FYI,

I’m passing this along in case anyone is interested. It’s a great way to see and find out more about the school libraries around the state.

~Sharon

-----------

Dear Colleagues,

Interested in learning more about the many ways New Jersey school and public librarians lead innovative practice?  It’s time for a road trip!

In the spirit of traditional garden or art tours, for six years, the popular NJ school library bus tour allowed pre-service LIS students, library colleagues, and school administrators to drive around the state and explore elementary, middle, and high school libraries hosted by exemplary professionals.

The tour became a highlight of many of our Rutgers MI students’ experiences and allowed practitioners to see outside their own libraries as a professional development experience.  For many pre-service students, networking during the experience led to career path decisions, field experience placements, and network-building, as well as leads to professional positions. In their reflections, several of the student participants labeled the tour career-changing. In addition, student friendships developed.

We plan to host two tours during the upcoming academic year—we hosted one in the fall semester (October 10-12, 2023) and we are excited about our upcoming spring tour (February 13-15, 2024). Our visits will include both school and public libraries.  

We envision a program that might become a national model for collaboration and professional development. The effort is currently led by Rutgers SC&I LIS, NJASL, and the South Brunswick School District. This year we expanded our partnership to include NJLA, the State Library, and LibraryLinkNJ.

Please consider signing up for the tour, perhaps carpooling with a few classmates.  Use this form to let the practitioners know to plan for your visit! [Sign up to join our 2024 tour]

We can’t wait to hear about your discoveries!

All the best,

Dr. V, Lisa Manganello, Andrea Caporale

 

Some background:  Why NJOLT Matters

 

🔍 Diverse Perspectives: NJOLT aims to broaden the perspectives of pre-service students across various Rutgers LIS concentrations, showcasing the wide range of professional opportunities available beyond their immediate context. 

 

🌟 Celebrating Excellence: By recognizing and sharing the best that New Jersey libraries have to offer, NJOLT will highlight innovative programs, cutting-edge services, creative space designs, effective instruction techniques, technology integrations, community engagement initiatives, and much more! 

 

🤝 Uniting Library Professionals: NJOLT provides a platform for librarians from different types of libraries to connect, share practices, and potentially collaborate on projects that benefit the entire ecosystem. It's an opportunity to witness the inspiring work being done in libraries across New Jersey. 

 

📢 Advocating Library Importance: By participating in NJOLT and opening school and public library doors to visitors, we are actively raising awareness about the essential role libraries play in our communities

For background on our previous tours and their value: 

·  Our “bus tour” experiment (Valenza, SLJ)

·  SC&I Resumes Its Annual School Library Bus Tour Post-COVID 

·  SC&I Prepares for its Annual Bus Tour

·  Professional Development: Do-It-Yourself Style! - (aasl.org)

 

Joyce Kasman Valenza, Ph.D.
Associate Teaching Professor, LIS Dept.

Rutgers University, SC&I       
twitter: @joycevalenza

http://about.me/jvalenza

 

Forwarded by:

 

Sharon Rawlins, MLS (she/her/hers) Youth Services Specialist Library Development Bureau New Jersey State Library P.  609-278-2640 x116    E.  ...@njstatelib.org%0b" style="color: #2199e8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">sraw...@njstatelib.org W.  www.njstatelib.org   185 West State Street P.O. Box 520, Trenton, NJ  08625