The Librarian Influencer of the Week is Pennsylvania librarian Kevin McGuire. He works at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh. Click here to listen now!
Here are some librarian influencer tips Kevin shared:
Put people first. The tasks you want to do can wait.
Don’t compare yourself to other librarians on social media.
Find the direction that speaks to your talents and passions.
Find a strength of yours and explore it.
Ask for help!
Try any type of programming you can - you don’t know where it will lead.
Kevin focuses on building connections with literacy programming.
His district is wrapping up the process of getting every student in the district a public library card. Reach out to him if you have questions about this process.
He helps students engage with literature.
He provides ways to engage with people who create literature.
He creates engaging experiences for them they will not get anywhere else on campus.
Kevin and some others created the Woodland Hills Interaction Series. It introduces influential thinkers and creators to his students including Pulitzer prize winners and New York Times best sellers.
He started an annual Read-a-Thon on campus where people take turns reading to an audience all day long. Along the way they also talk about the importance of reading in their life. Kevin manages a website with information about hosting your own Read-a-Thon. https://www.readathonday.org
Kevin used FlipGrid to do a modified version of the Read-a-Thon during the pandemic.
You can follow Librarian Influencer Kevin McGuire at:
Twitter: @WHHS_Library, @kevin_mcguire, and @readathonday
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whhslibrary
Instagram: @woodlandhillshslibrary and @mcguireka1
Website: https://www.readathonday.org
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