August 18, 2016

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy! 

If you are new to us or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And please tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

More than books!

Quotable

Experiences are better than stuff!

I gave myself a raise!

More than books!

When most people think of the library, they think of books, and rightly so. With a very few exceptions, your media center has more books than any other resource, even if you don’t count e-books.

But we both know that the library media center contains so much more! When a student or teacher goes to the library, they may well leave with a book. Or a DVD. Or a piece of equipment.

But often they leave with an answer to a big question. A student struggling with family problems may leave with an assurance that she can overcome her situation. A teacher may walk out of the media center with a new idea for teaching a tough concept. Students learn empathy when they read about the challenges of a character in a compelling story. A minority student may be inspired by reading about someone just like her who changed the world.

Imaginations are awakened. Ideas come to life. Lives are changed.

Your library looks like a room full of books to some folks. But we know that they are filled with SO much more!

Quotable!

“Each time you open a book and read it, a tree smiles, knowing there’s life after death.”

Author Unknown (quote borrowed from Laurie Bryant’s e-mail signature)

Encouraging reading – from 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes – Promote Reading

#10. Reward readers with EXPERIENCES, not just stuff. EX. Lunch in the Library, first checkout of new books, allow a hold on a favorite series. People remember the things they DO and EXPERIENCE longer than they remember the STUFF that they get. So why not give your kids experiences! Going to a show, going first in line, being the first one to checkout a new book, having lunch with YOU – all these things man a lot more than a fake plastic rainbow Slinky shaped like a book from Oriental Trading! And experiences are usually cheaper!

I gave myself a raise!

Earlier this year, I worked with a REAL web designer and upgraded my website, www.TommyJohnsPresents.com. And when I did that, I raised my prices for the first time since 2005! But here’s a deal for folks who read the WHOLE newsletter. If you book any programs for any time in the 2016-17 school year, you get the old pricing! All you have to do is send me an email and say “I want the old price!” The only catch is that you must contact me to book the program before my birthday on September 12, 2016. That’s when this offer expires. The program can be scheduled for any day this year, but you must book it in the next 25 days.

Let me know how I can help! See you next week!

“Everyone loved Go Wild! (the science and reading program)and want you to come back!  I have let other schools know about the AWESOME show my students saw.  I tell them how well you manage and control student behavior, and how much the kids l earned.  Students are still showing parents your posters and saying, ‘I saw him.  It was so much fun!’  They were sorry when the show ended!”

Patty Krezinski, Media Specialist

Diamond Lakes ES, Hephzibah, GA

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com 
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com
Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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August 11, 2016

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy! 

If you are new to EOT or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And please tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Why do you do it?

Quotes

Singing about READING!

Why do you do it?

Many of you are among the first in the building every day. You are available to and have the responsibility to serve every student and teacher in the building. The variety of questions you get each day are amazing in their subject matter and how MUCH they matter. You have to be an enthusiastic advocate for reading and technology, even when those two things seem to be contradictory. And all of this while having to explain to family and friends that your job is SO much more than checking out books and returning them to the shelves! Why in the world would you willingly accept such a challenging and underappreciated job and why would you EVER return to it year after year?

Because today you may connect a kid to a text that moves him closer to gaining a REAL love for reading. Because tomorrow, you will tell a teacher about a resource that helps her be more effective in the classroom. Because next week and the week after that, you will change someone’s course in a small or large way. You could give me dozens of specific instances that answer the question why, but it boils down to this one simple fact:

Because what you do MATTERS. What you do MAKES A DIFFERENCE. What you do CHANGES LIVES. And that’s enough reason to do what you do. Keep up the good work. And know that no matter what happens next, you are following a high calling. Thank you for what you do!

Quotable!

“Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.”

--Laura Bush

Encouraging reading – from 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes – Promote Reading

For the past two summers, I have played songs before my library shows that SOUND like songs from the radio that everybody knows, but they really promote reading! Kids LOVE these song parodies and you can use them to promote reading.

There are dozens of these types of songs on YouTube. Librarians are a VERY creative bunch! Do a search for Reading Song Parodies and you'll have lots to choose from.

The ones I used this summer are:

Unread Books (parody of Uptown Funk) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6zcIFUvdJ0

All About Them Books (parody of All About That Bass) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVUwXtewEYU

Gotta Keep Reading (parody of I Gotta Feeling) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY9goJVX32I

And a new one I found this week is Check it Out (parody of Shake it Off) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf7H8K9r4U

Enjoy these and play them during checkout, prior to the start of the day or even during a Maker Space visit!

Let me know how I can help! See you next week!

“Just want to say thanks again for an awesome presentation. I am officially the coolest media specialist in the world now!!!”

Pat Bell, Ed. S, Library Media Specialist

Blakeney Elementary School, Waynesboro, GA

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!