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Independent School Libraries: Perspectives on Excellence
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Teen Advisory Committee at Wyoming Seminary


Essay Links & Bibliography

Library
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School
Hackley School

Links from the Essay
Pack your steamer trunks with this great starting toolkit for your virtual Personal (virtual) Learning Network
Nings
Teacher-Librarian Ning
Independent School Educators Ning
Librarians Ning
Library Youth and Teen Services Ning
Blogs
Students 2.0 
Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
Not So Distant Future
The Librarian Edge
The Unquiet Librarian
Archipelago
Neverending Search
Pop Goes the Library
School Library Media Activities Monthly Blog
Blue Skunk Blog
Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
Twitterers
@Scholastic (Scholastic Inc.)
@AASL_ISS (AASL’s Independent Schools Section)
@YALSA
@AASL
@ALSC
@ReadingRants (Jennifer Hubert Swan)
@ypulsestais (Anastasia Goodman)

Bibliography
American Association of School Librarians, Independent Schools Section

Association of Independent School Librarians

ISS Related Organizations, a collection of regional associations for independent school librarians

LM-NET on the Web
LM-NET Wiki

ISED listserv for Independent School Educators

This Blog’s for You: Ten of the best blogs for folks who take kids' lit seriously (but not too seriously) by Elizabeth Bird (SLJ 11/2009)



Independent School Libraries: Perspectives on Excellence

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We Are Not Alone

by Courtney Lewis
Wyoming Seminary, Kingston PA
 and Laura Pearle
Hackley School, Tarrytown NY(retired)

I am the Director of Libraries at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, a PreK through 12 school that is neither in Wyoming or a seminary.  I love living in northeastern Pennsylvania, working with my history teacher husband every day, and bringing my golden retriever, Bugsy, to work, even though he is more popular than I am.  I can be found regularly reflecting on my profession on my blog, The Sassy Librarian.


My friend Laura Pearle began her library career with a three-year stint as a student library aide at Emma Willard School, followed by a 16-year hiatus while she explored the varied worlds of college, Off-Broadway theater, investment banking and executive recruiting, among others. Since returning to independent school libraries in 1996, she has focused on the evaluating accreditation process, investigating the K-20 skills curriculum and developing her Personal Learning Network.  Her writings have appeared in such journals as Independent School and Knowledge Quest, as well as the Association of Teachers in Independent School quarterly. Laura was Head Librarian at the Hackley School in Tarrytown NY.



 
ESSAY ABSTRACT

“No man is an island” wrote John Donne – the same can be said about independent school librarians.  Sometimes it feels as though we’re islands; often we’re the only librarian in the school or the only librarian for our division (while the others are in separate facilities).  There’s no need to feel isolated: we can all paddle to another island, and build bridges between facilities, librarians and schools.
While we may be islands within our individual schools, in reality, we're more like Galapagos fauna, evolving in our own ways but with common ancestors and shared resources.  Reaching outside our library doors to other departments within our schools and to librarians at other schools is critical to our practice and pedagogy.


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  • Dorcas Hand, editor
  • Professional Guidelines
  • The Essays
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