The Weekly Update
from SD State Library School Library Services
JULY 2022
Summer is busy, so I know you may not be checking your email every week. To accommodate, you'll receive only 3 "Weekly" Updates this summer...one at the beginning of each month. Please reach out, though, if you have any questions or need anything over the next few months.
605-295-3152
If you missed June's Newsletter, click the bar below.
It features:
- SDSL School Library Services 2022-23 Cheat Sheet
- SDSL School Library Services 2022-23 Calendar
- SDSL School Library Services Digital Folder
- Summer Checklist
- School Library Weekly Update Archives
- School Library Scoop with Scottie Playlist
Reader Advisory
As you plan for the upcoming school year, it's time to start thinking about how you will facilitate reader advisory in your library. Matching a reader with the perfect book helps foster a love for reading and helps build great readers. And there are many ways - both passive and active - to guide your young readers to the books they will love!
- Be visible, approachable, and ready to answer questions.
- Ask questions about your readers' interests.
- Create themed book displays with pictures on the display signs.
- Display books with the covers facing the readers.
- Create bookmarks with ideas for what they could read next and have plenty to give out.
- Write notes on books about why readers should check them out.
- Create bulletin boards with book reviews and let the readers get involved with contributing reviews.
- Post engaging signage for all of your genre locations.
- Book talk with your readers (see below).
- Use social media to promote the books in your library. TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are all possible platforms to engage your readers.
- Create book lists. Some possible examples would include: "If you like that, try this...", "Books that will make you laugh," "These will keep you guessing until the end," etc.
- Try a program such as Your Next 5 Books. See below for an example from the Rapid City Public Library.
- Allow readers to get involved by placing a star sticker on the spines of books that they would recommend to their peers.
This is just a short list of ideas, but the key is to remember that a successful readers' advisory service "is one in which knowledgeable, nonjudgmental staff help readers with their reading needs." (Saricks and Brown 1997)
Here are some other resources that may be helpful as you consider your reader advisory service:
- Readers' Advisory in the Public Library (third edition 2005) by Joyce Saricks
- Genreflecting (sixth edition 2004) by Diana Tixier Herald
- SDSL's database Books and Authors for book descriptions and read-alikes.
Book Talks
Virtual Displays
Prior to becoming the SDSL School Library Coordinator, I was the librarian for the high school and two middle schools in our district. For many years, I had been trying to "up" my digital library game but always seemed to fall short. Then came quarantine followed by the 2020-2021 school year. And what, at one time, seemed optional now became essential. So, I pulled on my cardigan, tightened up my bun, and got to work! This poster highlights 5 ways that I was able to increase my virtual library offerings and provides links to those resources. Hopefully, you can take even just one of these ideas and make it work for you to stay more connected and relevant in our digital world.
TIE 2021 Poster Session Presentation:
https://sites.google.com/tiegapps.net/sdla21/staying-connected
Virtual Display Examples:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18itBNJzxp9pdSqAS_B5HmDW-DK-EciZpDYRMXudiFac/presentLibrary Displays
If you are planning monthly displays for next year, you may want to consider some of the ideas from last year's School Library Weekly Update:
- January - Braille Literacy Month
- February - Library Lovers' Month
- March - Women's History Month
- April - National Poetry Month
- May - National Inventors' Month
Monthly display ideas for September through December will be coming this fall!
..from SDSL School Library Services
The Weekly Update is a correspondence from the South Dakota State Library focusing on current topics in school libraries, best practices, resources, professional development, and more.
Email: scottie.bruch@state.sd.us
Website: library.sd.gov/LIB/SLC
Location: 800 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD, USA
Phone: 605-295-3152
SDSL does not endorse any service or product listed or linked to in this newsletter.