Special NEW May Social Media Pack In The Library Voice Store!

 

Each week, in our weekly Library Voice newsletter, Let's Get Caught Up, Brianna and I add special things to The Library Voice Store. 

This month, Brianna has created five new social media templates to mix up and use in your library, classrooms, and school community.  They are so much fun and we are using them in our library at Van Meter too. 

You will find the May Social Media Pack here in our store.  And check out the other wonderful resources there too. 

And we hope you will sign up for our free weekly newsletter here, friends. 

Find The Recording For My Recent Webinar, 3 Great Ways to Spark a Passion For Reading! And Sign Up for the Next Literati Webinar Here, Friends.

 

Earlier this month, I was part of this special new webinar, 3 Great Ways to Spark a Passion for Reading, with my friends at Literati Book Fairs.  

We recorded it and you can find the recording and resources here. 

And this week, on May 15, join me for another NEW webinar, 3 Strategies to Market Your School Library Program.  

You can register for this webinar here. And don't worry, if you can't attend live, we will send you the recording afterwards too. 

It's Time For Our Books To Find Their Way Back To Our Library....Canva Poster For You!

 

Today, I created a little poster in Canva to share around the school, in our daily announcements, and on social as a reminder that we need our books to come back to the library by the end of the year.  

I created this in Canva and you can find the link to make a copy here.

I love how fun and easy it is to create marketing pieces like this for our library using Canva.  

I hope you can use this for yours too! 

A Fun Way To Show How Many Books Are Still Checked Out! You Will Find The Template To Copy and Use Here, Friends.

 

It's almost the end of the school year and time to get our books back to the library.  

To make it fun for our readers, I put a little twist on the book counter we use throughout the year. You can read all about our digital book counter here.

For this one, I created a place to show how many books we still have checked out.  

You can find the one with three columns here to make a copy. 

You can find the one with four columns here to make a copy. 

And to make this super easy and quick to do every day, we can go to the NEW Destiny Library Dashboard to find the data we need.  

In the image above, you will see the number of books still out under Checkouts.  I love how easy this is to find this data every day. 

You can read about the Destiny Library Dashboard, and a few of my favorite new Destiny 21.0 features, here in this post from my blog. 

Once you have the data and you are ready to share, just go to File, Share and Publish to the Web. 

We will share this with our teachers and students everyday, and we can even make little posters by printing the image too. 

Check Out The 2024 Fall Book Preview From Our Friends At Capstone!

 

One of my favorite things about being a reader and teacher librarian is learning about and reading upcoming books. 

Our friends at Capstone have announced the upcoming 2024 Fall Books and I couldn't be more excited to see all of these upcoming titles. 

As Capstone shared on the site, 

Welcome to our preview of the most anticipated books for fall! Among the books we’re most excited about this season include Author vs. Illustrator, a laugh-out-loud picture book about the not-so-simple process of creating a picture book from Lemke & Lentz, the collaborators behind the quirky and Instaworthy Book-O-Beards. Continuing the theme of book love, two new picture books you don’t want to miss are Overdue by Gloria Koster, a story about a forgotten library book told from his point of view, and The Pass by Sara Laux Akin, a tender story of sports, reading, and friendship, celebrating the empowerment and connection a good book can give.

Also new this season is Tana Cooks, an early chapter book series perfect for beginning readers about a Choctaw second-grader who loves to cook and bake with her family, and Cyber Sleuths, a middle grade mystery series created in collaboration with the International Society for Technology in Education that encourages readers to think about combatting dis/mis/malinformation in their own lives. 

Take a sneak peek at highlights of Capstone’s Fall 2024 titles before they hit the shelves.

You can get your sneak peek here, friends. 

I am extra excited about Cyber Sleuths, the first series in the amazing and important collaboration between Capstone and ISTE, 

Author vs. Illustrator from two of my favorites, Donald Lemke and Bob Lentz, and...

....Overdue about a forgotten library book who tells his story. 

And honestly, I am excited about every single title! They are all wonderful new books. 

And don't miss all of the engaging resources Capstone has created for these upcoming books.  For example, with Tana Cooks! a new series launch with Choctaw character who loves to cook, you will see there is a Bookmark, Coloring Sheet and...

...Recipe. 

There will be more resources added soon and I will be sharing them on my blog, and with the seasonal choice board we make of the new releases too.

I can't wait for all of these new Capstone books to be on our shelves for our readers. 

Future Ready Schools Needs Our Help! Complete a Short Survey and Showcase Your School Library Today, Friends.

 

Dear Future Ready Librarian,
 
As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, it’s the perfect opportunity to extend our gratitude to librarians. You play multiple roles—as teachers, helpers, collaborators, and supporters. Your work, both within and beyond the library, serves as a vital community hub, fostering learning and support for both students and colleagues.
 
We have TWO requests to help us with our ongoing and future programming for Future Ready Librarians:
 
1. We value your input and need your insights! We’d love for you to take 5 minutes to participate in a survey tailored for school librarians, library directors, and district leaders. This survey is designed to gather your experiences, challenges, and viewpoints on issues like book bans, censorship, and other significant matters impacting our school libraries. Your feedback is crucial in helping us understand the current state of school libraries and will assist us in addressing these critical issues. Take the survey now!
 
