By: Lorri Kingan

Join us Thursday, October 19th at 5:00 for the annual OELMA Awards Celebration!  

We will gather with the 2017 OELMA award recipients as well as the recipients from last year to celebrate the amazing learning connections that are stemming from connections made from strong Library Media Programs.  This is a lovely opportunity to network with Teacher Librarians, past and present affiliates of OELMA, and a plethora of literacy and library media supporters.  This is a free event, open to all OELMA members and will include light appetizers.

Also, it is not too early to begin thinking about the movers and shakers that you know in the library, media, technology, and literacy world!  Who do you know that deserves recognition for supporting students and staff?  Be thinking about who we can celebrate!  Nominations will open February 2018!

The Awards Celebration will be hosted in the Alder/Oak Room at the DoubleTree Hotel, 175 Hutchinson Avenue, Columbus, OH.  

By: Kristen Dages, District Media/Tech Coordinator at Hudson City Schools

As we build our middle school makerspace this year, a goal of mine has been to provide a resource library within the space as well. After receiving the GAR Educator Initiative Grant in the spring, this goal is currently being realized. I want to share with you my starter list, not only to spread the idea of having books next to your Spheros and Lego Mindstorms, but also, as a recommended list of titles that promote a growth mindset and inspire students of all ages. This list has titles for your staff as well as picture books for your younger students.

Besom, Mae and Kobi Yamada. What Do You Do With a Problem? – $10.21

Carey, Anne. STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids – $22.98

Ceceri, Kathy. Make: Paper Inventions: Machines that Move, Drawings that Light Up, and Wearables and Structures You Can Cut, Fold, and Roll – $13.97

Challoner, Jack. Maker Lab: 28 Super Cool Projects: Build * Invent * Create * Discover – $13.24

Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – $16.80

Furman, Robert L. Future Ready Challenge: Improve Student Outcomes in 18 Weeks (ISTE)- $21.95

Graves, Colleen. The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn – $14.33

Gura, Mark. Getting Started with Lego Robotics (ISTE)- $40.95

Gura, Mark. Make, Learn, Succeed (ISTE)- $39.95

Harbo, Christopher. Flight School: Level 1 – $20.49

Martinez, Sylvia Libow & Gary S. Stager. Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. – $34.95

Pett, Mark and Gary Rubinstein. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes – $11.15

Spencer, John and AJ Juliani. Launch. Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student – $26.95

Spires, Angie. The Most Magnificent Thing – $11.58

Valk, Laurens. The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Discovery Book. – $34.95

Wilkerson, Karen. The Art of Tinkering – $23.58

Williams, Heidi. No Fear Coding (ISTE)- $37.95

The following articles from School Library Journal and AASL’s Knowledge Quest also offer great titles for your maker bookshelf. Hope this sparks some interest and discussion within your district as we continue to create libraries with diverse experiences and reading at the core.

By: Lorri Kingan, Media Specialist at Hudson City Schools

So, you are welcoming a new library staff member to your district this year…  Here is a list of 10 ways that you can make the transition for your new team member go smoother!

