Building Relationships in a Pandemic

 by: Carolyn Slavin, M.Ed. - Reed Elementary Bilingual Librarian in Leander ISD

Since March 2020, we have all experienced the unimaginable. I am very fortunate to be a bilingual school librarian at an elementary school in Cedar Park, TX. In April, I began to get in contact with my “Library Leaders”, 4th and 5th graders who had helped in the library throughout the school year. Additionally, I created asynchronous virtual lessons for our students. Through the Google Classroom I had created for the library leaders, I offered optional Zoom sessions. As I began to see which students came to the Zoom meetings, I was noticing some of my more involved students during the school year were not showing up.

This led me to question what was going on, and why it might be so difficult to attend live meetings. I was able to speak privately with a few students through the comments in Google Classroom, and I was completely surprised to discover that a fair amount of students attending our school lived in an area with no internet access whatsoever. I had not even realized exactly where these students lived in relation to our campus. From the comments my Library Leaders shared with me, how they were using their parents’ cell phone as a hotspot, how they were getting kicked off Zoom if their sibling tried to sign on at the same time, I knew I had to figure out some way to learn more.

In May, I began to travel out to the homes of the students that I knew first, my Library Leaders. Each of these families had a few younger siblings as well, and I brought along with me new books and a listening ear. One family in particular, I am so thankful for, because the mother, Elva Franco, was able to act as a community organizer in a sense, and give me an idea of how the entire rural neighborhood was doing with virtual learning.

Those last few months of the 2019-2020 school year, were a nightmare. From the educators’ side, it didn’t look that way. We were experiencing a very high rate of participation in virtual learning. It looked as if everything was going decently. But behind the scenes, families were scrambling to afford high internet costs, data for cell phones, and understand messages coming from the school district regarding grades, devices, and requirements for their secondary students.

So that summer I got to work researching internet access in rural areas, possibilities for bringing cables or fiber out, and contacting the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for our district, as well as the Texas State Representative for the area. I was able to meet with them, as well as a member of our school board, in July, to make sure we had a solution going forward for school starting virtually in August. It was clear that bringing cable internet to this area was a very long-term solution, but hotspots being available for families would be more effective.

The week before school began in August, the hotspots were delayed coming into our district due to a high national demand. Because this was more of an internal discussion among district leaders, the families that I had spoken to were very nervous about starting the school year as a result of lack of information. Elva Franco decided to put together a letter to the school board, and she had it signed by 20+ families, with 40+ students in the district. This got some attention, and kept me in the loop right when hotspots were distributed during the first few weeks of school.

At first, the hotspot requests from these families were being denied, because the area was not on the map for good cell service. Myself and Elva could not accept that. Because I had been in contact with our CTO during the summer, I was able to obtain a hotspot to go out and test it. Honestly, there were a few places in valleys that had spotty service, but the majority of homes did get service through the hotspot. Unfortunately, it took this extra step to get hotspots to these families.

There is no way that families can know all of the ins and outs of a school district. But the key is to be relentless in the pursuit of equitable education for our students. Limiting their access to education is simply unacceptable. Sometimes we, as librarians, are the people who need to take that initiative. We have connections in the entire school, at the district level, and across our communities.

Build on the relationships you already have at your schools. Continue to ask questions and demand the best for our students. More on the story here - https://www.kxan.com/pass-or-fail/what-are-some-of-the-nationwide-solutions-to-help-students-most-in-need-during-the-pandemic/ and here - https://fb.watch/2du7mCZQ_J/

Innovative Programming Award - Sponsored by Demco

 By Wenndy Pray, MLS - Innovative Programming Award Committee Member

    Librarians are among the most creative, innovative educators. And as such, they have thought-out, engineered, and orchestrated innovative programming for the communities they serve. To honor their efforts, the Innovative Programming Award was born. The Innovative Programming Award (sponsored by Demco) recognizes two libraries--one school, and one for all other library types (i.e., public, academic, special)-- that have implemented creative marketing projects and/or promotions to enhance their visibility within their service community.

    Perhaps your library has implemented a new website, created new community engagement programs, devised a creative way to showcase genre promotion and topic awareness, or you've created innovative projects to inspire reading and life-long learning. Now is a great time to take the library program you've implemented in recent years and showcase its success. In order to see the implemented program's full potential in action, programming would need to be in effect for at least three years before applying.

