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Reader's advisory has always been one of my favorite components to being a humanities teacher turned school librarian! I love seeing the spark come alive when you're able to connect a student to a book based on their interests. Below you'll find posters I created based on some of my favorite suggestions paired with interests students have expressed to me. Feel free to use them! The dimensions of the pdf file are 24" x 36" but can be printed as flyers or smaller if needed. What else would you like to see? Tell me in the comments below! Disclaimer I don't ask for compensation for the resources I share out. I believe in community over competition, and that we are stronger when we share with one another. My ask, though, is that if you share out with colleagues to please make sure you credit me. Thanks for keeping us honest and modeling good digital citizenship skills! 
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My school district started back for preplanning this week! This was my first official week at my new school and to say it's been busy would be an understatement. My new school is brand new and so I am learning how to navigate not only the transition from middle to high school but also opening a school, starting a library program from scratch, and building relationships with 70 other people who are also brand new to the school. It's been stressful, but I am also so excited to see the direction this school is moving as the first STEM school in our district.
Now that you have some background to where I'm at, you'll know that I have priorities that have been higher on my list than building out our catalog for students. However, I feel better when I've accomplished something so I started working on our homepage last night (I'm that nerd who works on nerdy things on a Friday night while watching Hamilton for the millionth time ??♀️). When I posted what I was working on to Instagram, it occurred to me that this could be useful to others as I was receiving tons of DMs about how I made this work. I am posting a list of HTML cheat codes for you below if you'd like to freshen up your homepage! If you're unsure of how to edit your homepage or post embedded links, keep scrolling down. HTML Cheat CodesHow to Edit Your Homepage
Make sure you are logged in as a library administrator to your Destiny site.
 I know, I know! For many of us, it's way too early to want to think about planning for this upcoming school year. It's that feeling when you walk into Target and the back to school section is in full bloom. Heart racing and palms sweating...It's a lot for those of us who want to relax and recharge. For school librarians, though, we can't wait until August to begin planning out programming for our patrons. Guest speakers, authors, or community organizations do not operate on a summer break, so if you want to book someone (especially for a lower cost!) you need to book early. Not to mention we all know how preplanning goes in terms of our planning - there is none. If your experience is anything like mine, your preplanning is full of meetings, helping teachers, coplanning lessons, offering technology PD, and more (*cough* fixing the laminator for the 20th time *cough*). It's ten times harder if you do not have a parapro. Program planning then takes a backseat and can end up being rushed or not done at all. School libraries are community hubs meant to inspire connection, exploration, and creation. That takes intentional planning. I do a mix of passive programming (ex: placing legos with a prompt) and intentional programming (ex: one book, one school) throughout the year. Sometimes these programs are last minute because of a culture phenomenon like a Tik Tok Open Mic morning, but most of the time, I plan months in advance so I can arrange volunteers, teacher participation, a marketing plan, and plan for any costs. I created this planner when I saw a need to put more intention behind my planning for programs and to help our Student Library Advisory Board think through the ins and outs of a successful program. I hope it helps you whether you use it now or later! Tech tip: I download these planners and upload to my school library OneNote Notebook and use the drawing tool/text features to add my ideas and plans. Use the canva templates below to tweak what you need and download as a png file or pdf depending on what tech tool you use! Ready to Print Resources
Canva Templates
I recently had the pleasure of being able to share at the 2021 Galileo Annual Conference on the topic of advocacy. It is essential that as school librarians, we are actively engaged in advocating for our students and programs. Check out the curated list of resources I shared out during the session below.
Let's create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers. For Read Across America, let's look at inclusive texts that share our nation's greatest quality - diversity and inclusivity. 
Are you a school librarian or teacher? Take and tweak the poster above for your needs.
Update: What a fantastic day. Our young poets showed up and showed out today during our Black History Month Poetry Slam! Being able to experience their passion and insight through their original poetry was truly an honor.
Poetry is empowering. It can show students how people express themselves, push them to consider their own identities, and inspire them to seek social change. It allows us to experience the thoughts, emotions, and experiences of others.
Black history has been both a subject and a muse for African American poets, who have lamented the foundational trauma of slavery and subsequent violence as they've celebrated the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement, the election of the first Black president, and above all, the legacy of endurance, resistance, and grace of a culture that is central to American identity. Through our Black History Month Poetry Slam, we hope to honor that with poetry that examines this year’s theme of celebrating representation, identity, and diversity. I appreciate our youth poets who are stepping outside of their comfort zones to express themselves and their voices during this event. 
If you would like to learn more about Black History through poetry or are interested in writing your own:
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Martha BongiornoSchool Librarian in Metro Atlanta 
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