BlueBlog

S'gonna Be Alright...

2010-11-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

This morning, as I was greeting the many smiling, somewhat groggy students coming in to the library, one student approached me with a look of horror on his face. "What happened?!" he asked anxiously. I smiled at him and replied, "It'll be OK. You'll make it through this."

No, we were not talking about a natural disaster-hit libary. We were merely acknowledging the fact that the comfy soft seats in our library were moved from the dark back corner of our library into the light and airy middle of our space in order to create a warm and inviting environment (as seen the minute you walk in the door). And, some tables were moved in order to help facilitate collaborative work for both staff and students. And, some book displays were moved in order to make room for a common meeting area for students. Oh, and the computers were also moved so that we can open up some space for a future cafe-like reading area for students. That's it. But I get it. I get that change is difficult for some to accept and feel comfortable with, at least initially. And I get that some people, students included, have a pretty traditional idea of what a library should look like, sound like, act like.

We're really exploring other ideas of what a library, or Learning Space, could and perhaps should be. But we want to assure you that although things may look different, and may change a million times before we're happy, please don't worry. Cuz every (little) thing, is gonna be alright...in the CHHS Library. We got your backs. Promise.

(FYI, we've been working on a proposal or plan for gradual change in the library based on many examples from schools and post-secondary institutions all over North America. I thought it would be cool to Wordle that document and see what words show up most often...check it out below.)
Towards_a_Learning_Commons

New "Batch" of Information Literacy 7 Students!

2010-11-12T06:38:00.008-07:00

The second round of CTS 7 has just begun and Ms. Gust and I are excited to switch things up a little with each new 'batch' of students! As brand-spankin' new teacher-librarians, we are quickly becoming more aware of the needs and demands of our students in a digital age. We're learning more about the amazing tools out there that students can use to become not only more 'information literate', but also more 'globally literate'. We're seeing how the way we think about, search for, compile, make sense of and evaluate the massive ammount of information 'out there' is changing on a daily basis. We ARE new to this. Very new.

And so, one of the tools we're trying out with this new batch of students, is Google Docs.

If you are one of our Info Lit 7 students, please click on the link below and fill in the form for us!

Information Literacy 7 Student Form

Gettin' in the Spirit...

2010-10-21T11:02:00.001-06:00

Come check out our Halloween book display! You'll find both fiction and non-fiction scary reads for you to sign out...

Summer Memories, Post-it Style

2010-08-21T12:24:00.004-06:00

If you haven't yet heard of Wallwisher, here's your chance to check out the uniqe and fun 'post-it board'. Tell us about your favorite summer memories! Follow the link, read over others' post-it notes, and add your own!

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/chhsblueblog

Here We Go...

2010-07-16T14:52:00.003-06:00

OK. Trying out this blog thing as a way to personalize our school library a bit, and to allow for some interaction between the 'library ladies' (that's Ms. Gust and me, Ms. Mueller), and students and staff. I've been checking out many other school library blogs and have been surprisingly impressed by how accessible and friendly they are - anything to invite conversation about learning, ideas and school community is game for me. Let's see how this goes...