    Applications opened September 1, 2020, and must be submitted by February 15, 2021. All applications must be submitted using the Innovative Programming Award Google Form. Access the promotional PDF by clicking here. Visit the Innovative Programming Award TLA website for additional details.

    The Texas Library Association Innovative Programming Award committee knows there are amazing programs and even more amazing librarians behind them. Winners will receive $1,000 for their libraries. The committee encourages all eligible prospects to apply. Best of luck to all!

Repairing a Reading Identity

by Kim Ralph, middle school teacher at Wiley Middle School in Leander ISD. She is also a writer, bookseller, and curious person. She lives by a river and accepts all the metaphors such a setting inspires. 

School librarians and English teachers know that they will reach the students who love reading with their programming and lesson planning. We cherish the ecstatic moment of handing off the next book in a series that is long-awaited, to the squealing happiness of a twelve-year-old. I’m smiling just thinking about how Andrew* whisper-shouted his experience of finishing The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen, adding, “I need you to read it, Ms. Ralph. So we can talk about it.” And you know I did.

There’s another group of students we serve, too. At the beginning of every school year, I’ve had students answer the question: Are you a reader? Of course, this is not a pre-assessment of skills but rather one of identity. Without explanation or preamble for this expectation, my middle school students know what I mean. Some years, I have 20% of them circle “no” or “sometimes”. Other years, the percentage is much greater. One year, I had only nine students choose “yes”. On the first day of school! More than 90% in that group did not begin the year with a reading identity. So where can we possibly go from there? How do we reach the students who don't think they belong in the Library?

Penny Kittle talks about shifting student perceptions of reading in Book Love, published in 2013. I have seen the proof of her opening statement: “Teenagers want to read—if we let them… The pathway to difficult reading begins with books they enjoy.” So I begin by asking students about their last good reading experience. And here is the most important shift—not in the students, but one that has to occur in the educator—I have to be ready to celebrate and inquire into whatever it is that comes out of their mouth! Whether that’s No, David! or the subtitle script of Among Us or their required summer reading of Into the Wild. There cannot be a hierarchy of high- and low-value reading experiences. That’s exactly the kind of thinking that taught them not to claim “reader” as an identity trait. (And I know I don’t need to wax poetic for this audience about the importance of engaged literacy for every human being.)

When we legitimize a student’s reading experiences in this way, and know our libraries (virtual and tangible) well enough to point them to next options, we show them how to begin seeing themselves as a reader. When Malcolm loved No, David!, I showed him how to request it from the elementary Iibrary. I think he was trying to figure out if I was kidding the whole time. But when it arrived, he read it, as a 13-year-old, and reflected on how much he connected with the character. We as a class celebrated the heck out of that. He found the graphic novels shelf and read Pusheen the Cat. Later, I pointed him to iFunny and The Terrible Two. He did a book talk for the whole class in January about the latter. Malcolm’s example of increased engagement with reading is what Randy Bomer, in Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms (2011), explains: “There is only one choice: to lower the level of difficulty until the reading experience is meaningful for the reader and then to gradually raise it again… Difficulty is not really something contained inside the text; rather, it names something in the relationship between the text and the reader,” (78). To bring more readers into our community, we have to change their expectations of who belongs in our community. We have to openly redefine what is meaningful.

Because who are we to decide what is meaningful to another human being? But I know there are a lot of community stakeholders, including parents, administrators, and other literacy educators, who have a stagnant view of what is “rigorous” reading selection for our programs. You might have been asked to show students how to search for books within their Lexile, or to recommend chapter books to students asking for Wimpy Kid. Next time, maybe ask why. Maybe ask a student, do you think you’ll read this, really? Maybe read a page together, modeling how you choose books for your own reading life. The only thing a person learns from being forced to read something that isn’t meaningful to them is that they don’t like reading. What I have learned from almost a decade of this work is that the kids always know more about what they will find interesting than I can accurately guess or preselect. They surprise me every year. When I take their perspective seriously, without shaming or silencing them, we have a way to begin our work together.

*all student names are pseudonyms

So You Want to Join a TLA Reading List Committee? 10 Things to Know

By Priscilla K. Delgado, PhD Student at St. John’s University, TLA Reading List Coordinating Committee Co-Chair, TxASL Talks Member

The Texas Library Association has ten reading lists for readers ages 2 to 102 ranging from fiction to non-fiction, Spanish titles, and graphic novels. These lists are determined by dedicated TLA members who are selected to serve on a reading list committee. It’s like a special book club!

