As is proper with most blogs these days (as if blogs have been around forever!), I will begin with an introduction to myself and the reason I have chosen to share my thoughts with those who share my cyberspace.
You see...it all started when I was two years old and my mom let me hold my first book. Just kidding :). My name, for the purpose of this blog and to those who know me best, is LB. I spent my childhood making up stories and sharing them through a variety of medias...the spoken word, short stories, long stories, poems, plays, movies... I was and still am fascinated by what I don't know. I spent my teenage years buried in books, mostly for school, but often for cathartic reasons, as well. During my undergraduate years at NYU I dabbled in English, Dramatic Literature, Journalism, and Psychology, graduating with such an array of interests that I was (almost) more lost than when I started.
I went into the New York City Public School system pumped to change lives. I came out with my life changed.
And then I had an "aha" moment (thanks, Oprah :)): I like books. I like computers. I like the Internet. I like to read I like to write I like science I like math I like kids I like projects I like the earth the moon the stars peanut butter but not jelly cats and dogs and penguins and history and I LIKE IT ALL. What's a girl to do, who likes it all? --> Go to the library...where it all is.
Thus began my journey with library science. I read reviews of all sorts of programs, scoured job advertisements at the NY Public Library, and interviewed all the friends I knew in similar programs or jobs until they didn't want to be my friends any more. Not one for waiting...I enrolled for the Spring 2009 semester at Palmer three days before classes began.
During LIS 510, the equivalent to Library Science 101, I used all my will power to orient myself toward a future in public library. The Director of Programming...has a nice ring to it, does it not? But, as I've learned several times over and am sure to learn again, I cannot will myself to fall in love. It just happens. I remembered my days teaching general education...my days as an elementary student in Ms. Nevitt's library...tomato soup and book club Tuesdays...and I knew what I had to do. School Library.
Flash forward two semesters. Here I am with the curriculum piece in my back pocket and a hankering to move full speed ahead. Enrolled in 629, a course about integrating the use of technology into school media programs, I find the use of this blog to chart my experiences, thoughts, and tangents quite useful. I am excited to see where it takes me next on this journey that is far from over.
Most notably, I am thrilled by the juxtaposition that my two graduate courses have appropriately created for this semester. While 629 is all about the 21st century, new technology, and moving forward in the world of education as it has developed, 729 (Young Adult Sources and Services) is a reminder of what library "technology" used to mean: books.
This is not to say that school library cannot be about technology and books--it is both--it is everything, of course! Literacy is still the main component of school library programs -- but the meaning of literacy is changing. It isn't just about reading anymore. But, thankfully, kids are still reading and teachers are still teaching.
As I prepared for my first discussion in 729 (canceled tonight because of all the SNOW in NYC--what's going on up there, Mama Nature?), I revisited the books of my teenage-dom. As I browsed through the dusty shelves to pick out some old favorites, I was reminded how good it feels to hold a book in your hands...to grow attached to a story and its characters... and to feel that somehow those characters live on those pages. My kindle has become my library, but it has not erased my love for books nor my need to display my literary history on my shelves.
And so...I am looking forward to discussing actual books...an entity that is seemingly becoming historical in the field of library science. Paired with a course focused on media, technology, and education, it should provide for some good discussion.
Please feel free to leave comments and questions.
-LB
You see...it all started when I was two years old and my mom let me hold my first book. Just kidding :). My name, for the purpose of this blog and to those who know me best, is LB. I spent my childhood making up stories and sharing them through a variety of medias...the spoken word, short stories, long stories, poems, plays, movies... I was and still am fascinated by what I don't know. I spent my teenage years buried in books, mostly for school, but often for cathartic reasons, as well. During my undergraduate years at NYU I dabbled in English, Dramatic Literature, Journalism, and Psychology, graduating with such an array of interests that I was (almost) more lost than when I started.
I went into the New York City Public School system pumped to change lives. I came out with my life changed.
And then I had an "aha" moment (thanks, Oprah :)): I like books. I like computers. I like the Internet. I like to read I like to write I like science I like math I like kids I like projects I like the earth the moon the stars peanut butter but not jelly cats and dogs and penguins and history and I LIKE IT ALL. What's a girl to do, who likes it all? --> Go to the library...where it all is.
Thus began my journey with library science. I read reviews of all sorts of programs, scoured job advertisements at the NY Public Library, and interviewed all the friends I knew in similar programs or jobs until they didn't want to be my friends any more. Not one for waiting...I enrolled for the Spring 2009 semester at Palmer three days before classes began.
During LIS 510, the equivalent to Library Science 101, I used all my will power to orient myself toward a future in public library. The Director of Programming...has a nice ring to it, does it not? But, as I've learned several times over and am sure to learn again, I cannot will myself to fall in love. It just happens. I remembered my days teaching general education...my days as an elementary student in Ms. Nevitt's library...tomato soup and book club Tuesdays...and I knew what I had to do. School Library.
Flash forward two semesters. Here I am with the curriculum piece in my back pocket and a hankering to move full speed ahead. Enrolled in 629, a course about integrating the use of technology into school media programs, I find the use of this blog to chart my experiences, thoughts, and tangents quite useful. I am excited to see where it takes me next on this journey that is far from over.
Most notably, I am thrilled by the juxtaposition that my two graduate courses have appropriately created for this semester. While 629 is all about the 21st century, new technology, and moving forward in the world of education as it has developed, 729 (Young Adult Sources and Services) is a reminder of what library "technology" used to mean: books.
This is not to say that school library cannot be about technology and books--it is both--it is everything, of course! Literacy is still the main component of school library programs -- but the meaning of literacy is changing. It isn't just about reading anymore. But, thankfully, kids are still reading and teachers are still teaching.
As I prepared for my first discussion in 729 (canceled tonight because of all the SNOW in NYC--what's going on up there, Mama Nature?), I revisited the books of my teenage-dom. As I browsed through the dusty shelves to pick out some old favorites, I was reminded how good it feels to hold a book in your hands...to grow attached to a story and its characters... and to feel that somehow those characters live on those pages. My kindle has become my library, but it has not erased my love for books nor my need to display my literary history on my shelves.
And so...I am looking forward to discussing actual books...an entity that is seemingly becoming historical in the field of library science. Paired with a course focused on media, technology, and education, it should provide for some good discussion.
Please feel free to leave comments and questions.
-LB
SO EXCITED to have you in the library world!!! ESPECIALLY the school library one. It's the best kind :)
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