Reading

Welcome!

Melissa Thom
Welcome to the Reading topic page. The purpose of this page is to engage and connect librarians in active dialog about reading topics in order to strengthen and stretch our thinking and practice. The resources found on this page are intended to spark interest and elicit discussion on various topics related to reading. It is not enough for us to read articles and books, listen to podcasts, or watch webinars. Instead, we must actively engage with this content AND connect with other practitioners and experts to discuss our thoughts, learnings, misconceptions, and questions. This page will be a place for you to dig deeper and to connect with other librarians as we grow both personally and professionally.

Melissa Thom
Teacher Librarian

Building Community

by Melissa Thom

The question of how we build relationships at the beginning of the school year is one of the most important ones we can ask. A recent tweet by Jess Lifshitz (@Jess5th) really resonated with me as I reflected on how I build relationships through reading with my school community each fall. Jess shared that "I'm thinking a lot about community these days and what I've learned about it. And so as I get ready to head back to school, I am thinking less about the back to school ACTIVITIES that will build community and more about the CONDITIONS I want to create to build community."

The articles and resources I am sharing with you have guided my thinking about nurturing a culture of reading. They have helped me to think more deeply about how I have done this in the past and how I will have to do this in the time of COVID-19 when I will be forced to teach from a distance without students' coming to the physical space of my library that I so carefully set up each year.  Read More >>