As I began to go through the Reference Area, I noticed that we do own quite a good amount of sets/series in this section.  I decided to put Reference books that are stand alone books in the regular Nonfiction area.  For the set and series Reference books I created an area at the end of the Nonfiction area with all the Sets and Series books.  

Once I reinvented my Reference Area, I was able to move my Biography to the area where my Reference Section sat originally.  I was also able to move all of the Professional books tot he end of the Nonfiction section.

1. We Needed More Space - My library is nice sized, but it is not huge.  We have a large Nonfiction section, and an extensive amount of Fiction.  I needed to make room for current and future purchases.
2. Creating a 21st Century Library Media Center - As we add more research programs, we plan to spend less money on Reference books.  In general, I prefer to put our money into up to date digital reseources.  Students can have access to these resources 24/7 on a 1:1 availability.  
3. Why Not Allow These Books to Check Out - We actually do have some really great books that were part of the Reference Section.  So, why keep these books in the library at all times?  I think it's so much better to allow students to borrow them.

So What's Next?

So far I have weeded very little of these books.  Maybe it's because I am very new to this school, and I wanted to see if moving some of them to a different area and allowing for circulation would make a difference.  By next school year, I plan to weed through the entire Nonfiction area.  The Reference books need to be changed in our circulation system.  This will take some time, and is not a huge priority, since students understand that we no longer have a Reference area.

I am quite happy with the look of the library.  Many students have started checking out some of our great Reference books!

1. I picked some awesome books.  Those books that are not the most popular (so no novels they will be reading in class, or that have been made into popular movies)
2. I wrapped those books up in brown wrapping paper.  You know - the kind you wrap packages in.
3. I cut out a red heart and wrote the genre and themes of each book and taped the heart to the front of the book once it was covered up.
4. I wrote the barcode number on the back of the book once it was covered up.
5. I added some inexpensive Valentine's ribbon I found at the dollar store to 2 corners.  I just taped the ribbon on (when students check out the book, I take off the ribbon and reuse, so I don't have to keep using the ribbon)

My Display Area

My display area consists of plastic hearts, Valentine's Day helium balloon weights, and Valentine's Day tinsel.  All of these things I found at the dollar store.  I also used book stands to stand the books up.  I created the sign with our letter machne.  I also created a sign with directions for participating in the Blind Date with a Book.

I wanted to make sure my students were not just borrowing the books, but reading the book, too.  In order to achieve this, I created bookmarks that have an area to write a short review of the book they read.  Once students bring the bookmark back to me all filled out, they receive a small bag filled with candy and stickers.  Not too crazy about handing out candy?  Be creative and use something else . . . Bookmarks, pencils, extra time on the computer pass.  So many possibilities.

Blind Date with a Book Flyer/Direction Sheet

Blind Date with a book review

My school does not have a Makerspace, and starting one this year, is not in the plans.  We would like to add a Makerspace eventually and I thought adding a STEM or STEAM Challenge of the month would be an excellent way to see what kind of Maker activities my students enjoy most.  Although I don't have a budget for materials, I am very lucky to have a wide array of supplies available to me (paper, paint, crayons, markers, scissors, tape, etc.)  What I am unable to get through our basic supplies, parents are always willing to send in.

Since I did not start this position until mid December, I decided to start our first STEM Challenge in January.  Our first challenge was called "Snowman Stretch"  Students had to make a snowman using only the materials provided.  The challenge?  The idea is to build the tallest snowman, but each snowman build must balance on it's own.  The first day I put out the challenge in early January, I was not quite sure how popular this activity would be.  My students really gravitated towards the STEM Challenge and were soon planning their next visit to the library so they could work on their snowmen.  Many of my students decided to work in teams, and the collaboration I saw happen between them was fantastic.  This challenge will soon be over and we will start a new one for February.   My students are already wondering what the next challenge will be.  Hint:  It has to do with Valentine's Day.

So where do I get my ideas for my STEM Challenges?  Well, STEM is everywhere and a basic internet search will give you tons of hits.  My favorite places to find ideas is Pinterest, Twitter, and Teachers Pay Teachers (not everything costs money on TPT)  Of course the best ideas sometimes come from our students!

Here are the files I created for the sign and directions.  Some of the clipart has been changed due to copyright law.  Enjoy!

Snowman Stretch Sign
Snowman Stretch Directions

This December I began a new chapter in my career, when I left School Lane Charter School and began a new position at Indian Mills Memorial School in Shamong Township School District in Shamong, New Jersey.  Leaving was not an easy decision.  School Lane was about ten minutes from my home, I was comfortable there, and I was in a brand new library.  Some might wonder why I would choose to leave.  

I will always miss the students and teachers that I grew to know in the three years I spent at School Lane.  I honestly hope I made at least a small difference to the students and staff.  I believe that I did manage to change the library at their K-6 school, as well as their new high school.  When I first began my career there, the library was seen as a place only to check books in and out.  I was also able to incorporate many of the technology programs that I find necessary to our children's futures.  Lastly I started a Makerspace at the 7-12 school.  So many of my students treasured this addition to the library.

Working at Indian Mills Memorial School has brought back my excitement and zest for teaching.  I have been working on rearranging the shelves, so I can make the library my own.  I am making contacts with the wonderful faculty and hope to begin working on many collaborative projects.  I am also excited to bring STEM to the library space with monthly STEM challenges.  I am lucky enough to teach two Information Literacy courses per day.  My students are creating their own computer animation projects using Scratch, which incorporates block coding.  The future looks bright here, and I am very excited to be part of such a dynamic school.  

This is such a hot topic, and is not going away anytime in the near future.  Joyce Valenza has written an excellent article on this topic titled "Manifesto for 21st Century Librarians" Check out the section Joyce wrote about what she believes school librarians should unlearn.

I have been a school librarian since 1998, and have seen the field change tremendously.  It really is a wonderful and exciting time to be a librarian.  When I completed my first field experience, the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature was still being taught. Students now have information at their fingertips, and that information is not contained to just the walls of the library.  Websites, Web 2.0, Research Databases, Online Catalog - all of these items are available any place a student has internet access.  Through the library website, students can easily find all these items, and if they are in need of help, they can easily contact the librarian.  I personally set up a library account through Schoology, which allows my students to message me with research requests, and they receive an answer within the hour.  Many other school libraries are doing the same with various programs.

Perhaps one of the biggest change I have seen to school libraries, has been the invention of the Library Makerspace.  The Makerspace is an area where students can come together to create, explore, and design anything.  Every Makerspace area is a little different, because every library is a little different.  The Maker area should be comprised of items the students want to see in the area.  Some of the most common things found in the Makerspace area include (Circuit building kits, Engineering (Legos, K'nex), Robotics, Crafts (Perler beads, Rainbow Loom, Duct Tape, Origami, Paper, Markers, etc.), Technology to pull apart and investigate, Coding, Movie-making (Green Screen, Claymation).  The possibilities are endless!  The Makerspace has created a new atmosphere for the school library, and invites students who may have never used a library before to come in.  Many of my students will use the Makerspace, and find other reasons to use the library.  Sometimes their exploration of the Makerspace area leads to the interest of checking out a book related to their invention.

The library of the past is disappearing, and we must embrace the future.  This is accomplished by finding out what other school libraries are doing (what works for them and what might work for you), become a Twitter junkie and connect with others who are excellent 21st Century Librarians and lastly take the time to learn new technologies and figure out how they can best be used in your school.