stacy earned her Master’s in Library and Information Sciences from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in French from The University of Texas at Austin. Stacy has led many initiatives focusing on 21st century learning skills. She has presented at numerous conferences, such as TCEA, SxSWEDU, ALA, TLA, GaETC, and more. She currently serves on the boards for the Atlanta Area Technology Educators and Savvy Cyber Kids, Inc., and is the regional director of the Georgia technology competition for the Independent and Home School Region. Stacy is the author of the book The School Librarian’s Technology Playbook: Innovative Strategies for Teachers and Learners published by Libraries Unlimited in February 2020 and a contributor to the book entitled School Library Makerspaces in Action published by Libraries Unlimited in March 2018 as well asLibrary Technology Reports published May/June 2018 volume. Stacy inspires a thoughtful use of technology, an enthusiasm for reading, and a lifelong interest in learning through both her personal and professional achievements.
Cicely Lewis is the library media specialist at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, GA and is a 2019 Library Journal Movers & Shakers award winner for her work creating the Read Woke project. She is a lover of books first and her passion for technology has provided an opportunity to explore ways to help make learning more meaningful while integrating technology. She was a classroom teacher for the past twelve years and is now excitedly stepping into a new role as a leader in Literacy and Information Technology. She is currently working on a children’s book and many more exciting projects.
This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Becky Spratford and RA for All. Readers’ advisory is a core concept for libraries and you want your staff trained by the best. Back in 2007, librarian Becky Spratford was working at a public library and teaching the readers advisory class at Dominican University but wanted to do more to compile her best ideas and save the very best of her students work, so she started a blog, RA for Allas a way to showcase and catalog it all. The blog is now one of the most trusted and respected RA tools available. After 15 years of public service, Becky transitioned into being a full time consultant in 2015 and provides RA training to library workers all over the world. If you are interested in hiring Becky to present at your library’s staff day, your state library conference, or wherever library workers are learning (either in person or virtually), go to raforall.blogspot.com to preview sample past programs, see her current schedule of events, listen to Becky talk about RA service, and obtain basic pricing. Click the RA for All logo at the top of the blog to find her contact information and if you mention Circulating Ideas, you will get 10% off if you book by the end of 2019.
Tim Smyth, MS Reading Specialist, has been teaching social studies at Wissahickon High School in Pennsylvania since 2001 and travels the United States giving professional development on the use of comics in education. His presentations and workshops have been given at numerous comic book conventions (including San Diego Comic Con), museums, universities, schools, and educational conferences on both state and national levels. His teacher guides and articles, which focus on the integration of comics and the classroom, have been published by many notable organizations including MacMillan and PBS. Smyth maintains a comprehensive website at historycomics.net that shares many resources for educators around the world.
Thomas Maluck is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. He served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens committee for its 2014 and 2015 lists and has presented about teen programming and collections at various library and pop culture conventions. When he’s not reading as a juror for book awards, he reviews and promotes for No Flying, No Tights, reviews and edits for Do You Even Comic Book, and co-hosts a podcast about comics and libraries, The Secret Stacks. A member of the library’s anime club gave him a Star Build Strike Gundam, the most prestigious award in teen librarianship.
History teachers are reading teachers. English teachers are history teachers. We are humanities – help one another. We annotate poems and more in my history class. Close read. Textual evidence. Create original WWI poems. Use of simile. Art. @ncte@NCSSNetworkpic.twitter.com/rhNnCFsvcM
This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.
Ann Dutton Ewbank, PhD, is associate professor at Montana State University, Bozeman. She researches school library advocacy and is a member-leader in the American Library Association (ALA). A tireless advocate, Ewbank has direct experience working with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to enact positive policy for school library programs.
This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.
Buffy Hamilton, the Unquiet Librarian at Creekview High School in Canton, GA, is a nineteen year veteran educator and passionate about creating meaningful learning experiences for her students. She is the GAIT/GLMLA School Library Media Specialist of the Year 2010 for the state of Georgia, and her media program was named one of the two exemplary high school media programs in Georgia 2010. Buffy’s Media 21 program is an ALA OITP 2011 Cutting Edge Service Award winner, and she is a 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker. She blogs at The Unquiet Librarian and ALA Learning. You can follow her on Twitter @buffyjhamilton.S
Circulating Ideas 