|
One of my goals this year was to get an article published in a professional journal. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to write an article for Knowledge Quest journal and have four guest posts on School Library Journal's Teen Librarian Toolbox blog. Special thanks to Dr. Amanda Harrison and Amanda MacGregor for giving me these publishing opportunities!
There is great Kansas librarian representation in the March/April issue of Knowledge Quest journal! If you are an AASL member, you can read it online by logging in or likely received a print copy in the mail. Dr. Amanda Harrison, formerly a Kansas school librarian and now a library science professor at the University of Central Missouri, was a content editor for this issue focusing on relationships and co-wrote the feature and a supporting article. In their article "Building Bridges: Nurturing Meaningful Relationships with Stakeholders," Amanda and her co-author Dr. Rene Burress include some insightful thoughts on intergenerational communication and tips for relating to Boomers, Millennials, and more, including discussion of preferred communication styles of each group. It's an aspect I hadn't thought about and found thought-provoking. Amanda invited me to write a supporting article, and I enjoyed the challenge of writing about "Building Bonds with Young Readers: the Power of Relationships" and incorporating experiences from my daily work as a librarian and reading teacher as well as from attending the AASL National Conference last fall. Knowledge Quest online (ALA membership login required to view articles) No. 4: Building Relationships - March/April issue The articles are available to Kansans for FREE through the EBSCO databases provided by the State Library of Kansas. You can go to kslib.info/students, go to Journal Finder, and search Knowledge Quest. From there, you can search within the publication or browse issues by the dates listed on the right. While you're there, browse through other issues of KQ. I found a great article recommending manga titles for elementary, middle and high school that I plan to use for collection development next week while working on summer book orders.  
0 Comments
 This past week I was part of a focus group for a research project from the Department of Information Science at the University of North Texas. The focus group gathered a small group of middle school and high school librarians from around the country via Zoom and asked questions about what kind of data we collected and how we used it. Information from the focus group will be used to create professional development on evidence-based practice. To start the session, the leader asked each participant to tell our name, where we are located, and to tell our purpose. Why are we librarians? What are our overarching goals in our work? It's been a long time since I contemplated this question. After 23 years in the library, I have seen many changes in the library world and education in general. I was a little bit surprised at what I found myself saying: I am passionate about giving students a positive experience with the library, reading and books. I also want to provide a safe space where everyone feels welcome and included. It's about cultivating relationships and helping students connect with a caring adult. Of course I want to build a diverse collection where every student is represented and connect students with books, but I know that not all students consider themselves readers. I want even the reluctant readers to feel welcome in the library and that there is something for them here.
To exchange moments of happiness and belonging with library visitors." -Mychal Threets Yes! I thought. I love this description. It confirms that making positive connections and building relationships with people is more important than teaching lessons or shelving books or collecting overdues. It's more important than circulation statistics and reading scores. Helping people feel a sense of happiness and belonging isn't just a little thing--it's everything.
|
Amy BrownleeLibrarian, reading teacher, presenter. Archives
February 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