2. Participate in our video campaign, "A Day in the Life of a Future Ready Librarian." This is a chance to highlight the transformative work you are doing in your library. Demonstrate how collaboration, diverse collections, and the principles of Future Ready Librarians shape your daily practice. Please consider submitting a 90-second video by May 30, 2024, to inspire others with your story! Selected videos will be featured on our website and social media. Submit your video here!
 
Thank you for your dedication and commitment to shaping future ready learners!

 

Our Best,

Lia, Shannon and All4Ed’s Future Ready Team

 
P.S. Please share these initiatives with your fellow librarians, as the more participation, the better!
 
Click to Tweet:  Help @FutureReady’s  #FutureReadyLibs navigate the challenges and opportunities in school libraries. Take a 5 min survey to share your thoughts: futureready.link/frl_survey  #FutureReady #FutureReady
 
Click to Tweet: Lights, camera, action! It's time to spotlight the amazing work happening in school libraries. Join the @FutureReady #FutureReadyLibs video campaign and share your innovative practices. https://futureready.link/video

Join Me On May 15 For A NEW Webinar, 3 Strategies To Market Your School Library Program!

 

I would like to invite you to join me and Literati Book Fairs for a NEW webinar, 3 Strategies to Market Your School Library Program.

The webinar is on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 4:00pm CST. 

I will share 3 strategies to market your school library program and get more engagement from teachers, students, and families. You will walk away with practical insight you can apply immediately.

There will be a live Q & A following the presentation, so have your questions ready. 

You can register for the webinar here.

We hope you can join us, friends.  If you can't attend live, sign up today and we'll send you a link to the recording to watch at your convenience. 

The Results For The Top PebbleGo & PebbleGo Next Articles For April Are In, Friends! You Will Find The Posters and Templates Here.

The results for the TOP PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Articles for April are in, friends! 

How fun to see the Top PebbleGo articles read by kids around the U.S. each month!  When I saw this report for the first time, I circled, highlighted and jumped into PebbleGo to look up several of the articles I hadn't seen before. I also celebrated ones that were my favorites too, like Axolotls and Taylor Swift. 

My friends at Capstone and I, were talking one day and thought it would be really awesome to take the information from the reports and turn it into something that students and teachers would find interesting, fun and could use in lots of different ways.  

So, I went into a Google Slide and created this poster template for PebbleGo articles. I also made one for PebbleGo Next and Capstone Interactive eBooks.

Every month, we will be sharing the Top PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next articles read by kids around the United States, and the top Capstone Interactive eBooks using this Google Slide template.  

You can make a copy of this template here for PebbleGo and here for PebbleGo Next. 

For April, you will find the Top PebbleGo Articles Read By Kids Around the U.S. April 2024 choice board here to make a copy and add link from your PebbleGo. 

You will find the Top PebbleGo Next Articles Read By Kids Around the U.S. April 2024 choice board here to make a copy and add links from your PebbleGo Next. 

And if you want to turn this one into an interactive choice board, let me show you how to do that. 

First, you will find the choice board here to copy. 

Next, you will find the links to each PebbleGo article.  

In the article, you will see the link up at the top that you can copy. 

You will take that copied link and add a hyperlink to that name within the Top PebbleGo Articles poster. 

When students click on Axolotls, it will take them right to that article.  After all of the article links are added, go to File and Publish to web. That is the link you will share. 

We are really excited to share these with everyone each month.  I can't wait to share them with my students and teachers too.  

Join Me Today For The NEW Webinar, 3 Great Ways To Inspire A Love Of Reading!

                

I would like to invite you to join me and Literati Book Fairs for a NEW webinar, 3 Great Ways To Inspire A Love Of Reading Within Children.  

The webinar is today, Monday, May 6 at 4pm CST.  

You will leave with specific ideas for the library, classroom, and even to share with families at home....and it will be perfect for summer reading. 

There will be a live Q & A following the presentation, so have your questions ready. 

You can register for the webinar here.

We hope you can join us, friends.  If you can't attend live, sign up today and we'll send you a link to the recording to watch at your convenience. 

The Results Of The TOP 10 Capstone Interactive eBooks In April 2024 Are Here! Find This Fun Choice Board To Fill Out Here, Friends.

 

The results of the TOP 10 Capstone Interactive eBooks in April 2024 are here!  I am so excited to share them with our readers, and with all of you to share with your readers too. 

Our students LOVE reading eBooks in Capstone Interactive!  

They go to Capstone Interactive to read eBooks that are connected to content from the curriculum; eBooks for book clubs; eBooks that are interesting to them; eBooks that are new to Capstone Interactive; and much more.

Capstone Interactive eBooks is definitely our go-to for all students and teachers within our school. 

With Capstone Interactive eBooks, we love: 

• Read aloud audio voice over from real actors

• Multi-user simultaneous access to all eBooks by every student in our school

• Post one-click access with the easy copy-link feature...great for our Google Classroom, Seesaw, etc.

