Beth Davis and Patricia McCormick

This morning I had a wonderful opportunity at Berne-Knox-Westerlo HS. Patricia McCormick, author of Cut and Sold! spoke in the HS auditorium and I was invited. Most students had read at least one of Ms. McCormick’s works and they had great questions and comments for the author.
After the large group presentation, she worked with small groups in the school library. They discussed the difficult subject matter of her books, as well as the writing process (including all the research!).
Besides being a great opportunity for the students, it was also a great opportunity for me! Thanks Beth!

Bethlehem Blitz

The month of March includes site visits to all of the Bethlehem Central Schools.
On this day – March 6, I was in three schools, Glenmont Elementary, Bethlehem
HS and Bethlehem MS. It is a great way to really see the program of an entire
district. Later this month, I’ll be in some other Bethlehem Schools. Today
I was treated to a real overview of the K-12 program.

What impressed me about this day was the dedication of the librarians. I was very aware of the fact that I was a visitor in a learning community. In every building, our meetings were interrupted by students who had information needs, questions or just wanted to say hello. Every librarian in every building excused themselves to immediately respond to those students. People in suits are visitors, but they are never, ever more important than the students. How wonderful!

G. came in with his cheeks all rosy on this freezing cold day to say hello
to Mrs. B and let her know that he had had a good night of sleep and a solid
breakfast. He was ready for his 4th grade test!

Here’s the honest truth about this job – on days like this, I really, really
miss seeing kids every day!

Elsmere Elementary Library

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Nancy Smith and her principal, Kate Kloss in their library at the Elsmere Elementary School in the Bethlehem Central School district.

Kate, Nancy and I talked about the current program and their shared vision for the future. Nancy teaches the full range of information literacy skills to her students in grades K-6. While we talked, we could see independent learners taking responsibility for their own projects. Within her fixed schedule program, she has created flexibility for collaborations with her teachers.

The three of us talked about the fact that too few teachers or parents realize all that takes place in a solid library program. We discussed some possiblities for collecting and showcasing all that powerful evidence!

The library aide, Joyce, graciously agreed to snap this photo of Nancy and me as I was getting ready to leave.

Thanks for letting me visit, Elsmere! It was a pleasure.

Zoller Elementary School

The most interesting part of this position is the opportunity to make visits to school libraries and to meet so many great school library media specialists. No two libraries and no two librarians are alike!

Here is one of our system’s newest members. Kristen Majkut started her position with the Schenectady City Schools in September of 2006. I caught this photo of her when I visited her in the Zoller library on January 18, 2007. How do we know that Kristen is a frequent technology user? See that flash drive hanging from her lanyard. She’s never far from her important files!

Kristen splits her time between Zoller Elementary School and the Steinmetz Career Center – so it’s a bit of a schizophrenic job. But she has lots of energy and enjoys working with students at both levels – elementary school and high school.

One interesting thing about the library at Zoller – there is a real fireplace in this library. Of course it hasn’t been used for years but it makes for a cozy atmosphere on a cold January day!
The Capital Region BOCES SLS welcomes Kristen and I look forward to seeing her at meetings and staff development sessions. You will all enjoy getting to know her!