Happy CSLD!

 Today, Monday October 21, 2024, is Canadian School Library Day.

This is a busy time of year. It is also Media Literacy Week (October 21 - 25, 2024), which is near and dear to my heart both as the co-VP of the Association for Media Literacy as well as Canada's representative on UNESCO's Media and Information Literacy Alliance (North America & Europe chapter). I wrote about Media Literacy Week last year at this time on my blog. This time, I'll focus on Canadian School Library Day. 

Canadian School Library Day takes on added significance this year for me because I recently joined Canadian School Libraries, the organization, as an executive board member and as their lead editor for their publication, Canadian School Libraries Journal. I used to be the editor-in-chief for the award winning magazine for the Ontario School Library Association, The Teaching Librarian, from 2006-2018. I guess I'm returning to my volunteer "roots", so to speak. 

When Kim Davidson and I hosted a TDSB Teacher-Librarian Network meeting after school this past week at Banting and Best Public School (thank you Molly for offering your fantastic space!), we mentioned CSLD and brainstormed with the group about ways people could mark the occasion. I shared the idea that I'm running with for this year's event.

Monday will be a book borrowing bonanza! I've made arrangements with the board's library department to turn off my pre-set limit number and encourage students to come during both recesses (or use their library period if it falls on this day) to borrow as many books as they can carry. Usually, the library is open for morning recess only (because I need time to use the bathroom once in a while!). Usually students need a library pass (so that I'm not overwhelmed with an exceptionally large number of students in the space with me as the only supervisor). Both of these safeguards will be suspended for this single day. Have I lost all my senses? Is this a disaster waiting to happen? My friend Kim did point out to me that checking in and shelving these returns is going to be a real chore.

This is where I'm grateful for my newest adult volunteer. She comes in once a week for the afternoon and her job is to shelve books and keep the shelves in order. I won't name her here, because she is rather shy and does not want to advertise that she is doing this for me. However, she's already made such a positive difference - my book return cart isn't overflowing with neglected titles waiting to be returned to their homes on the shelves. It seems that she enjoys contributing to the school's well-being in this way. On Thursday, she brought me flowers from her garden and homemade banana chocolate chip muffins, to thank me. Really, I should be thanking her!

The library is so much more than the books - although they are definitely important. Originally, I was going to write today's blog on "STEM and stickers and swamps", so that I could discuss:

A) how the new STEM Lab (located in the library) is being actively used

B) how consumable items can really motivate students to learn (like my collection of stickers from the Sandylion Sticker Warehouse - even my principal remembers his days in the classroom with these and what a great resource this was for teachers at a great price)

C) how really energizing and delightful my recent co-teaching opportunities have been with the Grade 6s for social studies (where the swamp reference originates), the Grade 5s for science, the Grade 4-5s for social studies and the kindergartens for literary/numeracy/community. 

I'm going to resist writing at length about those three (save a snippet and a photo or two to pique curious minds) for now. I still have reports to write, assessments to complete, culminating projects to design, TMC webinars to rehearse, and TL AQ tasks to mark. The takeaway should be that school libraries are incredible hubs of learning and innovation that need the three pronged protection of strong policy, robust funding and equity of access as critical foundations for their success. Long live school libraries!