Libraries and Home Schooling by Alison Thompson

Public libraries are becoming to home school families what school libraries are to public school students.  With more and more families choosing to home school their children, the need for the public library to play a more vital role in the lives of children is increasing.  According the the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics 2013 report, the rate of homeschooled children has risen over 17% in five years.  Many public libraries are assuming the role of curriculum specialists, lesson extenders, and research and social hubs for home school families.

Read about one library's Home School Enrichment classes here.  The Lovettsville Library in the Loudoun County, Virginia, Public Library system is providing exciting services to its home school families.  Another library that is leading the charge in support of home school families is the New Albany - Floyd County, Indiana, Public Library.  In her 2012 article, Make Room for Homeschoolers, Abby Johnson describes the many ways her library is serving the needs of home school families.  Her discovery that "children educated at home can help make a library  more fantastic", has impacted her planning as the Children's Services Manager.  Abby also has a personal blog, www.abbythelibrarian.com, where she shares some tips and tools of being a Children's Librarian. She also tosses in personal posts from time to time to entertain her readers.

The next time you're at your public library, see if you can find information about the current programs offered to home school families.  Why not volunteer to help with one of these events!

References:

Hunter, Christina. "The Perfect Partnership: Public Libraries and Homeschoolers." Publiclibraries.org. N.p., 9 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Johnson, Abby. "Make Room for Homeschoolers."Americanlibrariesmagazine.com. N.p., 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Social networking and libraries by L Stinson

Social networking has changed many aspects of our lives today in 2016. And may very well continue to keep evolving in the coming years. Our current public libraries have become experts in the social networking area as this new way of life and learning has exploded in many ways. Here are a few networking programs that libraries participate in.

Many libraries have their own Facebook pages that show of their programs, current events, new books, daily quotes and links to their web page. On their website anyone can look at their catalog and check out books in print, audio, and ebooks. They also post photos of community events and accomplishments.

SDCL Facebook page –  https://www.facebook.com/sdcountylibrary/

To appeal to the younger adults, Twitter has become a library social networking tool also. Short expressions and thoughts are shared daily by millions of people. The library sends out tweets daily and many people communicate with the library in the manner by sharing quick ideas.

SDCL Twitter page – https://twitter.com/sdcountylibrary

Some libraries have found that posting new books and simple activities on Pinterest, another social network option, that they have many followers and these people read their subject boards daily.

O'Fallon Public Library Pinterest page– https://www.pinterest.com/ofallonlibrary/

YouTube is used by libraries to teach people how to access their online catalog, download an audio book and post videos of author interviews and book trailers. These videos can be very helpful to the library users.

San Diego Public Library YouTube page – https://www.youtube.com/user/sdpubliclibrary

References

King, D. L. (2015). Landscape of Social Media for Libraries. Library Technology Reports, 51(1), 10-15.

Libraries and Home Schooling by L Stinson

I have personal experience with Home Schooling children and how the public or community library is an essential to homeschooling families. We would go to the library every other week to look at books, get ideas of projects and check out books to read and movies to watch.  Libraries and Homeschoolers our Shared Common Ground states that in 2008 there were 50,000 home schoolers just in the state of Florida.  When we homeschooled it was in its beginning stages and did not have the school district organized programs as now. The neighbor children told my children that we were going to go to jail because it was against the law but at that time there were no laws for or against homeschooling. I homeschooled in our home for 5 years. My 2 oldest children when returning to school where very advanced in math and were placed in advance math classes along with all honors classes in high school. They took math classes at a junior college when the high school ran out of math classes for them. All 4 have college degrees, 2 of them have a master’s degree and one of those also has a doctorate.  

Homeschooling has become very popular in the last 15 years. Across our country it is now widely accepted that homeschooling really works well in place of the traditional classroom which is a great leap from the old thoughts that homeschooling would not only be detrimental to the children but they could never measure up to classroom students. It is known now that home schoolers will outperform other students. Now, “Savvy public libraries cater to homeschool users by developing daytime programs to serve them.” (T. Willingham). These programs range from book clubs, discussion groups to choirs. Having these supportive programs help the families by giving them more interaction with other children but it is often a wider range of age groups which is quite acceptable in homeschooling families as the students in the home are usually a variety of ages but they do many activities and studies together. These libraries have also contributed to the lifelong learning process that all teachers hope to plant the seeds for in the traditional classroom.

References:

Willingham, T. (2008). Libraries and Homeschoolers. Knowledge Quest, 37(1), 58-63. 

