Tales from a Loud Librarian

I have been blogging for awhile. I have had four separate and very different kinds of blogs. There was a particular impetus for creating each one of them. However, each time I had a purpose and goal in mind. The blogs evolved over time, especially this one, but I always knew the kind of message that  I wanted to impart.  I began blogging in 2005 when I returned to New Orleans after being in exile for 6 weeks due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Our friend, Christian Crumlish  (aka mediajunkie ), had recently started a web magazine and encouraged us to blog about our experiences. Blogging was still new. My husband and I felt that we had a lot to say. Everyone returning home from their exile had a distinctive experience, and the world was watching.  We were lucky because our house was located in the sliver by the river, so we experienced no flooding. There was some minimal exterior damage to our home, and the gutters had to be replaced. Our home was...

A couple of weeks ago I received  a call from Steve Zalusky at ALA. He writes for the online magazine, atyourlibrary. He was calling because he wanted to do an article about technology in school libraries. He had the press release about the award that I am going to receive from AASL. He also wanted some additional talking points from me. I was sitting at home on the computer when he called. I was sort of taken aback, so when I talked, I thought that I might have sounded a little lame. When I write, I get a chance to edit and edit and edit some more so I don't sound like a blathering fool. Lucky for me, I blathered in the right direction. I sounded half way intelligent. As always, I am very passionate about my school library.  Open here to read the article.

The current location of Patrick Taylor Academy is in a 1950's building that was designed for elementary students. The library is in a classroom. There is no auditorium or gym or any place on campus that can hold the whole student body. There are only 300 students, but to accommodate that many students on the campus, the district had to add four portable classrooms in the back field. I am going to say something because it is true. The current Taylor building is one of the ugliest school buildings that I have every worked in. I have been in old buildings before that had lots of issues due to neglect but also had charm and interesting architectural details due to their age. Not so for this space. Sign at new site  When I was hired in 2006, PFTSTA was only two years old. The district promised that a building was going to be built for the new school. There have been no new schools built in Jefferson Parish in over 20 years. So this is a big deal. Originally, the move in date ...