For my social media tool, I selected Twitter. Twitter is widely used within my school district. Most of the schools and district agencies have a Twitter account. By creating a Twitter for my school library, I can easily make professional connections and showcase my school library. My plan for this social media account is to showcase pictures of events and activities in the library. I will also showcase new books and recommendations for various holidays, months, and special days. Check out my first post below!
This tool could also be used to highlight my collaborative efforts with teachers. I could share resources and tools used in the media center that students and their families could use at home. For example, we use lots of YouTube channels for book talks and read-alouds. I could share these pages with my school community via Twitter. I can also advocate for my school library program by sharing our stats, program impacts, and student work on Twitter. In the article, Make Your Library More Visible by Jan Wilson, she outlines various ways social media can boost the school library program. She states, "As school librarians, our impact isn’t always apparent, and our roles are frequently questioned." She is correct. We are often forgotten. Teachers and administration don't always know what our role in the school program should be. If you make your library visible, then the necessity of the school library program will be evident. It is important to show everyone in your school community that the library is the hub of the school. A library is a place where students can explore, learn, and grow as readers and consumers of information.
Citation
Wilson, J. (2017). Make Your Library More Visible. School Library Journal, 16–17.
Hi! Twitter is a great way to promote all of the resources that librarians are so good at finding. I hadn't considered that but you are absolutely right!
ReplyDeleteHey Whitney!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'm so jealous that you have a book vending machine! It is on my wish list and I am trying to find ways to fund it, so fingers crossed! Secondly, I agree that social media can help others understand the things we librarians actually do. I was just speaking with someone this weekend who thought we just read books all day and quieted noisy children! Unfortunately, the old stereotype is still alive and well! The more we can let people know what we are doing in the library, the faster that stereotype changes.
Twitter is a great platform to use for a library! I currently run the one for the Adult Education program I work for and it is so easy to be able to share and reshare information by retweeting! The only downfall of Twitter is that there is a character limit, so sometimes I dont get to be detailed as I want, but at the same time, it helps me to be brief and catch the audiences attention quickly.
ReplyDelete