Teacher Librarian 2.0

Blog Post #1 – An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog!

My name is Savannah, and I am in my second year as a K-12 Teacher Librarian in Northern California. Prior to teacher librarianship, I taught history for five years. With the demands of distance/hybrid learning during the pandemic, burnout led me to make a lateral move into the library realm, and it’s the perfect fit. I get to enjoy all of the perks of teaching and working with children, and very little of the drawbacks (grading, behaviors, etc.). Though I do miss teaching history and social science, I find ways to embed it into my teaching here and there! [I am also enrolled in INFO 285 (Historical Methods) this year – which should help me revive my love of history and research simultaneously.]

This is my third semester in the MLIS program at SJSU. I took last fall off to take a breather (after a busy 19 units the year prior), and so I could indulge in a trip to Europe with my husband and his family! (I really didn’t want to do the last couple of weeks/finals with a 9 hour time difference and jet lag…) Not only was the semester off a glimpse into my future post-MLIS, but it was the perfect time to lean into my new career and start some major projects, including the genre-fication of our fiction collection at the high school. My co-librarian and I are immensely proud of this project, and the students are starting to take notice as we move things around! Along with genres, we are trying out dynamic shelving – and I can easily say that it’s drawing positive attention and leading students to check out books they wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. What a WIN!  (This is all drawn from the inspiration of Professor Kelsey Bogan’s library…You can see her blog here!) We’ve been hard at work to make our library a safe space that is colorful, organized, student friendly (and student-driven), and a bit more modern.

I chose to take INFO 287 – The Hyperlinked Library – because I am entrenched with my district’s shift to one-to-one learning with Chromebooks, and it is evident that education and libraries are becoming increasingly technology driven! In my role at work, I am one of the decision makers for educational technology, as well as technology services for our libraries – which includes databases, eBook platforms, online library catalogs, and so much more.

Outside of work and schooling, I enjoy the outdoors (camping, hiking, backpacking), gardening (both indoors and outdoors), reading all sorts of books, listening to rock/indie/alternative, exercising, traveling, and spending time with my husband and our two fuzzy creatures – Remi (German Shepherd mix) and Ozzy (tabby cat). My husband and I also take immense joy in going to all the concerts we can! In 2023 we saw The Black Crowes, Green Day, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, Eddie Vedder, Vance Joy, Greta Van Fleet, and the Glorious Sons (twice!). This year I am over the moon to finally see Hozier in September…and we’ll see what other concerts we get around to!

I look forward to the educational and professional growth this class will bring!

Me on a historical walking tour in Berlin, Germany! 

Remi, the 3 year old German Shepherd Mix

Ozzy, the 2 year old tabby cat