Bongiorno_Cameron_BlogShare #2 - Looking Backward Blog
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Hi again! I hope that everyone is doing well! For this post, I will share another blog that I find useful as a future librarian and hope that you do as well. In my first blogshare post, I highlighted a blog about storytelling created by the professional storyteller Priscilla Howe. I did learn a great deal from her posts, but I wanted to find a blog about being a librarian this time around. After several searches on Google, I came across the Looking Backward blog (https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org) created by Barbara Paciotti (2023). The title at the top of her blog immediately caught my eye: Looking Backward - No Sweat Library Lessons & Management That Works (Practical Answers to Questions You Didn't Know to Ask). I felt like she was directly speaking to me since I still feel a bit like a fish out of water in some of my graduate courses - not knowing what questions I should be asking or what lessons I should be preparing as a future librarian.
In addition to the title, the simple layout of her blog and its ease of navigation appealed to me. I also loved that her blog is current and active, the last post being in September of this year. The more I read about Ms. Paciotti, the more excited I became.
Before she retired from education, she worked as a middle school librarian - the exact same level at which I am currently working as a media assistant. Throughout my searches for blogs, I found very few that pertained to libraries and librarians at the middle school level. I was eager to read about the valuable insights and suggestions she could offer specifically directed toward dealing with students in this age group. Under the tab "About Ms. P", she shares that she wants to offer solutions to problems that may arise in the library and also provide guidance and resources (Paciotti, 2023). I felt like I had struck gold!
I then began reading Ms. Paciotti's posts, and they did not disappoint! In her posts, Paciotti covers many topics, including program planning, useful websites, school library orientations, tips for buying nonfiction books, and the necessary supplies to have in the library. These are just a few examples, and there are many more. I especially liked her post titled "How a School Librarian Can Overcome Feeling Discouraged" (Paciotti, 2023, September 5). Paciotti highlights the three main differences between being a classroom teacher and a librarian that can possibly lead to a librarian's discouragement. These differences are jurisdiction, dominion, and role. As a teacher, your jurisdiction is the control you have over instruction within your classroom. Based on the curriculum, the teacher determines the instructional content and its delivery. Although school librarians are also teachers, few people within the school building acknowledge this and the National School Library Standards and information literacy that we are responsible for teaching. Since we often do not see students on a regular schedule, we are not given the same authority over our instruction as classroom teachers have (Paciotti, 2023, September 5). Paciotti also points out that a teacher has much more control over their dominion (classroom) than a librarian does over theirs (the library). The library is often seen as a public space within the school that must be shared and used for meetings, professional development, student testing, etc. Often, the librarian is not even asked if the library can be used for such activities. In most schools, this would never be the case for using a teacher's classroom. The third difference between a classroom teacher and a librarian are the roles they have within the school. The classroom teacher has the defined role of an instructor of specific content. The librarian's role, however, is not as definite since they take on so many different roles at different times of the day - curriculum specialist, technology coach, salesperson, accountant, computer repair technician, babysitter, etc. (Paciotti, 2023, September 5). In all honesty, I had never thought to compare my experience in the classroom to my experience in the library in this manner. This post was an eye opener for me, and I believe I am now better prepared to acknowledge and accept these differences.
Another of Paciotti's posts that resonated with me is titled "Organize Your School Library's Fiction Books by Subjects" (Paciotti, 2023, August 13). This past school year, my school's librarian arranged the fiction section by genre instead of alphabetical order based on the author's last name. Paciotti (2023, August 13) confirmed the benefits of organizing fiction books by subject in this post and eliminated any of my doubts concerning this new organization. (She chooses to use the word subject instead of genre in order to align the terminology with the Dewey Decimal System and its use of subjects.) Paciotti observed circulation increased with this type of organization. She (2023, August 13) stated:
the best argument for reorganizing fiction is that the purpose of a school library is to
serve the needs of students. Many students prefer certain kinds of stories, and with
the limited time students are given in order to find and choose a good book, we can
make it easier for them by grouping like stories together. (para. 7)
In this post, she provided a detailed step-by-step process on how to organize your school's library by subjects. I also loved how she suggested that there should only be 25 books per shelf (Paciotti, 2023, August 13). That may sound silly to you, but these are the specific details that I need to know when I am in charge of a library one day. And I definitely need all the help and guidance I can get!
