The Librarian Influencer of the Week is New York librarian Margaux DelGuidice-Calemmo! Click here to listen now!
Here are some librarian influencer tips Margaux shared:
Leave your personal baggage at the door. Don’t get involved in the grade/department level drama.
Approach your principal as a team member. Keep them in the loop about the good and bad things. Suggest solutions to issues you want to bring up.
The pandemic helped her focus on multiple literacies and technology. She continued supporting students and found herself supporting teachers more during this time.
She even provided professional development for administrators in the area of technology. She and a team presented at an annual retreat to help principals better use technology to support their students and teachers.
Be your own PR machine:
Stay focused on the students. Advocate for yourself and your library program. The students will reap the benefits.
Share all of the good that is happening in your school library.
Gather testimonials from students and parents.
This is not the time/place to be humble.
Margaux has a library services menu that she shares with her staff. She used Canva to create this.
Introduce yourself to the PTA president and send them your library services menu. Create a partnership with your local public library.
Margaux shared the value of Twitter in her professional connections and growth. (Here is a link to some background on using Twitter and understanding hashtags.)
You can connect with Margaux DelGuidice-Calemmo at:
Twitter: @metadatachick
Instagram: @metadatachick
Email: metadatachick@gmail.com
Wakelet: https://wke.lt/w/s/ZcOFSL
Margaux's publications/appearances include:
Coauthor of the book with her colleague and friend Rose Luna (Twitter: @rosemluna): Make A Big Impact @ Your School Board Meeting
Chapter, “Perception is (as) Reality” in: Handbook of Research on Media Literacy Research and Applications Across Disciplines
Chapter, “Building Champions in the School Community” in Activism and the School Librarian
Link to Margaux's American Graduate Day Champion interview for library advocacy on PBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmZ8zmwLRI&ab_channel=AmericanGraduate
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Checkout the School Library Program Planner as you get ready to start planning for the 2021-2022 school year. These pre-filled calendars are filled to the brim with ideas you can use for your library program! Use this document to help you plan:
~ Social media posts
~ Library programming
~ Book Displays
~ Bulletin Boards and more!
Click here for a free sample to play with.