Listen. Connect. Empower.

Back to school - I have always loved this time of year with its fresh starts and dreams of possibility. I loved this time of year as a child and continue to relish in the excitement. This is our library’s back-to-school story, where I confronted the challenges of years past, asked hard questions, and framed our year of learning around the concept of “welcoming” all students in and “inviting” them into our space and our books. Do I have big hopes and expectations? Absolutely. Big changes? Not really. This is about the small, subtle ways I am choosing to build a positive library culture and grow learners. I consider this just the beginning of our journey. The inspiration for change came from two books I read over the summer - one being a powerful picture book, and the other being a dynamic professional book about reading. There is something beautiful about summer reading, soaking in the sun and ideas without the pressure of lesson planning and deadlines looming. I read, wrote and thought...

We are ushering in a new school year with a new theme, an invitation to our library to read, grow, explore, and create. I want students to feel welcome in our library. I want them to know that this is their space and that this is a safe place.  I did the following activity with grades 2-5 (1st graders are new to our building so I did an adapted version of this for them). We began by brainstorming what "welcome" is: Being invited (like to a party)  Feeling included, like you belong Being allowed Being accepted Inviting people to come Feeling comfy Saying hi A saying on a rug Next, we read the book All Are Welcome written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. Students then went on a mission in the library to take a picture of an item or a procedure and decide how that item or procedure welcomes (or doesn't welcome) students and teachers. Students eagerly took off to take photos (and of course a few selfies were thrown in there)...