eBooks

The challenge to all librarians is effective use of our limited funds and resources. In a very small school such as mine, I have attempted to encourage the use of ebooks. In Tennessee, if a person has a public library card, then thousands of ebooks and audiobooks are available for free for between 7 and 21 days. Many students have tablets, iPods, smart phones or computers. If they have access to the Internet in any way, they can download ebooks to read or audiobooks to listen to.  The steps are easy. Help documents and how-to tutorials are available to any who would be interested in using this system which IS SUPPORTED BY OUR TAX DOLLARS! If we are going to pay for it, we should get our money's worth. I do not want to see this cut from state budgets and the more it is used, the less likely it will be cut--so USE IT Tennesseans!

Go to http://reads.lib.overdrive.com to get started. All you will need is your library card ID number (found on the back of my local public library card along with a bar code label) to register.

Happy ebook reading!      http://reads.lib.overdrive.com

Inagural blog post!

As an elementary school librarian, I am continuously investigating new ways to communicate and teach my students. County technology restrictions have made me hesitant to try my hand at blogging. However, I have seen many neat and interesting blogs on the Internet and Pintrest. (What did we ever do before our tablets, iPads, Pintrest and iPhones?) Now I am going to attempt to do at least a monthly blog on what is happening in our school library and my struggles with integrating Common Core standards in our school.

Tennessee does not have a separate set of standards for the librarian to use in teaching. We have always used language arts and reading state standards. Now switching to Common Core has us reinventing the wheel so to speak or scrambling to find resources, lesson ideas, and meaningful ways to help improve student learning.

There are many resources on the Internet for language arts Common Core lessons.  That is the biggest positive aspect I have found about switching to Common Core. Librarians everywhere will be using the same standards and thus able to share lessons, ideas, resources, and information.

I hope to post or provide links to my favorite sites and resources. Look for my quarterly media newsletter here as well.

I have less than a week left on our fall break. My mind does not want to shut down thinking about what I am going to teach for the next 9 weeks! I will probably create posts at odd times when inspiration hits. Happy fall everyone!