21st Century Librarian: August 2017

My Journey to Starting a School Library Makerspace: Part 1

6:45 PM

About three years ago while attending the PSLA (Pennsylvania School Librarian's Association) Conference, the Makerspace movement caught my attention. What a way to inspire creativity in the library, I thought. I started collecting as much information as I could on the movement (reading books, reading website pages and articles, attending workshops and conferences with maker related topics, and following maker librarians on Twitter).

Some of my greatest ideas have come from librarians and educators on Twitter. Laura Fleming, makerspace guru from New Milford High School, New jersey was especially helpful. I began asking her tons of questions about starting a makerspace in a school. She answered all my questions, and was extremely helpful. I was lucky enough to meet Laura in person at this summer's ISTE conference in San Antonio. Laura's Twitter Handle is @LFlemingEDU.

Many other librarians have inspired me along the way. They include:

Heather Lister @Heathermlister
Todd Burleson @todd_burleson
Kristina Holzweiss @lieberian
Diana Rendina @dianalrendina
Colleen Graves @gravescolleen

I officially began implementing my ideas for a Makerspace into my curriculum when I was teaching K-8 at School Lane Charter School. Because I was on a fixed schedule, and did not have a lot of money or space to start a full-fledged Makerspace, I decided to do centers during library time. This involved areas such as: Legos, Puzzles, K'nex, Bookmark making, STEM related projects, Ebook Listening center, and crafts. The kids truly loved their library time, but was still quite far from my vision of a library Makerspace. Unfortunately, my district did not "buy in" to the advantages of a Makerspace.

December of 2016, I accepted a position at Shamong Township School District. Since my schedule involves time in the afternoon for students to come to the library for twenty minutes after their lunch period, I began thinking about how I could implement a Makerspace into my library. I realized very quickly that some of my students were bored during this open library time, and I began creating monthly STEM Challenges. You can read about this here. This proved to be an excellent way to incorporate basic making skills that were low tech and inexpensive. It was also a way to test the interest level for adding a real Makerspace to our library.

Once I realized our students and staff had interest in starting a Makerspace, I began writing a grant through our school district's education foundation. Since the grant was very specific to wants and needs, I polled my students on items they would like to see in our space and met with teachers to discuss their needs. Here is a link to My Student Makerspace Survey Our Makerspace Grant was approved in June 2017. This will be an exciting school year for my library, staff, and students. Stay tuned for my next blog post on "My Makerspace Grant".

A Supportive Administration - The Key to a Successful Library Program

9:10 AM

New Transformation . . .

This past year has been a huge transformation for me both personally and professionally. This time last year, I was starting year 3 at a charter school outside of Northeast Philadelphia. I had spent the two years prior at their K-8 school and moved up to their new school which was grades 7-12. Brand new library, huge budget to fill the shelves, beautiful new school, and only 7 minutes from my home. Sounds like heaven . . . right? I thought so too, but I was miserable by October, and found a new position by November. The new position was in New Jersey and over an hour away. New Jersey also requires that all new teachers live in New Jersey, so I was looking at moving within a years time.

So why did I leave? What was the problem?

The problem at the charter school was not the teachers or students. I had a great rapport with all of them. The library was very nice, although it was unfortunate the CEO never valued my opinion enough to work together on a plan for the new space. The main problem, however was the administration. They did not value my position, nor did they welcome my opinion on anything. Everything was micromanaged, so new ideas I had were always shot down. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that I wanted to start a Makerspace, and the administration wanted no part in that. They seemed to still have an old-fashioned view of the library (students should be silent, reading or studying) I guess I would have to say I left because the administration and I had two different views of the library, and I realized it was not going to change, nor was it going to get any better.

Moving On . . .

I accepted a position with Shamong Township School District at their Middle School (Indian Mills Memorial School) in Shamong, New Jersey in November 2016, and began working for them in December. It has been a fabulous experience, and I can't imagine working anywhere else. I have a fabulous schedule, a wonderful student and teacher population, but most of all an excellent administration. My principal, Timothy Carroll is a fantastic leader. He is excited about changes I can make in the library and welcomes new ideas I have for our school and library. Our superintendent, Dr. Christine Vespe is just as supportive. It has made a huge difference what I am able to achieve as the school's library media specialist.

So What's Next . . .

I am happy to say that I moved to New Jersey over the summer, and am thrilled to be returning to Shamong.

Our Education Foundation approved a grant for the school library, to begin a makerspace. We will be adding a 3D Printer, 10 IPads, 5 Sphero Sparks, 5 Dash and Dot robots, K'nex sets, Lego sets, Little Bits sets, Snap Circuits sets, and 3 Raspberry Pis. This is a dream come true, and I am so thrilled I can bring this to the students and staff at this school.

This year I also hope to work with even more of the teachers than I had the opportunity to work with last year. We have expanded our electronic collection, and I am hopeful our new collection will provide more opportunities for collaboration.

My Advice . . .

If you are in a situation that is far from ideal, I would suggest meeting with your administration. Let your needs and wants be heard. Understand that you may not get everything you want, but perhaps there is a way you can meet in the middle. Whenever you have a chance promote and communicate what you are doing in the library. Remember, most principals and superintendents have come from the classroom and not the library. They may not know exactly what you are doing, unless you tell them. This can come in the form of a brief email, a monthly newsletter, creating a library social media site, presenting on your school library at conferences, or simply meeting with your principal. There does sometimes come a time when you must agree to disagree or move on. I knew I wanted something better than the situation I was in last year, and I am so delighted that I moved on to Shamong.