SurvivalStrategies

S*M*I*L*E* -- Survival Strategies for new/overwhelmed school librarians

 

 

Always have a SMILE on your face, because

it makes you more approachable, and

it makes others wonder what you’re up to.

 

Here are the 5 STRATEGIES that I explain in detail in my workshops:

 

S eek guidance

• friendly faculty
• professional groups
• advisors AND mentors

 

M eet and mingle

• Circulate yourself!
• Make connections
• Time = money

 

I mplement practices and procedures

• Paperwork
• Plan books / logs
• Policies and political pragmatism

 

L earn more about:

• Local culture and curriculum
• Your collections
• Professional resources

 

E xtend yourself

• The Favor Bank
• Courses and conferences
• Handy phrases to use
• Expectations vs realities

 

 

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIANS:

 

online:

• LM_Net : http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/

Strategies for keeping up with LM_Net:

1. Use a separate web-based email address for your subscription. (I like gmail, since it automatically threads the posts by subject heading)
2. Access this subscription only once a day, or every other day.
3. First sort all messages by subject, and immediately delete any that don't interest you.
4. Then read what's left, and decide what you want to do with the info. (folders, labels, tags, c&p into text files, etc.)
5. Wait at least 1 day before responding to any simple data requests -- usually someone else will have supplied the answer by that time.

Note: After a while, you'll figure out whose posts to always read, and whose to delete immediately, no matter what the subject.

If the thought of getting all that mail every day is overwhelming, consider these alternatives:

• Sign up for the Digest version, which clumps every 10 or so messages into one big one.
• Sign up for LM_Net Select, which sends you a weekly summary of the highlights, with hotlinks to assorted posts.
• Join LM_Net, but set your subscription to NO MAIL. You'll need to go to the archives to read posts (usually 2 days late), but you can respond to posts, or even post your own comments, without having a filled mailbox.

 

• Joyce Valenza's http://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbwiki.com

 

and explore these lists:

• ProfessionalResources
• EduBiblioBlogList