How does someone go about applying and serving on a reading list committee? Here’s everything you need to know: 

1. The TLA reading lists are under 3 umbrellas: 

• Children’s Round Table (CRT)

• 2x2

• Little Maverick

• Bluebonnet (jointly sponsored with TASL) 

• Young Adult Round Table (YART)

• Lone Star Reading List

• Spirit of Texas

• TAYSHAS

• Maverick

• TLA

• Tejas Star

• Topaz

• Lariat

2. Each umbrella group and Bluebonnet has its own application with its own deadlines. 

• CRT application - deadline pending, but get those applications in ASAP!

• TLA application - deadline October 16

• YART application - deadline October 18

• Bluebonnet application - deadline November 1

3. Some reading list committees have prerequisites. For example, some committees require that you be actively providing library services to children for the duration of your appointment. Tejas Star requires members to be able to read in Spanish. Check each reading list’s website for details.

4. The respective group leader(s) will review the applications and make appointments, usually in the fall. Notification and finalization of committees usually happen in January. Terms for new committee members will begin at a time decided on by the reading list chair and/or umbrella group leader.

5. Terms are usually for 3 years. Meetings are typically held in-person and/or online at Annual Assembly and throughout the year. Reading list committee members usually do at least one program at Annual Conference, presenting content related to their latest reading list.

6. Serving on a reading list calls for A LOT of reading! Publishers often send books to committee members to review. It’s helpful to have a designated space to keep all your books and to set aside time to prioritize reading. (Note: sometimes publishers aren’t always able to send books, which may require members to seek out the books themselves.)

7. Communication is key! Committee members should have a reliable email address, check it daily, and participate in the function of the committee. It’s a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

8. Each reading list committee has a chair and either an administrative assistant or vice-chair. The chair is responsible for setting up meetings, communicating with committee members and with their umbrella group leaders, and to facilitate all business matters pertaining to the committee. The administrative assistant/vice-chair usually is the point of contact for publishers. 

9. In addition to reading, reading list committee members often create content for activity guides and reproducible materials, social media posts, and other projects to promote the reading list.

10. Being appointed to a reading list committee can be a competitive, selective process. If you are accepted, woohooo!! If you don’t get accepted, please consider applying again the following year!

Still have questions? Feel free to get in touch with the respective reading list committee chair or with the Reading List Coordinating Committee co-chairs, Kate DiPronio and me at rlcc@members.txla.org. We will be happy to help in any way that we can. 

Good luck and happy reading!

Mapping Our Schools

by Dee Porter, Librarian at Vandegrift High School, Leander ISD

Interactive maps are powerful collaboration tools that librarians can use to support teachers and engage students. Placing data on a map provides a visual aid which helps students connect learning to their own lives and helps them find relationships between data.

High school English language learners, their two teachers and I worked together to create a map of schools they previously attended as a get to know you activity. The answers ranged from Canyon Vista Middle School in a nearby school district to Concord College of Sino Canada in Tongzhou, China. Each student placed their information on the map. When all the points were entered each student unmuted themselves one at a time and shared information about their school with the group. The map ignited student conversation filled with engaging stories about ancient Chinese musical instruments, long car rides, uniforms and cafeteria food. 

One early stage English acquisition student answered the questions on the form and a teacher read his answers aloud. He responded to questions via the chat. More fluent language acquisition students examined the points on the map and discussed patterns in the data and reasons for those patterns.

I created the map using Survey 123 which you can learn more about here. Alternatively you can do the same lesson in Google My Maps.

1. Use this form to collect information about one previous school

2. Save the resulting spreadsheet as a .csv

3. Go to google my maps and import the .csv as a layer

4. Switch the view from satellite to street and students can talk about parks, restaurants and other landmarks they have visited. Students and teachers can also use the locations on the map to ask the presenter questions. 

So contact a teacher and create collaborative maps by asking students simple questions like name one school you have attended in the past. If you need more ideas please see the ones listed below. If you have any questions please contact me; I love to talk about maps!

• World Geography story maps detailing Central American current events

• Colleges teachers on one campus attended

• Cities represented at a librarian conference

• Student birthplaces

• Changing setting of a character’s journey

• Where student t-shirts were made

• Local community helpers

Coping, Healing, & Persevering: Social-Emotional Learning with Technology

by Wenndy Pray, MLS - B. L. Gray Jr. High Librarian, Sharyland Independent School District

Humans are social creatures. Although some may argue that we can survive in solitude, we thrive on emotional connection, relationships, and company. As Viktor Maslov, Jean Piaget, and the many others who have expanded on their findings regarding social and cognitive development, librarians now find themselves at the forefront of discovery. Most importantly, we’re equipped with 21st Century tools that can help preserve this critical component for our students’ social and emotional development.

