HAPPY 101ST BLOG POST! That’s right, our little corner of the internet has now seen more than ONE HUNDRED posts! I am so proud of this blog and the way that it brings readers into the library. I love sharing our library activities with you. I hope that you enjoy taking a peek into the Learning Leopard Library every week!

What better way to celebrate this blogging milestone than by sharing our school-wide celebration of School Library Month? April is School Library Month. All over America, teachers, librarians, students, administrators, and library lovers use this opportunity to celebrate school libraries and the wonderful role that they play in the everyday lives of students K-12. At Johnson Elementary School, we are so lucky to have a beautiful, well-funded library, a full-time library media specialist to run it, and such amazing support from the school staff, administration, and community. So for us, School Library Month was a time to reflect on this good fortune – and to be thankful.

In early April, I presented the students with a new, interactive library display – the #WHYLIB board. Online, the celebration of School Library Month can be tracked and followed using #WHYLIB – a shortened version of the question, Why Libraries? I challenged students to create their own #WHYLIB message to share. Why do you love your library? Why do you use your library? Why is your library important to you? Why is it important that we support libraries in school? Why lib?

Each student in third and fourth grade was given at least one post-it note (some chose to fill out more than one!), a marker, and some time and space to really think about their response. The finished product is a wonderful collaborative hodge-podge of what makes the Learning Leopard Library so great. Some students chose to answer with hash tags, some with words or phrases, and some with pictures. The variety of responses to #WHYLIB blew me away! Many students loved the library for it’s seemingly endless amount of information and resources. Others loved the reference tools, and the way that they can always find an answer to their questions. Still more cited the variety of books and their love for reading as their answer.

Teachers got in on the fun, too, describing the library with words like “friendly,” “comfortable,” “busy,” and “awesome.” Kindergarten teacher Ms. Sokol kept her note simple ; “#learnstuff.” Ms. Thomspon went a more creative route, announcing, “I love the smell of book pages!” (Come on, who doesn’t love the smell of a new book?)

There were so many great responses, I wish I could share them all with you. Here are my top ten favorites (get ready to giggle!):

“#bookaholic”
“I just love it”
“To read, to enjoy, to love, BOOKS!”
“#Readin’ all day every day”
“#Best place in the school”
“Helps me learn about new technology”
“#Book Shopping”
“Really interesting and awesome books + one AWESOME librarian”
“#Who doesn’t like a good book?!”

And of course, we can’t forget “#Messham!” (I may be a little bit biased about that one.)

Thank you to all of Johnson’s students and staff that participated! I had a great time celebrating School Library Month with you. I am so thankful for our school library, and for the opportunity to share it with you all!

– Miss Messham