Hello World!

My name is Mari and welcome to my blog "BiblioTECHaria."  Now you might be wondering..."What kind of title is that?  Well, it was actually my husband's idea.  You see, I taught high school Spanish for several years before deciding that what I really wanted to do with my life was work as a school librarian.  So I enrolled in the Library Science program at Wayne State University and here I am nearly two years later.  The word "bibliotecario/a" is the Spanish word for "librarian."  My husband, who happens to be an English teacher and good at coming up with witty sayings, suggested I add the "h" to form the word "tech" inside the original word and the idea grew on me.  What I like about "BiblioTECHaria" is that it represents my transition from a Spanish teacher to a school librarian and my view of what a school librarian's role in a school should be, which is someone with expertise in teaching, information literacy, youth/young adult literature, and technology. (More on the role of the school librarians to follow later.)

So, why I am blogging?  Well, the main reason is that it is required as part of a class I'm taking - LIS 7320: The Media Specialist as Teacher and Instructional Consultant.  Aside from the fact that it's a requirement, I do believe reflection is an important part of being a good teacher and I am interested in becoming a more active participant in professional conversations regarding school libraries.

So, what will you find in this blog?  Primarily, I will be writing weekly blog posts in response to class readings, but I will also be including some posts on how my collaborative unit project is progressing.  (This is a unit I will be doing with another class member and will simulate the process of a school librarian and classroom teacher working together.) Additionally, I will be posting evaluations of websites that relate to topics we are discussing in class.

Lastly, I want to make it clear to everyone that I am a novice blogger.  Although I read many blogs, this is my first attempt at blogging and I will definitely be learning as I go.  As such, I will gladly welcome any suggestions/comments on how to improve my blog.

So, thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more posts!