The Sassy Bibliophile

I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Region VII ESC Library Conference last week. I can't even tell you what a beautiful day it was, y'all! Michelle Cooper, a librarian I completely admire, is now at Region VII and put on a fantastic conference.  From technology sessions to the latest in YA lit, and an amazing array of vendors, too, she put together a truly amazing day of learning for every librarian there! Almost two years ago I wrote down a "50 before 50" list in my bullet journal. I had been feeling like I had drifted into a space of being a worker, a mother, and a wife----but forgetting to actually put myself on the priority list and wanting to also remember my hopes & dreams beyond my labels. Some of the items are small, some large--but all are things that are simply things I wanted to challenge myself to do.  Things I think are fun or special or rewarding. It's funny how just writing it down puts it in your brain as well as in your journ

Now that we have made it through the mad rush of the beginning-of-school, it's time to really think about sharing your library story. How do you plan to share it this year? I urge you to make sharing your story a priority, y'all.  If not you, then who? If we don't share our stories, if we don't tell our tales, they don't get told.  If we aren't advocating for our student's need for a school library, then we are missing the mark.  I know we are all busy, and I know it can feel overwhelming to add one.more.thing, but sharing your story is vital.  In Texas, our new state standards include sharing our story almost daily on at least 2 social media apps in order to achieve a distinguished rating. Not gonna lie, this has helped me to be more intentional about sharing.  I'm using our library Insta a lot, our Twitter a bit, and our Facebook page a bit.  I do a TON of PD on my own Twitter handle, and share some library world on my personal FB and I

What an exciting time of year!  Some of us have already had our first day and for other of us that day is fast approaching.  What I can definitely say is that I always love it when the PD days are over, and my kids are coming back. I've met the incoming freshmen class at Fish Camp, new displays are up, shelves are straightened and we are ready to welcome our students. 29 years in and it is still just as exciting to me as it ever was, y'all.  I'm sharing 5 things I do to keep me joyful as we start our new year. The before school morning rush finds me greeting my people. We generally host somewhere around 150 kids before school starts each morning. Coffee in hand, I am going around the library checking in on all my kids.  Greeting them, saying good morning, making sure they have what they need for the day.  Email can wait, my to-do list can wait, everything waits because this is my time to make sure every kid in my space is noticed, acknowledged, and spoken to with k