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!<\/p>\n
Librarians:<\/p>\n
— Help parents build early literacy skills in their little ones.
\n— Help older kids learn to read.
\n— Help show kids the fun side of reading.
\n— Provide a place to come in from the heat.
\n— Provide conversation about technology and privacy and ethical use of technology.
\n— Provide exposure to technology.
\n— Show how to use technology to promote learning.
\n— Help people trace genealogy.
\n— Help people find their next book to read.
\n— And, of course, promote great books by giving prestigious awards.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
— Lots and lots of requests for specific books or specific topics
\n— Got out some old photos of a local high school from the rare book room.
\n— Ordered microfilm from the Library of Virginia.
\n— Figured out the title of a book from a fragment on one copied page.
\n— Answered the question: What were the top three companies (by any criteria) in 1939?
\n— Helped someone copy a pdf file on the public computers.
\n— Helped someone load library books onto their Nook.
\n— Helped a customer format her resume.
\n— Answered question about salaries of congressional staff.
\n— Provided a definition of “cognitive dissonance” over the phone.<\/p>\n
And here’s a link to an excellent article on Kentucky Teacher about the value of School Librarians: “Why You Need Your School Librarian<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Have I convinced you yet? Librarians Help!<\/p>\n