The Teacher Connection

Posted October 3, 2012 by Julie Steenson

Working in a public library (and a small one, at that), I deal with varied patrons with varied needs.  In any given day, we have toddlers arriving for storytime, teens coming in to use the iPads, middle-aged job seekers, homeschooling parents seeking educational resources, seniors looking for help with technology, boy scouts borrowing our telescope, and anyone and everyone seeking a good read or new movie to take home. Interestingly, I don’t see many teachers.
Enter the Teacher Tea, a.k.a. The Library’s Educator Open House.
This afternoon, I am joining my colleagues at the public library in re-introducing our public library’s wealth of resources to our local teachers.  Truth is, most of our teachers turn to their school librarian for resources and some, who commute here from other towns, don’t realize all we have to offer.
While my colleagues will be introducing our downloadable audiobooks, library programming, and reminding all teachers that working in town entitles them to a free library card with no checkout limits, my job is to demonstrate the eReaders we have available for checkout (both a Kindle and a Nook) as well as our many EBSCO databases such as Novelist and Searchasaurus, which are remotely accessible with a patron’s library log-in.  (And we will all be enjoying tea and cookies.)
I am not in the School Library program at Simmons, but I hope all you future School Librarians remember to connect with your public libraries…and I hope all you future Public Librarians remember to connect with your school libraries.  Together, we are a great team for our teachers, our children, and the future of our communities.