The current pandemic has placed limitations on an integral part of our experience on this earth: our social lives. This concern fills our minds and hearts with questions. How will our students survive this? How will our secondary students expand their interpersonal skills? How will our middle grade and elementary students learn what meaningful interaction looks like when they can only do it through a screen? How will our littles experience social-emotional growth at such an impressionable age? It would be comforting to have the answers to these questions. Humans are resilient creatures. We are overcomers. I can tell you that our students can. And they will. As their librarians, we are part of what will help them use this experience for good.

Librarians know the importance of telling our stories. Not only can reading, telling, or listening to a story inspire empathy, it can also be cathartic. Wakelet and Flipgrid are two web tools that can provide a safe, secure, and creative outlet for students. Students can learn about digital etiquette, or netiquette, connect through responding or collaborating, and by providing a place to tell their story.

If you haven’t heard about Wakelet, today is your lucky day. This visually-appealing, collaboration-infused, digital organizing tool is a platform where students can learn to create collections by uploading links to their favorite sites, type text, import tweets and YouTube videos, and even record live shorts using the Flipgrid integration. Students can use Wakelet to chronicle their experience distancing during the pandemic. This opportunity inspires creativity as well as supplies an outlet. It’s privacy options provide a safe environment for students to express themselves, share what interests them, or remember a loved one they’ve lost during the pandemic. 

Librarians can use Wakelet to showcase their latest programming, create newsletters for community outreach, and connect with other librarians as well.  Here is a collection titled School Librarians to follow on Wakelet. Connect with librarians across the world. You can find collections they’ve created with additional resources for social-emotional learning too. Students are not the only ones yearning for connection and filled with thoughts of what will be. You too can use Wakelet to express what you’re going through, share your thoughts through a video journal, or keep an introspective chronicle of time during COVID-19. Personal or professional social and emotional learning are both important. The “Only Me” privacy setting can keep those insightful and personal collections of thoughts and musings for your eyes only.

Flipgrid has also pushed several upgrades that enhance the user experience. Privacy, among many other features, has confirmed that as we move into a learning space that will demand more digital interaction, we need to remain conscious of how vulnerable our students are during this time. Providing a safe place in the digital classroom is just as important as it is in the traditional one. The Power of Flipgrid for Social-Emotional Learning by Martha Bongiorno describes five ways you can create content in Flipgrid to support social-emotional learning and development. Librarians share a bond with our students that no other faculty or staff member shares. We are a blend of educator, counselor, confidant, and advisor. As librarians, we can seize the opportunity for digital relationship building.  If students don’t want to type about what they’re feeling and observing, they can share their stories with video recordings. You can create a grid and control its posting capabilities by keeping posts private at the student’s request. Students now have the option to only record audio. These upgrades provide more options for comfort with expression and creativity. As mentioned earlier, Wakelet has a Flipgrid integration with shorts that can record up to ten minutes. Sharing encouragement, saying hello, or reaching out by sharing your favorite memory can help strengthen our students’ hearts and minds.

Wakelet and Flipgrid offer flexibility to assess our students’ social and cognitive development outside of an “assessment” environment. They provide a human touch that perhaps a bell-to-bell instruction setting wouldn’t. They provide more than a multiple-choice test could. Using these fun, engaging avenues to connect and help our students find their social roles in life may prove to be more meaningful than one may think. Although much uncertainty still looms on the horizon, we can establish digital avenues that will equip our students with what they need to cope, heal, and persevere. 

Now We Need to Promote Libraries More Than Ever

by Brooke King, Librarian at Atascocita Middle School, Humble ISD, TASL Legislative & Advocacy

The "Let's Promote Libraries!" social media campaign is more important than ever this year as we show how librarians support learning no matter what the school environment looks like.

This social media campaign encourages school librarians to show off what happens in their school libraries to stakeholders. The campaign began with the TxASL Legislative & Advocacy Committee with the hopes of encouraging school librarians to promote themselves, their programs, and their instruction. TxASL is continuing the campaign this school year as we chart into librarianship like we have never seen before.

