This has been a very rewarding experience. Now it is time to decide what to do with this blog. I am thinking ... I am thinking I will continue to use it to not only to explore new 2.0 tools, but also, my new 2.0 librarian challenges. With budgets being cut, teachers receiving pink slips, and libraries being closed, we are working in difficult times. My mission, if I choose to accept it, is to maneuver through all of these obstacles and come out on the other side with a better program, a better library, and be a better librarian. I hope to bring some of my fellow librarians along with me.
Right now, I need a time for refection and a plan.
There are several challenges that are facing me right now. The first is that another school has been added to my schedule for next year. The second is my hours are being cut by a half day a week. The third is the use of Spanish as the primary language at one of my schools.
Two schools per week:
Hours being cut:
The schedule needs to reflect students' needs, teachers' prep needs, and workability for me. In the past, it seems only the classroom teacher's needs were addressed. There is a good reason why, as librarians, we don't think it is the most beneficial or in the best interest of the students, to see fourth and fifth graders as the "last prep" at the end of a day or week.
Spanish:
Spanish as the primary language at one of my schools and creeping in that direction at my second school. The handwriting is on the wall. In order to survive I need to become more proficient in Spanish for the betterment of myself as a librarian with my patrons, but also for survival in my position at both sites.
The Plan:
How can I make these new transitions seamless, without losing any substance? I have a few ideas swimming in my head.
The first is my Cambridge Library Portal website. I am thinking that it will be necessary to change it to reflect both school sites, with the least amount of tinkering. That is to say, make it "generic" enough to satisfy both sites, but at the same time make it site specific to accommodate the "uniqueness" of both sites.
I need to change the name. I have thought about my options, and I think I am going to call it "The School Library Portal." Just making this one change, means I will need to change all of my website pathfinders to reflect this new name.
Site specific links will have to be changed. I can either eliminate all site specific, or I can double link, which means adding additional pages. An example might be... Site B students click here ...or...Site C students click here.
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Congratulations on finishing the SLL2.0 course. It sounds like you are set on a new course now. Some of your new web 2.0 tools might come in handy. I thought as you described your need to change your website, that you might consider using a wiki, probably because they are so easy to update. Get a partner to do pages in Spanish if you can't do that yourself. Make separate pages for each school site. Just some thoughts.
I hope you have time to write here and let us all know how it goes. Looking forward to reading you here.
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