Social networking, libraries, and you!

he age of social media is in full swing. With it comes a flood of dynamic, current, and engaging content, available all the time. Expectations of entities has risen in kind. The public expects to be able to access an organization’s up-to-date website, receive updates about events in real time, and connect with employees or representatives instantly. Libraries are by no means exempt from these expectations. In fact, it is to the advantage of libraries to employ social media. The term “social media” means using a variety of mediums to connect to people. In this case, the new media that reach people are platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogger, and Youtube. Youtube usually doesn’t make this list of well-known social media, but it deserves to be. A huge amount of the content created for institutions and accessed by users are videos. Youtube deserves to make the big kids list of social media that libraries should incorporate in their use of social media. Want to recommend and share book reviews? There's an app for that via Goodreads. Other popular social media applications include Flickr, Vine, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Vimeo.

eople are online, using social media to connect with family, friends, political parties, religious groups, news outlets, and public institutions. So if people use your library, why not allow them to connect to your library in a powerful, meaningful way? The benefits of using social media are huge for libraries. Making connections through social media is by far the best way to inform, empower, and excite your patrons. By having users follow the library on social media platforms, patrons will feel connected to an engaging community without setting foot in the library building. Events put on at the library are more likely to have good turnouts if they are promoted on social media. Social media disseminates information to a wider range of people. Posts or tweets essentially put the paper flyer of yesterday on all the screens of tomorrow. 

he internet is open for business 24/7, 365 days a year. Libraries, especially academic and public libraries, are poised to establish a permanent presence online. Beyond the walls of the physical library will emerge a new library, a 21st century entity with a strong, reliable online presence that will initially supplement the physical library. I believe that in time, we will come to enjoy the “library of the future” in which the communication to and from users will be instantaneous, electronic, and wireless. Social media can take us there.

So you may already use social media, have personal social media accounts, or even run your library’s Facebook page or Twitter account. Creating an official library account on a social media platform is the easier part. Managing accounts and making the most of social media to promote your library requires more effort. What are the best practices? How do I know my efforts on social media on behalf of the library are effective?

 irst, “official” accounts should be just that. Posts should be professional, relevant, and timely. Don’t combine personal and professional accounts. Remember that once something is posted, even if it is removed immediately, the information is still out there on the Internet. Think before you click. It may be a good move to write up a social media policy specifically for the library, especially if you work in a school or public library.

Secondly, there are many ways to ensure your efforts online pay off. Incorporating a news feed on the library’s main website is one way to keep visitors to the website informed of your tweets without ever going to Twitter or Facebook to follow you. Many libraries include a Twitter or Facebook feed on their homepages. Click here to see an example. Click here to learn how to create a Twitter feed on your website, here for Facebook. You can even add a Youtube channel to your webpage. Learn how here.

y and large, social media platforms understand that the people and institutions behind their pages are hungry for “big data” (King, 2015). Even though libraries and other non-profits aren’t trying to sell anything other than their services, the benefits of marketing metrics are enormous. Analytic features are built right in to Facebook and Twitter. Want to know how many people visited your page in the last month? How many new people are following you on Twitter? In order to make the most of your library’s presence on social media, learn how to access this treasure trove of information, gathered for you, for free, by the very platforms themselves. 

So what should you be keeping track of and why? The general idea behind social media metrics is to gather information that helps you make the most of your activity. The best way to achieve this is to monitor the activity, audience, engagement, and referral metrics (King, 2015). Knowing who is visiting your pages, opening your links, liking your posts, and when will help you tailor your online presence to best fit your library's patrons. The applications and platforms may be easy to create and access, but there is real strategy at play with any successful online presence. Be sure to gather data and adjust accordingly. Set goals for the library online. Developing a following takes time and dedication. Who is your audience? What applications do they already use? Which application or platform is appropriate for different posts/events/etc?

Here's a great example of tailoring a library's social media outreach to its patronage, from King, 2015, in regards to college freshman:

• Set up social media channels that your new fresh- men use. Are they on Facebook? Then you need to be there. Are they using Snapchat or Instagram? Think about setting up shop there.

*Create timely, useful content. For example, does your university have a freshman-experience class with homework assignments and due dates? Post information that helps the students turn the assignments in on time. Post hints, tips, and tricks to help students successfully complete assignments. Ask what they need, and then make sure to post responses. 

