Blog #4: Exploring the Venn Librarian’s Blog

 

The Venn Librarian's Logo

I did a basic Google search for school librarian blogs and found a website of 101 Blogs AboutSchools, Books, and Libraries on the TeachThought: We Grow Teachers website. This website was very helpful because it organized the blogs by categories like School Librarians, Teacher Librarians, etc. After clicking on a few that were not quite up to date, I settled on Venn Librarian, a blog by Laura Pearle, who is the director of libraries for Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts. She is the Venn Librarian because she blogs about the intersection of schools, libraries, and technology; her Venn Diagram logo is above.

Initial Thoughts on Appearance and Navigation

I like the clean layout of this blog. The tabs are clearly labeled and include Curriculum Vitae, Presentations, Professional Activities, and Publications. The content in each of these tabs gives the blog credibility; it shows Pearle’s experience, education, and publication history outside of the blog posts. This format feels like a portfolio of the librarian’s work! I imagine she could present this to potential employers on prospective consultation partners for job seeking purposes. The color scheme is pleasing to the eye, and the image selection is visually attractive. The stories are easy to access, and the headlines for each entry are clear. She has a sidebar on each page with one section called “Things I Blog About” where you can find specific subjects and topics. Additionally, the blog is active and was last updated on July 5, 2022.

Homepage for the Venn Librarian Blog.


Pearle’s Blog Entries Overview

The first blog post I read was “Roadblocks,” which led me the post “3 Thoughts on If I Were inCharge.”  In “3 Thoughts on If I Were in Charge” she outlines the right way to do research and supports a structure of teaching research that is three years long: The first year is learning steps to research, the second year is conducting research and writing an annotated bibliography, and the third year is writing a research paper. She proposes doing this during middle school years. It’s an excellent idea since research involves the teaching and learning of so many skills and sub skills. However, this would require collaboration and agreement between teachers and librarians, which doesn’t always happen. 

 

The “Roadblocks” post is a response to comment on “3 Thoughts on If I Were in Charge” where someone asked, “what roadblocks prevent you from trying this out?” As a reader, I really appreciated that she took someone’s comment and made a blog post about it. That lets me know that she reads the comments on her blog. She took the comment and described some difficulties she was experiencing with teacher collaboration on a scope and sequence project for middle school history. In this post she writes, “the realities of independent school librarianship (and probably public school librarians will also agree): faculty do not always feel the need to collaborate with librarians. They don’t want to give up time with students, or control of the curriculum, or they feel they’re the expert and can teach these skills, or that’s not the way it’s been done before… etc.” It’s disheartening to that some faculty feel this way, but I have seen it with my school librarian and some of our teachers where I teach. Our school librarian provides various opportunities for teachers to bring their students to libraries for programming; it makes her sad that the students are missing out because their teacher does not feel the need to collaborate with the librarian. 

 

Other blog entries include: an infographic that’s a summary of the services her librarian team provided for the school year; a tearjerker story about a student who was paralyzed at a hockey game in August but was able to walk across the stage to get his diploma in May; a reminder to take PTO (she thinks of it as personal time off instead of paid time off); and so many others. I appreciate how she is willing to be vulnerable by sharing about her own health struggles and her friend who fought cancer for thirty years and used “socks with inappropriate messages for a minister’s daughter” as one of her weapons to fight it. Throughout several entries Pearle links to previous blog entries she has made, or links to other librarians.

Uplifting Other Voices

Another thing Pearle does well is uplift other librarians who are blogging. She has a section on her website called “I am but an egg,” where she lists links for other blogs. One of the blogs I was really interested in is Don’t Sush Me: Adventures of a 21st Century Librarian. First of all, awesome name for a blog! I love that she has a series of posts on how librarians can use TikTok to engage with students. Her blog is very colorful and fun as well; she has a cute Zazzle shop that focuses on fighting injustice and embracing equality.

 

Location of the "I am but an egg" section of Venn Librarian.

Takeaways

When I initially began looking for a blog, I was more focused on the content; however, the Venn Librarian blog has taught me several things I can use for my own potential blog, and for my future career as a school librarian. First takeaway: Blogs can be multipurpose; I can share my thoughts on issues in the profession, celebrate successes, share failures, and organize the blog to be a portfolio of my work to include a CV, and any presentations and publications I have. Second takeaway: Blogs don’t always have to be all business; I can share appropriate personal information to build rapport with my school community and my readers. Third takeaway: A blog is a good place to uplift my colleagues who are working the field.

Reading List for this Week:

Ghost Stories 

  1. “The Ghost of the Bloody Finger” 
  2. “Yellow Ribbon” A spooky Wisconsin story re-told by S.E. Schlosser 
  3. “White Cap” 
  4. “The Thirteenth Floor” 
  5. “Shrunken Head”

Poems

  1. “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton 
  2. “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes 
  3. “Dear Basketball” by Kobe Bryant 
  4. “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks 
  5. “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Olivia SmithJuly 16, 2022 at 8:40 PM

    "Faculty do not always feel the need to collaborate...They don't want to give up time with students, or control...or that's not how it's been done before," this quote truly made me throw my hands in the air and say amen. Last year, I took over a middle/high school library at an independent school from a librarian with a 40-year tenure, and I experienced every one of the "roadblocks" she mentioned. The rejection of most new and innovative ideas I tried to implement was discouraging throughout the year. In March, I decided that I would not continue to try and reach all teachers to face rejections, but I found two teachers who were ready for new and creative ways of learning. These experiences reminded me of why I chose the library and renewed my spirit. When facing roadblocks like these, my advice is to back up and cling to the few who are willing, and once others see your value, they will seek your help.
    The other post referenced, "3 Thoughts on If I Were in Charge", provides a dream scenario of how to teach the research process. The post made me think of the first time I heard Eisenberg and Berkowitz talking about their research models, Big 6 and Super 3. I remember them saying this is not something you can teach all at once. The statement validated my feelings throughout my schooling of constantly feeling rushed and as if I didn't know how to do a step. With an early childhood background, I see the importance of slowing down and ensuring that students master the skills that will set them up for success.

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