Each month’s topic is still framed as a question organized around the revised Texas Library Standards. It begins with, “Did you know that school libraries…,” followed by one of the standards. I’m certain the standards may look a little different this year in how they are approached, but that will just show how innovative librarians are.

We will still tweet on the 1st of each month, and I will try my best to remember to tweet reminders! You can post on any social media outlet or even send an email to a stakeholder. We want to focus on local stakeholders first, and then at the state and national levels. This year is also important because we are approaching a legislative year in our state in 2021. We always want to be as proactive as possible.

Please use #TxASLTalks so it is easy for all of us school librarians to find and help share our messages. Then use #Txlege to share our message of the important role school libraries have with students and learning with our state legislators.

It’s easy to participate!

Step 1: Look at the current month’s question.

Step 2: Snap a photo and write your message showing how your library shows that standard.

Step 3: Post your message and photo on any/all platforms of social media.

Step 4: Be sure to use the hashtags #TxASLTalks and #Txlege along with other key hashtags.

Step 5: Repost/retweet/share


There are two infographics to guide you. One explains the full campaign. The other shows only the monthly topics.

Thank you for participating in this campaign and advocating for the work librarians do that contributes to the success of students and schools!

CTXLIBCAMP2020

by April Sicola Stone, Librarian at Four Points Middle School in Leander ISD, TxASL Talks member

One year ago, on a hot summer day,  I attended a professional development opportunity at a high school in Central Texas. I did not know what to expect, nor was I quite sure if any of my regular librarian squad would be in attendance. As I walked in the doors of the library, I was greeted by a couple of my fellow Leander ISD librarians and asked to write topics that piqued my interest on sticky notes. As I slowly made my way around various vendor booths, I mingled with librarians of all levels: innovative high school librarians, enthusiastic elementary librarians, and middle school librarians like myself. 

Naomi Bates 

Naomi Bates, a lifelong educator, teacher-librarian, and member of TASL and YART, was the keynote speaker. She passionately spoke about real world solutions that made me feel like she was right beside me between my library shelves. One point that she made that still stands out to me was about how a librarian's attention to their patrons matters more than any item on their to-do list. The CTXLIBCAMP organizers were as busy as bees behind the scenes while I smiled and nodded my head during the keynote. This crew was creating topics, assigning rooms, and even soliciting help from select members of the audience in order to develop sessions on the fly based on the suggestions from the sticky notes that were collected upon the participant's entry. 35 minute sessions hosted a topic, expert(s), and a facilitator. 

Zandra Lopez (right) and Melokka Spittler (left) work
together to develop sessions.

The topics were too numerous to list, but I will say that there were a few that really made an impact on me: Students as Leaders, Destiny Tricks, and Productivity. After examining the spreadsheet, we made our way to our first session with the understanding that we could attend for as long as we wanted, or change our decision at any time. (Participants didn’t even judge me if I ended up in the wrong room at the wrong time, but offered kind directions or patient clarification.)

Midday, I was able to coordinate lunch with a few elementary librarians that I don’t typically have the honor to chat with during the school year. Once we returned for a final session, we were reminded about the door prizes that would be announced at the end of the day. I know what you are thinking at this point. “Oh, another grocery bag… yippee.” That was not the case. There were MakerSpace items like a Buddha Board, $100 gift certificates from popular vendors, and even an LED message board. The best part was that there were enough prizes for every attendee to win. 

CTXLIB2020

This summer, David Bowles is the guest speaker. Mr. Bowles is a Mexican-American author from south Texas. He is the author of They Call Me Güero, which has received numerous awards. COVID-19 is making it possible for librarians across the nation to join this free professional learning opportunity. Zandra Lopez, a member of the CTXLIB and the librarian at Vandegrift High School in Austin, TX, provided insight about this year’s vendors: “Vendors continue to play an integral role by having the option of sitting in breakout sessions as well as offering virtual and/or mailed swag for all participants as well as door prize winners.” If you are excited to join in on the fun this year, please register at this link.

Down Dog in the Library

by April Sicola Stone, Librarian at Four Points Middle School in Leander ISD, TxASL Talks member

Librarians serve in an expansive capacity within schools because not only are they focused on their school-aged patrons, but they also support the adults in their building. This support may include collaborating with teachers to provide quality resources, co-teaching opportunities, and implementing innovative learning experiences for students that may or may not include a heavy dose of technology. During the past 2 months, it has become apparent that librarians do not need the walls and shelves of the physical space of the library to continue their duties. These experts are utilizing a virtual library space to reenact similar learning experiences from the traditional school day while maintaining student privacy, offering easy access to reliable sources, and demonstrating digital tools for teachers to incorporate for their new role as a distance educator.

