A tool, a weapon, a hiding place...

I took Intro to Sociology in college and I remember thinking that parts of it were NONSENSE. My professor was saying that we all have different versions of ourselves. I must've been pretty darn authentic at 20, because I staunchly disagreed. As Popeye would say, "I yam what I yam."

Now, I'm juggling identities of being a mom, an employee, a library school student. The roles of daughter and wife come easier...I feel like I can be a good wife and an employee, a good daughter and a student...but it's tough being a mom and an employee. Or a mom and a student. Or an employee and a student. And where does "friend" fit in there...?

BUT...LUCKILY nowadays we have social media to segment all these little versions and present them compartmentalized, perfected and packaged for user consumption. I have three Instagram accounts: one for work, one personal (for friends & family), and one anonymous one that is struggling with its ~~identity~~ brand.

Social media...there's not much I can say that hasn't been said by others more intelligent and introspective than me. It's an amazing tool, a weapon, and a hiding place. As a mom, I use social media to showcase my little darlings to friends and family. As an employee, I use it to showcase Catholic schools. (And I'm always aware of how what I post personally could reflect in my professional life.) As a student, I use social media to learn, and to find education professionals whose careers I would like to emulate. And I'm also trying to figure out how to use social media to support a future career in a library.

And, part of being a LMS is accepting the duty of ensuring that children are not harmed by social media, or develop harmful behaviors under our watch. We need to model responsible social media usage, and we also need to teach responsible social media usage.

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My fellow students posted a variety of resources this week that seem extremely helpful regarding libraries and a social media presence. Listing them here for future reference:

In addition, I "discovered" the Blue Skunk Blog, which is written by the illustrious educator Doug Johnson.

This week's assignment was to find seven or more social media accounts to follow...here's an abridged version of my submission:

Accounts to Follow on Twitter

@olalibrary: This is the Twitter account of Mary Gaeta, the librarian at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Lynnfield. Mary, who has her M.Ed in Library Media Studies from Salem State, is extremely active on Twitter. Her account is a combination of technology tips (particularly centered around Google resources), library/media center posts, and observations from around the school.
@msliberyan: Maya Berry is a PK-8 librarian who is focused on the intersection of tech and literacy. In addition, she is a 2019 PBS LearningMedia Education Ambassador, and a @Seesaw Ambassador. Maya posts links to smores such as Recommended Reads for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, she is concerned with accessibility, and she shares book reviews.
@mraread: The official account of the Mass Reading Association, this Twitter account works “to promote literacy for all learners through professional development, research, publications, and advocacy for the literacy community.”

Twitter Chats:

#Read4Fun: This Twitter chat, which takes place twice a month on Sundays, is focused on “Inspiring educators to #Read4Fun!” So, while it’s not strictly librarian-focused, there is a definite overlap in the subject matter.

Accounts to Follow on Instagram

@nypl: I love NYPL’s podcast “The Librarian Is In,” and I recently came upon their Instagram account. I consider NYPL to be the standard-bearer on digital platforms. Its Instagram account contains the usual (awesome) fare, such as book recommendations, images of objects in their archives, etc. But, its Insta-stories include “InstaNovels” — the stories include the full text of the novels and the stories are accompanied by video, moving illustrations and music. I think this type of effort is most likely beyond a typical library (for reasons of budget, time, and copyright restaints), but it’s a great example of how to think outside the box to draw people into your collection.

@librarianmsg: Ms. G is an award-winning middle school librarian in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Ms. G posts frequently with book recommendations and also promotes creative projects from the makerspace.

Blogs to Follow

NeverendingSearch: The School Library Journal features eight blogs and/or podcasts on its site, and the one I selected is by Joyce Valenza. Ms. Valenza blogs about a variety of topics, including research, curation, and advocacy, and her posts often are written around data findings.

Writing with Color: I stumbled upon this tumblr during the first weeks of LBS 803, and it is amazing. Basically, writers/aspiring authors write in to ask if how they’re portraying a character of color is accurate and respectful. Sample question: I've been searching through your blog and I can't find anything on the subject but in my story I have Black/Chinese character who lives in an apartment and I wanted to know what decorating ideas could I do with her room and clothing choices that show she's proud of being black and asian? She's also from southwest china if that makes a difference. This blog is helpful when analyzing a book’s appropriateness for a library.

Stellman the Librarian

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