Mr. Schu @ Scholastic Event in Wheaton

This week I saw John Schumacher speak at an event put on by Scholastic. I'm sure if you have found your way to my blog that you've heard of John Schumacher, aka "Mr Schu," who was a K-5 school librarian and now is the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic, but if you haven't, make sure to check out his blog and his Twitter feed: @MrSchuReads. He's always interviewing authors, previewing new books and book trailers, and generally promoting and doing awesome things.


This event was no exception! He shared a bunch of great books. Many of them I have already read but I'm very excited to read Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo when it comes out on April 12.  However, at this event, more imporant that specific titles that I learned about was the excitement for reading and libraries in general, and a feeling of excitement for this amazing job I have, being a school librarian. My task is to get kids excited about reading. He mentioned that the goal of a school library is not to bring back books, but to bring back readers. What an awesome responsibility to be able to advocate for children and their reading, from sharing special stories that speak to the heart, to modeling the joy of books, to making sure each reader finds a book that they connect with. Even little things like pointing out what may be under a book jacket to reveling in the way a new book smells can help children see what amazing treasures books are.

We have a lot on our plates as school librarians. My job includes coaching teachers in technology (as well as a lot of technology troubleshooting and problem-solving), cataloging books, coordinating and proctoring computer-based tests, creating opportunities for making/makerspaces, teaching research skills and digital citizenship, etc. However, I do not want to forget that the reason that I became a school librarian was to share the love of reading with students and to show them that books can be magical. That is my number one goal and I do not want to lose that! Hearing Mr. Schu speak reminded me of that mission.