1. Deliver a personalized, face-to-face welcome to set the tone for your new work relationship.  If funds permit, consider creating a small gift bag of a few office supplies, maybe some library/reading chachkies, maybe even include a couple of simple snacks and/or drinks.  A simple, kind gesture will go a long way to be sure that this new work relationship begins on a positive note!
2. Help your new co-worker determine a list of go-to people and their contact information, including your own.  Include full names, job titles, emails, phone extensions and cell numbers, where appropriate.  (Members of the library media team, principals, secretaries, nurses, custodians, fellow teachers, etc.) Also, share what the procedure is for making calls using the school phones.
3. If appropriate, introduce your new team member to other members of the staff before the year starts.  Just a nice way to alleviate the pressure of the new person having to introduce himself/herself and will allow you to do the honors of a quick introduction highlighting the library team.
4. Assist in figuring out the physical layout of the building – closest exit, restroom, copier, clinic, fellow-teacher, how to gain access to the building after hours if necessary, etc.
5. Determine the procedure for emergency situations – what to do for a fire drill, tornado drill, lockdown drill, medical emergency, etc.  Locate the AED’s throughout the building.
6. If your new staff member is a certified media specialist, identify any specific curricular guidelines that he/she will be responsible for as well as any evaluation process that is in place for the district.  (The principal may have done this already, but it is always helpful to get insight from a co-worker.)  This would be a good time, too to discuss any district initiatives/goals that the media program has for the district.
7. Share the procedure for the daily operation of the media center – how does scheduling occur, are aides or volunteers a part of the schedule, what does a day for students look like, what are the technology needs, etc.
8. Determine account accessibility needs – which accounts will the new staff member need access to and who will help him/her set up usernames and passwords.  If this person is involved in purchasing, review these procedures, also.
9. Review the procedure for an absence – creating a preferred substitute list, creating substitute plans, a substitute folder outlining emergency procedures.  (Again, a principal may have done this already, but any additional advice will be appreciated.)
10. Lastly, be the resource that you would like to have.  Reassure your new team member that while he/she feels overwhelmed now, stay positive.  Working in a media center is truly an awesome opportunity!

My vision is to continue to facilitate the transformation of the Hiland Library Learning Commons into an active space that is a vital extension of the classroom, a collaborative learning space that ensures our students are future-ready innovators. Our Hiland Learning Commons is embracing a LifeSpace twist on the MakerSpace movement. A MakerSpace is a hands-on space with tools and resources to encourage students to design, experiment, build, and invent as they engage in engineering, tinkering, and creating. This is a space in which makers (students) can envision a project, find an expert, collaborate, engage in critical thinking, and use problem-solving skills while creating something. A MakerSpace is based on the concept of using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) ideas to encourage students to develop the real-world skills they will need to become future-ready students for their careers.

Our Hiland Library LifeSpace takes the MakerSpace concept to a unique level. Last year, Hiland students experienced sewing, computer coding, and knitting LifeSpace experiences. I strive to align our Hiland Library LifeSpace experiences to academic content areas and Ohio’s Learning Standards, as well as help, meet the void of life skills our students no longer have access to due to the elimination of family and consumer science electives. Student and staff input will continue to drive the LifeSpace experiences we offer. This fall, our students, and staff completed a survey (https://goo.gl/forms/3iZ0IfIU5H1pFw9z1) to help determine upcoming LifeSpace experiences (feel free to copy and adapt this survey to your library needs). Survey responses favored breakout challenges, cooking, photography, video production, coding, and sign making. We look forward to offering such experiences this school year. As classroom learning evolves through innovation and one-to-one technologies, the Hiland Library Learning Commons will continue to transform into an integral learning space that extends classroom discovery 24/7. Our Hiland LifeSpace experiences are an exciting component of our Hiland Library Learning Commons.

Are you an OELMA member with a minimum of three years’ experience as a licensed school library media specialist? Are you eager to examine your personal leadership style? Do you want to develop your leadership potential within the Future Ready Librarian framework and the Highly Effective School Library Rubric? Then the award-winning OELMA Leadership Academy entitled “Make Leadership Your Superpower” is an opportunity designed for you. The all-expenses-paid OELMA Leadership Academy will be held March 9-10, 2018, at Deer Creek State Park, Mt. Sterling (about 45 minutes south of Columbus).

The application is available now – http://aom.formstack.com/forms/oelmaleadership. The application deadline closes on October 2, 2017. Stay tuned for more information about the individual session opportunities.

I love an adventure. Summer is a great time for new adventures and this summer I was able to be part of one the most exciting adventures of my career. OxBridge Teacher Seminars are part of OxBridge Academic Programs, which provide summer study programs to students in grades 8-12 in places such as Oxford, Cambridge, Spain, France, and the United States.

The OxBridge Teacher Seminar is geared for teachers in K-12 academic institutions around the world with the desire to dive into a new learning experience by studying on an educational focus topic for a one-week period. I was selected for a Fellowship to attend Oxford University this past July and spend one week learning about the role of the library in academic institutions. There were 30 teachers from all over the world at Oxford’s Mansfield University and aside from learning from guest speakers who are experts in their field, I was also able to network with teachers and gain a more global connection with other educators in a variety of disciplines. This opportunity was one I could not pass on, and I packed up for a week of learning more about history, libraries, and the evolving role of librarians in the world at Oxford University in England.

