When I was a MS #librarian, I felt compelled to hold a @scholastic book fair b/c it was often my only source of funding. I told myself that holding the book fair meant I’d be able to add more books to the library for those kids who couldn’t afford to purchase at the fair. Later… I was able to work w/the @Scholastic book fairs division. I met some incredible people during that time, including the President of the book fairs division, who cared deeply about increasing family literacy, and saw fairs as a way to get families reading together. When he…

I'm seeing a lot of memes related to gas prices being shared today. It makes sense. Not only are high gas prices a source of extreme frustration, but memes are an easy and satisfying way to capture and share what are often complex ideas and feelings. 🧵1/ Most people don't think twice about engaging with these informational amuse-bouches. They often seem harmless and dismissible - which may be one reason why these image based info-nuggets have become a popular tool for spreading disinformation & hate. 🧵2/ axios.com/2021/02/23/mem…

The 650 tag in a library marc record consists of subject headings that power search results in the OPAC. These terms are hierarchical, meaning that terms at the top of the list are prioritized in the search results. With that in mind, I shared this marc for @JerryCraft’s New… Kid in one of my sessions at #NCTIES22, asking participants to think about:

📍 the existing subject headings as they appear here
📍their order
📍what’s missing from the current list, and…
📍what readers would have to search for in order to find this book in the catalog.

Heads up #DigitalDetectiveSquad! Here's a quick #infolit lesson ripped straight from today's trending topics.

As I type this, the #mayoclinic is trending (on Twitter). A quick look to find out why leads you to headlines like this one. For some time, this story (from NBC News), was the top result in the #mayoclinic feed. However, scroll down just a bit and the same headline, from dozens of other outlets, is repeated & shared thousands of times.

“A group of parents found out where I live and came to my house to shout at me, while my children watched, about including pornography in the library.”

“Board members showed up at my school, while I was doing a book tasting, to audit my shelves for books teaching CRT.”

🧵⬇️ “A group is distributing homemade newspapers in my community. A recent one claimed that our school libraries contain books teaching kids that there are 73 genders to choose from.”

“Security had to escort a parent from our building who disrupted story-time to demand that I…

This is an incredibly important #medialiteracy thread that I want to add one note to. The data collection described here is also a contributor to radicalization. In this example, the targeted content was toothpaste, but what if dude's mom had been a...

https://twitter.com/robertgreeve/status/1397032784703655938?s=21

while supremacist or radical conspiracy theorist? (I'm sure she's none of those things, BTW). The algorithms don't care if they're pumping us full of toothpaste ads or filling our feeds with memes that encourage violent insurrection, they simply use the data we give them...

My fist job interview for a #teacherlibrarian position took place at an elementary school in a very conservative part of NC. I will never forget it, in large part, b/c the principal of the school only asked me one question which was, “would you put this book in our library?”🧵... As a brand new librarian, who had only ever taught middle/high school, I’d never read Nijland and De Haan’s King and King (which is the story of a prince who is charged w/finding a princess to be his queen, but who instead falls in love w/another prince) so I gave it a quick...

Y’all. I think copyright laws are basically BS that are designed to protect corporations and not creators. HOWEVER it’s important to keep in mind that reading books online for kids is a copyright violation UNLESS you have permission from the PUBLISHER (not the author). If the... author has permission from their publisher to give YOU permission, they need to include that in their statements. I cannot imagine a publisher going after a teacher for doing this right now, but I’ve seen crazier things go down. Additionally, given the amount of resources....

Not long ago, after a session in which I celebrated Jerry Craft's #newbery win for New Kid, a teacher approached me to express her dismay over a #graphicnovel winning this award and asked me to justify my enthusiasm for the decision. She was not rude or combative, but she... clearly thought I was wrong. I said I would be happy to discuss it with her, but I wanted to ask her a few questions first:

Me: Have you read New Kid?
Her: No.
Me: Have you read the specific criteria for the Newbery?
Her: No
Me: It sounds to me then that you're letting...

Y'all. Let's talk about weeding. Most libraries are set up very well for readers who a) understand how the library is organized, b) can use the online catalog independently and c) are so motivated to find the resource they need that they are willing to wade through... [THREAD] a sea of spine labels to find it. In my experience, however, very few students fit into this category. Rather, many kids who come to the library a) have no idea what book they want b) don’t care how the library is organized and c)won’t ask for help unless they absolutely have...

I've seen this article (or some version of it) posted approximately one bajillion times this week. And while I'm definitely among those who believe everyone needs more library time in their lives, the article itself hints at some troubling truths behind the feel good headline... "Conversely, the library -- which is free and offers a variety of services including WiFi -- is visited most by adults in low-income households and least by adults in high-income households."

I wish the increase in library usage was indicative of an uptick in our collective...

Recently, at an event, I was asked to name what I considered to be the most profound challenge facing young people today. In an era defined by profound challenges - many of which have dire consequences if not faced head on - I found this an easy question to answer in part... because I also think it's the most profound challenge facing people of all ages. The hard truth is, we are at war with disinformationists. And we are losing. The other challenges we face: climate change, racism, poverty, income inequality, terrorism, etc., are all fueled by...

We should all be deeply suspicious of those who want to cut funding or support to libraries - be they school, public or other. Libraries, of all types, are safe places for the most vulnerable among us. They provide a vast array of services to those people most of us... [THREAD] won't make eye contact with: the homeless, the mentally ill, those formerly incarcerated or suffering from addiction, etc. But above all, libraries provide everyone, regardless of their race, religion, gender, orientation or income with FREE access to the most powerful...