American Libraries and School Library bloggers
Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 09:57PM When the very attractive March 2007 American Libraries arrived, I turned right to the cover story on librarians who blog and was, like many others, stunned to find that none of the featured bloggers were school librarians. A flurry of letters to the editor (watch for the APRIL 2007 issue!) and an eloquent letter and post to LM_NET by Peter Milbury has resulted in the senior editor of AL, Beverly Goldberg, sending out questions to several school library bloggers, in order to write an article about blogging, school library style. Since Doug Johnson posted his answers on his blog, I will, too, in order to get your comments on how we do what we do...
What differentiates blogging for library media specialists from writing for the generalist biblioblogs?
I find that school library blogs exemplify the duality of our profession, librarianship (concern about the future of libraries, new practices, old problems that haven’t gone away) as well as the teaching part. We share our concerns about working with students, teachers and administrators as teachers concerned about best practices.
What are your professional objectives for blogging?
I am very involved in library organizations for the same reasons as I blog and want to share what I learn through them. Life in libraries today means constant growth and blogs are a very pleasant, accessible way to do that.
It’s my professional development, tool for teaching, means of reflection and, once in a while, a chance to whine. School librarians are so often “singletons” in our school buildings and every opportunity to work with our peers to solve problems, to share crucial information in a timely manner, to reach school librarians who approach their own professional development in a different way than in the past, starting with blogs and discussion lists instead of journals. I can’t survive in a library without continuing to learn and am so “social” that communication with others in my field helps me keep breathing.
How much time do you devote to blogging?
Probably a couple of hours a week, not as much as I would like. AASL work keeps me busy as I gear up to become president in June (committee appointments are talking up LOTS of time right now!) but the interesting part is having the impulse to write become part of your thinking, even when you don’t have the block of time free to write. “I feel a blog entry coming on,” goes through your mind.
I read blogs a lot more often than I write. One blog leads to another blog, which leads to a really good post I need to think about…there goes two hours!
How does having a professional blog impact your work with students?
Being able to discuss blogging makes a connection to their own social networking experiences and teaching students how to deal with social networking is a part of my job, IMHO. And, they think it is “cool.” Our tech department is getting ready to put a library blog on our network and the kids are ready to post book reviews. Somehow they don’t feel as put-out by writing a blog entry as they do about writing a book report! We’re expanding their options by sharing “turf.”
What are the pitfalls for a school librarian to be writing a blog?
Students and young adults are learning, sometimes the hard way, that what they post online lives forever. I too have to remember that students can Google “sara johns” and get to my blog (several have told me that they have done just that). I have to model good use of the medium for them which is not a really big pitfall, just an awareness. No use of downloaded pictures and information without citing their origins, for instance…ethical use of information.
The mechanics of our filters are another problem; I luckily have an override to it (not all school people do) but the annoyance factor keeps me from blogging on school time!
How does blogging affect your interaction with nonlibrarian colleagues?
Several teachers read it once in a while and it starts great conversations. Some neat projects have been sparked by the discussions including some that involve blogs and wikis. Their reading it as non-bloggers makes the medium more obviously useful.
What has been the response of your faculty and/or administration to your blog?
My district has no problem with me being “out there” in the blogosphere and appreciates the information I share with them and the other faculty. Gee, that’s how they even knew I had one…sharing what I learned that way They like having the name “Lake Placid School District” visible to others. However, blogs on the Internet are blocked by our district. When they are educational projects, they can be put on our own network that is not accessible to the public.
If your administration was wary of you blogging, how did you allay those fears?
N/A (thank heavens!)
What is the greatest benefit to blogging about school libraries?
Personally, the benefits are the sharing, the interaction, the discussion with people who worry about the same things I worry about. I can work smarter; I don’t have to figure out everything myself. Others’ solutions are there for me. I would feel very isolated from the world without LM_NET, my Blogline feeds, my state, AASL and ALA discussion lists daily, along with trade and association journals to
How do you see the evolution of blogging (i.e., the growth of online video) as intersecting with the job of school media professionals?
As with all media over the years, if it becomes “just another tool” for educating our students, it will soon be ubiquitous in schools. I rather think that, in the library profession, it is a forerunner of evolving communications methods being led by librarians who use every available means of sharing resources and ideas for working with their students, their faculty and each other for excellence.
And...please get your ALA ballot in by April 24th so that our school library voice is LOUD!
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