There are 99 libraries on Oxford’s campus and I had the privilege of visiting many of them in just one week. Our study group consisted of 5 other school librarians from all over the United States. Our group leader was Clive Hurst, former Head of Rare Materials at The Bodleian Library, which is one of the oldest and most famous libraries in the world. Clive was amazing and was able to show us some of the most rare book materials in the world. We were able to tour the Duke Humfrey’s Library, which was one of the first libraries in recorded history founded by Thomas Bodley. Our entire group was in awe of the history, stories, and management of the libraries at Oxford beginning over 700 years ago. We were even able to touch some of the rare materials, like a first edition Oliver Twist novel. You know you are a librarian when you squeal with delight at these materials! Some other memorable experiences included the following:

• An illustrated talk on early children’s books
• A guided tour of St. John’s College library
• A tour of Trinity College and its libraries by their librarian
• A practical printing course-I learned how to typeset and arrange on a printing press and print out a poem
• A behind-the-scenes overview of some of the most rare materials in The Bodleian Library (including an Aesop’s Fable
  book signed by Queen Victoria and given to her daughter, Princess Beatrice).
• Attended a presentation on digital media and development by the Bodleian Curator of Digital Special Collections

Another exciting opportunity our study group had was to be part of a presentation at the Oxford University Press with the Oxford English Dictionary department which focused on the use they make of libraries in compiling the dictionary. This was one of the highlights of the week for me, as we were asked for input on making the OED more accessible for students and what we thought as school librarians of some of their new features. This was an awesome experience to hear about the research that goes into every entry in the OED and see some examples of challenges they have encountered in keeping up with technology.

There were some other more social activities included in our itinerary of the week including a punting experience (Google punting in England if you think this is referring to football), an evening Shakespeare play in a college garden and a visit to the pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien met and wrote their classics as part of The Inklings. Also, we had evening dinners in the Mansfield College Chapel that resembled the Harry Potter dining room. It was truly a week of memories I will cherish always and feel so blessed to be a part of. 

I have a much bigger picture view of the role of libraries from a historical and archival perspective. Libraries have always had the challenge of balancing its roles and still preserving the history that exists in every space they occupy. Librarians are the most important part of libraries-always have been, and always will be. They are the ones that maintain collections, share information, and promote the role of the library. We have a history of linking people and ideas and leading outward. This experience was one of the best learning experiences for me as a professional and also as a lover of all things libraries. The entire week never felt like work. It truly was a magical time and one I will never forget.

By: Susan Yutzey, OELMA Past President

On Friday, August 18, 2017, voting opens for the 50th time in OELMA’s history. At its May Board meeting, the OELMA Board of Directors approved the slate of candidates recommended by the Nominations Sub-committee. Voting is open until September 29, 2017. We urge you to Get Out and Vote! Although there are no contested positions, voting demonstrates to each candidate that you support them and will continue to support them throughout their term of office. Voting, whether it is at the national, state, or local level is a civic responsibility. Voting for your Association’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee is a responsibility too. As American author and social critic, James Howard Kunster, once said “Human settlements are like living organisms. They must grow, and they will change. But we can decide on the nature of that growth – on the quality and the character of it – and where it ought to go…” OELMA has changed over the course of its 50-year history. It has changed because of the investment each of its members makes in determining the nature of the change – the quality, the character, the direction of the change. So when that e-ballot comes to your inbox this Friday, don’t cast it aside – open it, read the impressive candidate biographies, and vote. At OELMA’s Annual Meeting on Friday, October 20, 2017, each candidate will be introduced to the membership. Be sure and introduce yourself and show them your support!

By: Meagan Fowler, Instructional Librarian at Saint Joesph Academy 

As summer winds down, I am beginning to think about the upcoming school year. For many of us, our “New Year” does not begin in January, but rather when classes return in the Fall. In preparation for my “New Year” I am creating plans for how I can make this year even better than last.