I also appreciated the post "Best Way School Librarians Can Increase Student Reading Achievement" (Paciotti, 2022, January 1), especially since most of the students at the middle school where I work scored low in state reading scores. Paciotti explained that librarians should not rely on extrinsic rewards or snazzy displays to increase students' reading achievement since neither of these things will motivate nonreaders enough to actually read. Instead, she suggested the incorporation of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) to improve reading comprehension and proficiency. The SSR should be longer than a short amount of time in the ELA classroom. This longer SSR should be every other week in the library during a full-period visit. Paciotti emphasized that librarians must provide the students with valuable time to choose a book and to read it silently. She also presented five strategies that can increase the impact of SSR. First, the student must be interested in what they are reading. Second, the students should complete the IT IS FOR ME checklist form to locate that interesting book. Using this checklist, the students would consider the Illustration, Title, Inside teaser, Summary, First page, Other (author), Reading level, Multicultural/subject, and Evaluation/Recommendation/Review of the book.
Third, the students would perform the 5 finger test to make sure that the book is on their reading level. This was the first time I had ever heard of this. I think it is amazing and want to share. Please watch the video below to learn more about this amazing strategy.
(10) The FiveFinger Tip for Choosing a Just-Right Book - YouTube
Fourth, they would complete the 20-page guide. After reading the first twenty pages, the students could decide to return the book if they were not interested in it and find another one. Fifth, the students would participate in a silent invited book check-out to minimize any noise or distraction (Paciotti, 2022, January 1). I am just blown away by these suggestions! I hope to present them to our new principal so he can consider their incorporation in the upcoming school year.
The final blog post that I would like to focus on is "10 Informal Ways for School Librarians to Promote the School Library" (Paciotti, 2023, July 24). I think that this is especially important during these difficult times of book challenges to make sure that the school administration, teachers, students, parents, and community members are aware of the many amazing things that the school library offers and provides. In my last blog post in which I discussed program planning, I included the importance of marketing these programs to increase awareness and participation. I believe Paciotti's promotion suggestions are just another example of marketing. She illuminated the importance of simply bringing students into the school library through the lure of games, reading alcoves, available supplies, and computer access so that they can see for themselves all that the library offers (Paciotti, 2023, July 24). Paciotti (2023, July 24) also recommended that librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to implement information literacy in relation to their subject areas. She suggested the use of a Library Newsletter, positive parent contact phone calls, and a brochure of services to encourage parents to be advocates for the library. I especially liked Paciotti's advice to volunteer to serve on school committees to have another opportunity to share the library's services (Paciotti, 2023, July 24). Although I did not include all ten of her suggestions to promote the school library, I believe that the ones that I did mention are definitely doable and can result in greater awareness and participation. I truly hope that you find the information that I highlighted from the Looking Backward blog helpful! Have a great week!
References
Dabney, E. (2020, July 20). The fivefinger tip for choosing a just-right book [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTbJyu8JOLE
Paciotti, B. (2023). Looking backward - no sweat library lessons & management that works. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org
Paciotti, B. (2023, September 5). How a School Librarian Can Overcome Feeling Discouraged. Looking Backward. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2023/09/05/discouragement/
Paciotti, B. (2023, August 13). Organize Your School Library's Fiction Books by Subjects. Looking Backward. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2023/08/13/fiction-by-subjects/
Paciotti, B. (2023, July 24). 10 Informal Ways for School Librarians to Promote the School Library. Looking Backward. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2023/07/24/promote-library/
Paciotti, B. (2022, January 1). Best Way School Librarians Can Increase Student Reading Achievement. Looking Backward. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2022/01/01/ssr-reading-achievement/
Comedy Stories I Have Read:
Yoshitake, S. (2022). I can explain. Chronicle Books.
Martin, S. W. (2022). I can’t draw. Margaret K. McElderry Books.
Yoshitake, S. (2022). I won’t give up my rubber band. Chronicle Books.
Hunsinger, E. & Walden, T. (2022). My parents won’t stop talking. Roaring Book Press.
Rodari, G. (2022). Telling stories wrong. Enchanted Lion Books.
Von Innerebner, J. (2022). That’s my sweater!. Dial Books.
Barnett, M. (2022). The three billy goats gruff. Orchard Books.
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