COVID Resources for School Librarians
I’d like to share two COVID resources for school librarians who are looking for fall 2020 solutions. The photo above illustrates a social media idea that I created in PowerPoint. The template can be downloaded here: Behind the Mask_ThatLibraryGirl. Each day, beginning in late July, I’ve opened the template and added photos of a teacher posing with… and without… a mask. Then, I’ve saved the template slide as a jpg in the drop-down menu. The slides have been used as daily posts on our school Facebook page. In the description, I’ve shared a bit of news about each teacher, introduced him or her to our new families, and I’ve hopefully helped our students get used to seeing the school staff all masked up.
Family Connections on Social Media
While the template that I’m sharing is very simple, the feedback that we’ve received from this series of photos has been heart-warming. We’ve gotten lots of “likes,” “loves,” and sweet comments! I hope you find it useful. Of course, I want to give credit for this great idea to my librarian friend, Tiffany Williams, who teaches in Mena, Arkansas. I’m so thankful that I scrolled by and spotted her showing off a “with and without” mask duo on their school’s Facebook page — and that she graciously allowed me to use their great idea!
Another ‘Rona Resource
My other COVID resource for school librarians involves the scientific guideline of quarantining returned books for 96 hours. To store our returned books, I purchased lidded bins from Walmart for $15 each. Because they’ll become quite heavy once we fill them with books, I’ll be using extra “teacher chairs” (with wheels) to move the bins around the library.
Quarantine Tracker Signs
Each of our bins has a sign attached to it like the one you see above. I’ll use these signs to track the release dates, so I’ll know when the books are safe to re-shelve. You can download a set of the free signs here: Quarantine Bin Signs_ThatLibraryGirl. I laminated mine because I want to circle each release day with a Sharpie and later get rid of the mark with fingernail polish remover. That way I can avoid accidental erasures, and I can also reuse my signs. I included two versions in the free download, so you can select a good fit for your situation. Again, I hope these COVID resources for school librarians take something off your plate as we head back to school.
Hello! Looking for the freebies?
#1 is under the subheading COVID Resources for Librarians.
#2 is under the subheading Quarantine Tracker Signs.
I can’t find the link to download the Quarantine Tracker Signs. Could you point me in the right direction?
I do have a question for you…
When the books come back, will you be checking them in before placing them in the quarantine bins or after the quarantine time? Just wondering since I will be doing the same thing for my EL students.
Hi Marcia, If you look in the Coronavirus blog post, there is a subheading that says “Quarantine Tracker Signs.” The link is right under there in the sentence…”You can download a set of the signs here: Quarantine Bin Signs_ThatLibraryGirl.” 🙂 I’m going to check the books in right when the kids bring them back to the library. My students already hold their books out to be scanned and then put them on a cart for re-shelving. This fall, I’ll just have them stack their books in the bin for me. I won’t actually touch them until the 96 hours are over. Hope this helps!
Thank You! I found the link and downloaded it so I can print them out this week. We have teacher training this week and our students come back on August 25th. I going to have to take a trip to Walmart to see if they have bins like this. If not we have a Lowe’s and Home Depot that have storage containers near the front entrance.
I will have to touch the books, that EL students return, to check them in since they will be returned in the morning during my 1st hour MS class. I have to travel to the EL classes since they will not be visiting the library (hopefully this doesn’t last all year). I will have the added challenge of teaching 4 MS classes in between the EL library specials times.
Oh, also I have two physical libraries (2 buildings Pk-8 & 9-12) since I am also the HS librarian, but since I will be teaching the MS classes everyday and with this COVID issue, my library assistant will be at the HS library only. I will not have a chance to see my big “kids”… 🙁
All of my Pk-12th grade students are my “kids”… <3
Marcia Rhinehart
Pk-12 Librarian
Sturgeon R-V School District