*Be quirky. Freshmen are still teenagers, and they tend to enjoy random, quirky things. So be a bit random and quirky once in a while. Share weird facts—about the university or the area surrounding the university. Share pop entertainment news. Answer any question: invite weird ones, and then answer them.

Know what's out there. Browse. Ask. Explore. Trial and error. Tinker. Tailor. Perfect. Win!

Looking for a guide to social media from a trusted source? The American Library Association has a book for you.

Ready to join a social media platform? Click on any social media icon to begin.

   

 Items of interest about social media and libraries:

*Youtube Video:  Q&A: The Librarian Way - Social Media

*Professional resource webpage: ALA’s Webinar: “Use of Social Media in the Library”

References:

King, David Lee. "Analytics, Goals, and Strategy for Social Media." Library Technology Reports 51.1 (2015): 26-32. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Social networking and libraries

                   
This video explains why public libraries need to include social media. In my opinion, I do agree that libraries need to include social media because if they do not then they are falling behind the times and they may become outdated and no one may visit it. There may be those that just love visiting the library for reading, but if the libraries do not stay up to date then they may lose patrons. They may lose their most important patrons of today, those that are tech and social media savvy. According to the article, Fact or Fiction? Libraries Can Thrive in the Digital Age",
          Today’s school library uses an increasing number of digital resources to supplement a print collection that is moving more toward  ction and literary non ction. Supplemental resources, includ- ing streaming video, online resources, subscription databases, audiobooks, e-books, and even games, round out the new collections. Digital is the future of information because it is faster, easier, more connected, and more flexible. (ERIC).
It is faster, easier, more connected and more flexible all due to the internet. The internet is what ultimately connects everyone to everything now a days. Now you do not need to be at the library to search for a book. You can just use their mobile app to see if they have a book or not. I am finding that using SDCL and SDPL's app is indeed making it easier for me to search for a book. I may not have the time to actually go to the library and search their shelves. So when I do not have the time, I have the app!

Libraries as social hubs

    Libraries are meat to be social hubs, where people can get together and read, or even do different activities. Libraries are not mean to just to be places to read, they are meant to be places where you can gather with your friends and do arts and crafts, chat quietly, or many other programs that the library may be putting on at that time. Libraries now a days are becoming spots, where they are trying their best to spear head different programs to encourage patrons to come in and experience the library. For example, at the Rancho Santa Fe Branch, there are different programs such as "Love on a Leash", the book clubs, the puppet shows for the kids, the arts and crafts for both kids and adults alike. For more information on what programs the San Diego County Library branches offer, please visit www.sdcl.org. According to the article "Creating shared campus experiences: the library as culture club", "Librarians can also selectively introduce culture to their user group, for instance, via storytimes for children, readings, curation of gallery space, and many other activities that make them partners in creating a social narrative" (Academic Search Premier). Not only can the library be used for programs and reading, it can also be used for your future. According to the article, "Future of Libraries",
                 As economic pressures wrought by the recession continue to squeeze millions of Americans, they are turning increasingly to the nation's libraries for help. Many are taking advantage of computer workstations to hunt for jobs and polish their résumés. Those who can no longer afford to buy DVDs or books are now borrowing them from the library. (CQ Researcher).



Please watch the above video to find out why libraries are such special and wonderful places to interact and be social.
             

Libraries and Student Success by Alison Thompson

"How do schools connect to the real world so so that students may prepare for the real world?  One door to the real world, the world outside of school, is the library." (Baird, Why Are Libraries Critical for Common Core Success, 2014).  There are many ways school libraries can support student success, especially with the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards.  While the new standards can be widely misunderstood, a school librarian, and library professionals, can be the front line for aligning school resources, both print and digital to the new standards.

Two specific roles for school libraries can be pairing non-fiction with classroom literature.  Our school libraries are filled with titles of informational text that are both appealing and relevant.  Our library professionals can support teachers by  helping them find resources that can support classroom instruction.  School libraries can also support real-world extensions and research in all classrooms for our middle schools and high schools.  With the new CCSS, a shift towards reading more non-fiction is occurring.  One-half of all reading across the school day should be non-fiction.

In order for schools to see their students succeed to their fullest, they should use their school libraries and library professionals to their fullest.  The updated school library should maintain a range of books on all non-fiction unit content areas, maintain audio, video and digital resources, and be ready to support students in their use of all resources, both print and digital.

Resources:

Baird, K.E. (2014). "Why Are Libraries Critical for Common Core Success?" CSLA Journal
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