Let’s READ!
As librarians, we try monitor our patrons’ needs. One of the ways we do this is to observe and collect data on what is being checked out. Ms. Kehe has been doing this with Grade 6 students. Grade 6 students came into the library this week for their first introduction to a variety of news sources, including Newsela, a news story-based database. Throughout the year, students will pick a current event to present to the class. We discussed how events can change over time as more information becomes available and journalists undercover more information. Almost all of the Grade 9 students have come to the library to listen to Book Talks and pick a title for independent reading.
As a result, we’ve observed an influx of our younger students coming in early and reading. This is a reflection of our reading program, English Teachers providing time for students to have independent reading in both Middle and High School, and just great students. Specifically, our younger readers are gravitating toward our Graphic Novels and Manga. This week we found out that our Manga Collection is in high demand. Not only have we seen a massive increase in the number of patrons coming to the library, but we have also seen a massive increase in our checkouts. While this was just our observation, we can back it up with statistics. Here are the stats to support our observations:
- Total Checkouts for the first 30 days of school in 2021 (even with COVID was an increase from previous years) = 1598
- Total Checkouts for the first 30 days of school in 2022 = 2483 (65% INCREASE)
- Total eBooks for the first 30 days of school in 2021 = 36
- Total ebooks for the first 30 days of school in 2022 = 90
- Total AudioBooks for the first 30 days of school in 2021 = 20
- Total AudioBooks for the first 30 days of school in 2022 = 32
- Biggest Growth = Manga and Graphic Novels
- Manga and Graphic Novels for the first 30 days of school in 2021 = 179
- Manga and Graphic Novels for the first 30 days of school in 2022 = 751 (238% INCREASE)
This is music to a Librarian’s ear! Kudos to the English Teachers and the students at ISB! Keep Reading!
Ms. Kehe’s Recommendation:
A Bird Will Soar by Allison Green Meyers (MS REALISTIC)
Set in Pennsylvania, a story about an autistic boy, Axel, who lives with his mother Byrd in an usual house. He loves exploring the woods nearby with his dog and observing birds. After a terrible storm, Axel finds an eaglet which he saves with the help of a local ornithologist. This is story about about seeing the world through Axel’s eyes and how autism shapes who he is without it being an issue. Filled with numerous unique and colorful characters and many interesting facts and details about birds. A must read for budding bird lovers…
Bell’s Recommendation:
The Last Great Road Bum – By Hector Tobar (ADULT REALISTIC)
We follow our author, or so he says, on his journey to becoming a man. He leaves shortly after high school to begin a life of exploration. His first visit is to Korea as the Korean War is coming to a close. This is one of several war-torn areas he will visit on his journey. He meets amazing people, falls in love, falls out of love, is nearly killed, is arrested, and suffers strife with locals all over the world. This is a book for the hungry traveler. It is not your posh ride in first class, it is working on a ship for your passage to Terra del Fuego. As we learn about all the wonderful and sometimes scary places, he visits, we get insight into the people that live there as he explains the history he is experiencing. A fantastic journey!
Digital Citizenship Corner
One of the ideas we push with students when discussing Digital Citizenship is that the best approach is to market or brand yourself. This way, you not only control what the world sees and learns about you, but you leverage the information to make your brand. All of us can do this to improve our digital footprint. Here is a really great article on Forbes: The 10 Golden Rules of Personal Branding.
These are the recommendations for personal branding:
- Have a focus
- Be genuine
- Tell a story
- Be consistent
- Be ready to fail
- Creative a positive impact
- Follow a successful example
- Live your brand
- Let other people tell your story
- Leave a legacy
Tech Tools
Today I thought it would be good to share a fun one. Have you ever wondered how people make those cool Gif’s that auto play and are just the right length? Anyone can do it! Create your video using any tool you like, Youtube, iMovie, even Quicktime and save it to Google Drive. Once you’ve got a shareable link you can then push it to Gifrun.com and it will turn it into an autoplaying video that you can put into a slideshow, email or doc. They are a bit of fun to create and you can put a smile on someone’s face. Try out Gifrun.com