One of my goals for this year is to increase and improve collaboration among our library and our teachers. It is often difficult to implement a plan when it is dependent on others, but collaboration is a cornerstone of a vibrant library programme. This is a goal that I work toward every year, but I have never gone about it in an intentional and deliberate manner. Typically, I just work in the moment, approaching teachers with whom I have worked before, or waiting for others to seek me out. This year, however, I have a plan of action. Here are some of the ideas I have come up with (or adapted from the experts in our library community) that will hopefully not only increase collaboration between the library and the school community, but also make that collaboration more meaningful and effective:

1. New teachers: For me, it has been a great asset to make connections with new faculty as soon as possible. When teachers come to a new school, they are often overwhelmed with their new surroundings and responsibilities; I try to be a friendly face that offers them assistance. Once you develop a relationship with someone (even if it is as innocuous as helping them figure out how the copy machine works) they remember you and feel more comfortable with you. This then allows you to offer assistance in their classrooms, paving the way for opportunities for meaningful, ongoing collaboration.

This year, I have taken a new step in my plan to win over the new teachers; I sent each of the new teachers a welcoming email with a quick introduction to what services and resources our library can provide them, tailored to their discipline or the classes they are teaching. In addition to a simple email, I am also “popping in” on their orientation day to introduce myself in person. I arranged with my administration for a few minutes of time on this day and they were quite pleased to accommodate me.

Sometimes it is easier to get new teachers on board than it is to change the behaviour of those who are veterans in your building.

2. New relationships: I sometimes feel like I work with the same teachers and same departments every year. I think that this is important; after all, it is evidence that what our library programme is doing is effective. And while it is important that we foster these existing relationships, we cannot forget to continue to develop new relationships with others in our building. This year, I hope to approach a few teachers with whom I have not had the opportunity to work and offer my assistance. I have worked with both the social studies and English departments extensively, but I feel like there is great potential for me to work with our Science department. Last year, I worked with one of the Science teachers on a research project. I came to this project late, after it had been planned and was ready to be implemented. I look forward to this year, approaching this teacher (and a different teacher who is also teaching the same class) and offering to help further develop the existing assignment. I will also plan on offering to help grade portions of the assessment that naturally fit with my expertise, namely the bibliography and evaluation of the sources. Offering to help grade has often helped me to get teachers who may otherwise be hesitant to work with me on board.

3. Old friends: It is not just important for librarians to build up the new — we also have to make sure that we nurture the relationships that we already have. I feel like sometimes this is the hardest step for me. It is so easy for me to get bogged down by the everyday demands of our profession; every time I turn around there is something new that I must do. It is so easy for tasks like following up or checking in with teachers to get lost in the shuffle. I will often work with a teacher, but fail to check in with them as the school year progresses to see how whatever we had worked on together played out. Or, I do not have the opportunity to see the final product that the students created. This leads to a disconnect between librarian and students and teachers.

I feel that successful collaboration should not stop once you have delivered a lesson to a class or created a stellar assessment with a teacher. Successful collaboration, ideally, should be more developed than that, and while we cannot force collaboration on teachers, we should ensure that whenever the opportunity does arise, we make it as fruitful as possible. Two ways this can be achieved are by checking in and following up with teachers. It is my goal to check in more with my teachers as they implement a research project. I may initially help them create an assessment or deliver a lesson, but ideally I should also make sure that I am available to brainstorm with them as problems arise, and offer my assistance as they and their students traverse the murky waters of a research project. I also feel like I need to ensure that I follow up with them after we collaborate on something. Following up will allow both the teacher and librarian the opportunity to reflect on what worked and what could be improved upon for next time, and also will hopefully allow the librarian to see the fruits of their labour, i.e. finished student work.

Three easy steps to better collaboration, right? Nothing about collaboration is easy. And while I hope that approaching the school year with a well thought-out plan will make my efforts of collaborating with my colleagues more effective, I have no illusions that this will be simple or easy. I will probably drop the ball many times throughout the year, but if by the end of the year I have a new connection with a teacher or an improved relationship with an old friend, I will be satisfied. Baby steps, right?