As I conclude my 13th year as a Texas librarian, the instructional support component of my career has been a strength that I have had the opportunity to build upon consistently. With that said, I have had a concern slowly bubble up from the pit of my stomach as I witness the overwhelming aspects of education. The mental health of teachers is an issue that has been circulating on various blogs, journal articles, and social media groups more and more often. Teachers are stressed, work long hours, and often place their needs very low on their perpetual daily task list. I began to question what my options are as a librarian to assist my adult coworkers in managing their mental health. 

Because of one of my personal hobbies, an idea slowly blossomed that entailed no expense and little preparation. My thinking was that if I could carve out one hour a week to host an after-school yoga class, then teachers could gather to socialize, exercise, and de-stress. Don’t get me wrong, I am not an instructor. Austin, Texas has a famous YouTube yoga teacher who offers the perfect videos for our purpose. After I polled interested staff in regard to the best day of the week, we agreed to meet in the library with our mats every Wednesday after most of the students had hopped on their buses. The rules were that all levels were welcome; participants could come late or leave early, and judgments of right and wrong were not part of the vibe.

The first Wednesday was interesting. One teacher showed up, and we quickly realized that we needed to postpone the start time for a few minutes. (Encouraging students to leave the building, changing clothes, and answering the call of nature took more than 5 minutes.) The following week, more teachers joined us, and I learned that the myriad of light fixtures in the library offered the perfect soft glow for our time. The large media screen projected our videos at just the right angle for our mats on the ground. Throughout the year, we continued to honor our spirits with deep breaths in and out. Spring Break was right around the corner. When we returned to school, we were going to finish the year strong. 

Clyde enjoys time on the mat in front of the camera.

Y’all have probably figured out that things didn’t go as planned. Our yoga group was sad while simultaneously attempting to navigate the new waters of distance learning. Then, a teacher offered an idea. One of our school’s teachers was in fact a REAL yoga teacher. She graciously donated her time and energy to teach a weekly yoga session to teachers via a Zoom video call. We can make special requests that would help relieve tension caused by staring at a computer screen all day. My Pekingese pooch zoom bombed the class during our first experience, so we added a new rule: Dogs are welcome — especially down dogs. Mrs. Canino, the lone attendee at the very first session in September, shared, “Yoga was a way for me to bond with my coworkers in a setting that didn’t involve a PowerPoint slide or awkward ice breakers.” 

This practice is beneficial in so many ways. It brings a group into the library weekly to strengthen their mind/body connection; builds rapport among colleagues, and we collectively enjoy the calming space. My plans next year include inviting the neighboring high school teachers to join us, challenging our administration team to participate, and incorporating a consistent virtual class as an option (Just in case.)

Using the school library as an expansive part of ourselves is not a new concept. Teachers and staff participating in physical activities together isn’t a novel plan either. Observing a need, creating a space, and honoring others’ wholeheartedness in a way that serves your patrons at just the right moment in time is a valuable human experience that we can all appreciate… even in the time of COVID-19. 

The Power of Community

by Shirley Robinson, TLA Executive Director

The days leading up to March 11 were some of the most stress-filled I’ve ever experienced professionally in my 25-year nonprofit and association management career. Our incredible TLA staff were in full-on two weeks out from conference hustle-mode. Concerns over the threat of COVID-19 and what its impact could be to our conference were looming with dozens of calls and emails a day from members, exhibitors, and suppliers. When we ultimately made the decision with our Executive Board to cancel the conference that morning of the 11th, it was a relief that we had made the very painful but correct decision to protect the health and safety of our members and their communities. Ultimately, that same day the City of Houston banned all large events and the rest of the State and nation were all facing similar decisions. It was a time of uncertainty and shared commiseration of loss and mourning as we began the journey of the unknown.

Today, just a little more than four weeks later, the TLA Executive Board, membership, and staff are excited to be launching our first ever Virtual Conference. We’ll have more than 40 hours of pre-recorded content, live sessions and chat rooms for members to interact on April 21- 22, with even more fun surprises to come throughout the summer with an expanded learning series! A good quarter of the programs are targeted to our school library community with many more that may pique an interest you didn’t know you had. We’re thrilled that many registered attendees have chosen to convert their conference registration over to the Virtual meeting where they’ll receive many more hours of CE than they could have in a face-to-face conference. We’re also excited to see many members registering from far reaches of the state (and even some out of state) that haven’t previously been able to make the trip for time or budgetary reasons. If you know a school librarian who hasn’t attended TLA before please encourage them to register at https://txla.org/annual-conference/attend/schedule/.

