It’s been more than a month since my last Librarians Help! post. During that time, I went to ALA Annual Conference. What did I learn there? More ways to help, of course!
Librarians:
— Help parents build early literacy skills in their little ones.
— Help older kids learn to read.
— Help show kids the fun side of reading.
— Provide a place to come in from the heat.
— Provide conversation about technology and privacy and ethical use of technology.
— Provide exposure to technology.
— Show how to use technology to promote learning.
— Help people trace genealogy.
— Help people find their next book to read.
— And, of course, promote great books by giving prestigious awards.
I’ve got notes from some of the people I helped before I went to California for the conference (and vacation with family and friends), so I’ll post a few of those.
— Lots and lots of requests for specific books or specific topics
— Got out some old photos of a local high school from the rare book room.
— Ordered microfilm from the Library of Virginia.
— Figured out the title of a book from a fragment on one copied page.
— Answered the question: What were the top three companies (by any criteria) in 1939?
— Helped someone copy a pdf file on the public computers.
— Helped someone load library books onto their Nook.
— Helped a customer format her resume.
— Answered question about salaries of congressional staff.
— Provided a definition of “cognitive dissonance” over the phone.
And here’s a link to an excellent article on Kentucky Teacher about the value of School Librarians: “Why You Need Your School Librarian.”
Have I convinced you yet? Librarians Help!