• Over 5,500 Capstone Interactive eBooks to support all of our needs

• eBook platform and reader are Section 508 compliant and W.C.A.G. rated

• And most of all, our kids love the Capstone Interactive eBooks, just like the Capstone books we have in our library, classrooms and pop-up libraries around the school. 

I love finding ways to get our readers even more excited about reading within Capstone Interactive, so my friends at Capstone and I have come up with this fun new idea!  

We will be sharing the Top 10 Capstone Interactive eBooks read each month using the data collected from readers across the country.  

The Top 10 Capstone Interactive eBooks read in April 2024 can be found here in this choice board. 

If you want to make a copy of this choice board, you can here. 

For my students, I am going to make this into a choice board by...

... linking the book covers to the link from each Capstone Interactive eBook.  I will then Publish the choice board and share that link with our students in their Google Classroom. 

I hope your students love the Top 10 Capstone Interactive eBooks lists and choice boards too, friends. 

You will find all of these eBooks, and print books, here on the NEW CapstonePub.com site.

Six Amazing Author and Illustrator Events In May From Our Friends At Storyvoice!

 

We love the LIVE Read-Aloud Show from our friends at Storyvoice.  

They have an amazing line-up of authors and illustrators in May for our readers. 

You can find these events here. 

The First Steps In Weeding Your Library! Follow Along As We Weed Our Library and Share Your Tips, Tricks & Resources For Weeding Too!

 

As we get close to the end of the school year, we start to think about processes that keep our library collection current, fresh and ready for new books and resources.  

Weeding is where I like to start!  

Weeding is the process of removing items from our collection.  We have weeding policies that are tailored to fit the needs of our library collection, and are aligned with best practices. Being diligent and confident in weeding is key to a healthy collection. 

As we come to an end to circulating books for the year, we need to think about weeding as we remove books to make room for new titles that are being published this spring, summer, and into the next school year. For example, we just places three big orders in Titlewave and these books will be coming soon. As we get ready for these orders, I think about making room for them on our shelves and being able to highlight them in the best possible ways for our readers and teachers. 

This week, we started the weeding process by going through our collection and removing books that are damaged and wore like the ones shown above.  

We are also removing multiple copies of books. 

When we take these books of the shelves, I then go through them all of them to see what the circulation reports show on the multiple copies, and to make note of the damaged books to determine if we will order new copies or weed these books from our collection.  

It's a process, but one that I enjoy because it means that we are making room for the new materials.  It is a great way to kick off the new school year in the fall.  Our students always love seeing the fresh shelves and what is new to read. 

Over the next few weeks, I will be blogging about the steps we take in the weeding process within our school library.  We take several steps and use various resources including the Follett Titlewise® Online Collection Analysis, which is a tool designed to help assess your library collection and identify strengths and areas of needs, and make decisions about purchases and weeding. It's one of the best tools we have as we advocate for our libraries and make our collections the best they can be. 

Let's use this Padlet to share our weeding tips, tricks and procedures we have for our libraries.  We can share advice, resources, tools, etc.. This is the perfect time of year to share, friends. 

I hope you find these posts and tips helpful, friends.  I can't wait to hear the weeding processes and procedures you have for your library collections too.  

Let's Celebrate May the 4th...Star Wars Day With This Choice Board For Creating, Exploring, Learning, Coding, & Fun!

                 

It's almost time for one of our favorite days coming up on May the 4th....Star Wars Day! 

On this day, there are lots of exciting, educational, creative and fun ways to celebrate.  We tie in lots of STEAM, art, coding, reading and learning online to this day and throughout the week. 

To kick off our celebration, I created this choice board, Let's Celebrate Star Wars Day With This Choice Board. You will find the link to share with students here.   

If you would like to make a copy to edit, you can get a copy here. 

I also made a version that includes space and planets articles from... 

...PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next so our students can research and learn about these topics for Star Wars Day. 

With the information they learn from PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next, students can then go to PebbleGo Create/Buncee to create their very own May the 4th Be With You PebbleGo Create/Buncee story or poster.  

There are tons of space related stickers, animations and backgrounds to choose from in PebbleGo Create/ Buncee by Capstone. I uploaded a few I found online to use and they can even turn themselves into an astronaut like Buncee Man. 

You will find this version with PebbleGo and Pebble Go Create/Buncee to share with students here.  You can make edits to this choice board here.  If you have PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next, you will want to add links to those articles. 

In addition to the choice boards, we are going to set up different stations and activities for our students.  Here are some of the resources we are going to use.  

The Anthony Herrera Designs site has amazing Star Wars Snowflakes. 

You can download the snowflake patterns so students can create their own.  You will find the site here.

The Star Wars Day May The 4th Be With You site has lots of special resources and information too. You can visit it here. 

I love the cooking and...

...craft activities.  

And this Star Wars Day Activity Kit is packed full of games, recipes and more!  You will find it here.

I hope you have fun planning a Star Wars Day Celebration for your community.  I can't wait to see what you and your students have planned.