So, what's been happening?

So much has been happening, that's what!  I am seeing the (HUGE) light at the end of the tunnel on my MLS!  December 13, baby!  OK, but back up a bit...

early September--   The school system website crashes, leaving schools with NO webpage!!  It was going to be changed to a new host anyway, but this sped up the process, and I had to attend an emergency training on the new one.  Of course, I had no files from the previous page, so I have to build it 100% from scratch.  It is still a work in progress, however.  

I was also able to attend a FREE, conference. How many good things in life are free? Well, this was! It was a local, regional conference for media specialists, complete with vendors and breakout sessions.  So much to absorb, and I wanted to attend more sessions then I was able.

In early October, I attended my first NCSLMA conference! Very cool indeed.  I met some of my classmates in my degree program (it's 100% online, so this was a great chance to meet), along with a few professors (see previous parenthesis).  Terrific keynotes, and breakout sessions. Again, having to choose which ones to attend was difficult, so I did a bit of session hopping! I got to meet some library rock stars and some book rock stars! But did I get my pictures made with any of them? Of course not.   Since I have taught in the high school area, and now am in an elementary school as a librarian, I did not know Pete the Cat was a rock star! And yes, I met James Dean!Sweet!   I did score a free ARC, and spent plenty of my hard earned cash on books, but who can blame me there?  And now that grad school is almost officially over, I will have time to read again.

In mid October, I suffered through easily handled my first ever book fair!  I was pretty happy with our results, but learned next time not to take all the proceeds in book fair bucks.  Just saying'....   Anyhow, I wrapped that up, and turned around to take my 100 year grandmother on a cruise to celebrate her 100th birthday! I KNOW, not library related, but important! She had a blast, and was treated like a celebrity because they announced her birthday at dinner, sang to her, and generally made a fuss over her! SO many people the next few days came up to her and wished her happy birthday and requested a picture!  (have I mentioned that I love using exclamation points? and parenthesis?) I do!!

Back to reality as November hit.  Tons of grad school work to complete, and at school:  kids, books, lessons, and teachers! Luckily, they're all good! November was a short month, only one of the weeks we had school for a whole five day week. The rest were 'short' weeks, and off THE WHOLE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING!!!!  I have never had that before! Excellent!
Oh, and on a teacher workday in November, we had a media meeting and one of our presenters was one of my blog rockstars- The Candid Librarian!

So, that is a brief recap of how my first few months as a librarian has been.  What I have to do now, is remember all the funnies kids (and adults) have said. That will be another blog.

Til then,

Peace!

Although I have been a teacher for 18 years, I am new at being a LMS. So much to Learn! We learn in Library School how to collaborate with teachers, how to conduct basic research, what organization of information is, what web 2.0 technologies are available at the moment, and so forth.  What one doesn't learn is how to do the nuts and bolts of a school library: what to do to start the year, how to check out laptops and iPads, how to repair a book! and so much more.  I do not have the luxury of having an experienced LMS to work with me a few days to show me the ropes, so I am learning by trial.

 It's all good. I got this.  Keep calm and pretend to know what I am doing.  (Impressed with my positive self-talk yet?)  

Actually, so far it's been really good. People are friendly and helpful, and I am getting better at attaching book covers! I have weeded out old magazines (put them out for teachers to snag), and I am working on the many multiple copies of yearbooks (keeping one of each year). 

I know much of this is silly and basic, but oh so new to me! So bear with me if you are a reader. And much Thanks!

~Lisa

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. 

A bit about me-  I am a first year librarian, at an elementary school. I decided after 15 or so years of being  classroom teacher that I wanted a change. I have always loved going to the library, both at school and the public library. I remember how proud I was of my very first library card at 6 years old.  I have a husband, a daughter, two grandkids, and two cats that think they are human. When I am not reading I enjoy traveling, going to the beach, the mountains, or just hanging around outside. You will frequently find me reading outside. 

This is meant to be an account of my thoughts, ideas, lessons, and whatever else happens to be mentioned. Leaves it rather wide-open huh?  I welcome you  readers, and look forward to learning from you.  Everyday will be a new learning experience for me, as elementary school is a new territory for me. 

Thanks for being here, and hope you will continue to stick with me on my journey, and my tales from the library!

~Lisa