The School Library Monthly Update

September is a great time of the year to review how you collaborate with the teachers in your school and with your local public library because everyone is excited about planning new projects and it is also National Library Card Sign-up Month!

This edition of the School Library Monthly Update features:

• A Back-to-School Bitmoji Library with links to SDSL Resources & Services
• The sign-up link for September's Collect + Connect Meet-up on the topic of collaboration
• A few questions about how you use the SD School Library Standards and how you might be able to use them for collaboration
• New database guides to share with the teachers at your school
• The School Library Scoop with Scottie Ep20: Database Collaboration Guides
• Links to helpful Swank K-12 Streaming resources
• A guide with ideas for how to collaborate with your local public library
• Information about how to stay in-the-know regarding all of SDSL School Library Services resources, support, and services

Join in the SDSL School Library Collect + Connect Meet-up (Wednesday 9/7, 3:30pm MT/4:30pm CT)! These meet-ups will be held monthly via Zoom and are an opportunity for school librarians across the state to gather, discuss, share, and learn. The format for September's session will be an open chat discussion around all things COLLABORATION. Pre-register for the meet-up HERE. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom link on the morning of the event.

Do the administrators and teachers in your school know that you follow the South Dakota School Library Standards when preparing your library instruction? Have you talked to your teachers about how your standards and their own content standards may overlap? How could you use this to your advantage when planning collaborative lessons?

The South Dakota School Library Standards are based on the best practices from professional research available to date. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Future Ready Librarian model were consulted in addition to the South Dakota Educational Technology Standards and the South Dakota English Language Arts standards. The workgroup also reviewed relevant content standards from other states as well as various research processes and literacy models.

Content standards provide educators a roadmap for what their students should know and be able to do. Standards are not curriculum and are not intended to be taught in isolation. The South Dakota School Library Standards are designed to be age-appropriate guides for successful student learning - learning which is differentiated, collaborative, and integrated across all content areas.

CHECK THEM OUT HERE.

The South Dakota State Library provides a variety of general and subject-based online databases with statewide access. A complete listing of these databases containing additional information such as training and marketing materials can be found by clicking the links below.

• A-Z Complete Listing
• Database Subscriptions
• Electronic Resources Task Force
• Printable Handouts
• South Dakota Titles To Go
• Technical Help
• Training

SHARE WITH TEACHERS!

• NEW printable guides for databases with subject-specific content (also see the School Library Scoop with Scottie below for more information!)
• Printable guides for databases with grade-specific content

Also be sure to share Swank K-12 Streaming (SDSL's newest database for K-12 educators) with your school staff! Swank provides South Dakota educators with a curated collection of top educational films that are click-and-play ready. If you missed August's Back-to-School with Swank training session, you can view the recording HERE. You can also watch Episode 16 of the School Library Scoop with Scottie for a brief tutorial on everything Swank has to offer!

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries nationwide join together to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning.

Honor Library Card Sign-up Month in your school library by:

• taking your students on a field trip to your local public library.
• spreading the word on your school library's website and social media accounts.
• working with your local public library to provide collaborative programming for your students.
• discussing with your students the benefits of utilizing their access to both the school and public libraries.
• discussing with your students the different resources and services they may find in their local public library.

And check out this Collaboration Guide for ideas of other ways to collaborate with your public library through the year.

Explore and engage with your local public library!

In the Information Literacy strand of the South Dakota School Library Standards, the first objective is for students to explore and engage with the physical and virtual library. You, of course, know your school library very well. But what about a different library where it is likely your students may be doing research (now or in the future? How well do you know your local public library? It’s time to dig in! Visit your local public library and find the answers to these questions. And then also reflect on your experience and how it might compare to a student exploring and engaging with your school library for the first time. *This was an assignment in last July's ExCITE! course.

1. Do you feel welcome when you enter and explore the library?
2. Is the nonfiction section easy to locate?
3. How is nonfiction organized?
4. Choose a topic. Is it easy to find what you’re looking for?
5. Who is available to help in the research process?
6. Do they know what research projects are assigned at your school? Do they have resources for these topics?
7. What is the process for using a library computer?
8. Is it easy to get a library card?
9. What types of research can you do? What resources are offered?
10. Is the virtual space (website/other) easy to navigate?
11. Do you already collaborate with your public library on any projects?
12. How might you be able to collaborate with your public library to offer more resources and services for your students' information literacy needs?

As we head into the new school year, communication from SDSL School Services will look a little different than it has in the past. The School Library Weekly Update will now be a School Library Monthly Update. The link to this newsletter and any other pertinent weekly school library news will be sent out from Brenda Hemmelman on the school library listserv every Tuesday morning in the SDSL Weekly Update. Please be sure to watch for it!

In addition to SDSL Weekly Update and the School Library Monthly Update, there are a few more places that you may want to bookmark so that you are always in-the-know about important school library services and resources:

• SDSL School Library Services Page on the SDSL Website
• SDSL School Library Resources Libguide
• SDSL School Library Services Digital Binder
• SDSL School Library Services Professional Development Website

The Weekly Update is a correspondence from the South Dakota State Library focusing on current topics in school libraries, best practices, resources, professional development, and more.

Email: scottie.bruch@state.sd.us
Website: library.sd.gov
Location: 800 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD, USA
Phone: 605-295-3152

SDSL does not endorse any service or product listed or linked to in this newsletter.