Since joining TLA in early January I’ve already come to know and love the resiliency and spirit of collaboration of our library members. Even in my interview process I could see that the level of engagement and support of the association comes from an incredibly passionate and active base of members. This is a unique attribute that you don’t always find in associations, and it was exciting to see and has been even more exciting to experience. As we all navigate through the next few months, this resiliency will be a hallmark that not only helps the association to survive but we will thrive and grow through these lessons of innovation and creativity.

I can’t wait to meet more members from our school library community in the coming months. As a Mom, I thank you for the tremendous work you’re doing to support our educators and students, and as TLA’s Executive Director, I thank you for all you do to enrich this association. I am here for you – just a phone call or email away.

Shirley

Shirley Robinson, CAE
Executive Director
Texas Library Association

You Are Essential

by Kristi Starr, librarian at Coronado High School in Lubbock ISD, TASL chair

Only a few short weeks ago I was looking forward to April 1. It was to follow an amazing week of learning, connecting, and reconnecting at the Texas Library Association conference in Houston. It was a day when I anticipated commencing planning for 2021. The April 1 I woke up to, however, is one that no jokester would have ever predicted.

Friends, we are working in challenging times. The world to which we had grown accustomed has been turned upside down. You know it, your teachers know it, your students know it … everyone knows it. For many of us, it’s like working with one arm tied behind your back. You can do part of your job, but something critical is missing. Maybe it’s the people. It could be the books. Or the makerspaces. Even a reliable internet connection. Regardless, let me remind you of one thing.

You are essential.

• Librarians are essential to providing stability for students through storytimes and booktalks. They’re simply online now rather than face to face.
• Librarians are essential for curating resources for teachers and students. We aren’t throwing together lists and links, rather we are thoughtfully gathering and sharing a variety of resources and ideas. 
• Librarians are essential for technology support. We are answering emails, conducting office hours, picking up the phone to assist our colleagues and students when they need a new tool or aren’t quite sure how to do a certain task on a device. 
• Librarians are essential as collaborators. Whether it’s working with departments that we’ve never before worked with or collaborating on projects and websites with librarians across our districts, we are showing the value of teamwork and new perspectives. 

TASL and TLA are here to support you. We know times are crazy. We know it’s a challenge. But we’re here for you. And we all need to be there for each other. Session proposals and volunteer requests will come, and we’ll meet again in 2021 in San Antonio when we Celebrate Differences; Empower Voices.

Because today is April 1, it’s time to share our monthly advocacy statement. We have a slight departure from the planned statement, however. Thanks to Brooke King, TASL Talks editor, we have changed this month’s tweet to “Did you know that full-time certified librarians are supporting teachers and students virtually by ________?” Fill in the blank with what you’re doing. Be sure to tag #TxASLTalks #txlege and #TxASL You might mention @TxLA and your district and anyone else who needs to see this message. If you aren’t on Twitter, take it to Facebook or Instagram. Let’s get our stories out there. You are essential. 

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One last thought. We owe a debt of gratitude to Nancy Jo Lambert who is rolling off the TASL executive board and to Richelle O’Neil as she assumes the role of past chair. I have officially taken on duties of TASL chair and welcome Jill Bellomy as chair-elect. Thank you, Nancy Jo and Richelle, for your leadership. Thanks also to Lisa Zinkie who has served the past two years as TASL secretary. We appreciate you, Lisa, and welcome Linda Kay into that office. We appreciate our councilors Nicole Cruz and Jenn Hampton who represent TASL both at the state and national levels. A heartfelt round of thanks goes to Brandi Dawson and all those others who served on ProCo for the 2020 conference, and to Dr. Leah Mann who co-chaired the programming committee. To all of you who spent time preparing presentations, serving on committees, planning events - we feel your disappointment, and while we were unable to enjoy the fruits of your efforts, we commend you on a job well done. Finally, to the TLA staff for all the hours and continued work on the virtual conference, we express deep gratitude.

With the past in mind, and with a foot in the present, we look to the future. And it’s bright, y’all. It’s bright.