Networking

In this world of uncertainty, social distancing, and more questions than we have answers—it’s the perfect time to network with your PLN (Professional Learning Network) on your campus/library, school district and beyond. This isn’t just about growing you PLN, which is always a good idea. This is about specifically networking and partnering up with others in your educational profession so you can achieve goals and grow as an educator. This was a goal I specifically had for myself during COVID. I wasn’t as useful while we were in quarantine as I was while on campus. Our district has been 1-2-1 iPads for a while and at the middle school level many were proficient with teaching almost all digitally. Some had to figure out Zoom, but other than that it was a smoother transition for my district than others around us.

At the beginning of distance learning in March 2020 I was feeling unwanted, listless and unimportant—until I decided to switch my mindset and goals for this time.

I really wanted to connect with other librarians and learn from them on specific areas that I feel like I lacked: learning new #edtech apps, websites, getting more certifications, book talking, Bitmoji classrooms, hosting virtual author visits, new book reviews, etc. I targeted the areas I wanted to improve on and searched out experts in those fields to learn from them. This definitely ties in with my Summer of Learning and Branding blogposts I did recently, but in this case networking is more purposeful than simply creating a librarian brand and sharing info. It’s about reaching out to those who connect with you and having goals for what you want to learn from them. The second I started my brand I was very choosy when it came to who I followed: are they a librarian, technologist or teacher? Are they an author, illustrator, book blogger, publisher, editor, etc.? Or are they an advocate for libraries and librarians? By being more careful in who I follow I’m able to weed out content I don’t need to see everyday from people who aren’t associated with my brand. I can also connect in various social medias with those who reach out to me for help and those I can reach to as well. These include: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Goodreads, etc. The content I put out under my name/brand is specific to the library or trends that are relatable to today’s society. I began getting a lot of engagement through those platforms. Once others engage with you can begin sharing relatable content with them, as well as provide opportunities for collaboration, share documents, and be creative together. My network has grown through my social media platforms this summer in great ways.

The first way I was able to grow my followers and who I follow specific to the librarian profession was doing a giveaway. This was not the intent when I partnered with other teachers and librarians who are ProjectLIT chapter leaders. We wanted to make sure a teacher got 22 books from this year or previous year ProjectLIT books that were diverse, inclusive and empathetic reads for his/her students. But because of the giveaway, I received a lot of educator followers. Giveaways are a good way to get started, but it shouldn’t be the ultimate goal: get followers. I see a lot of accounts that are dedicated to just that and I think for me I wanted to have quality content once I got followers. It didn’t stop at the follows for me.

I also spend time sharing out resources, if someone asks for them. I’ll happily give my knowledge and what I’ve learned to others, which was a big reason I started this blog. I’ve had a lot of success through trial and error in my nine years in the library and if I can help another librarian get genrefication off the ground or start a new social media platform or create a Bitmoji Classroom, I’ll do so happily.

To me networking is so important in our profession. For many of us we are the only person like us on a campus so we need to have other friends in the field that we can reach out to for help. I’ve made some amazing new educator friends this summer and have learned so much from them. Also thanks to COVID I don’t know when I’ll get to go to another in-person conference to network in person. Which is why it’s essential to find other like-minded people online to learn and grow from so I can be successful in my professional goals in the library. As always, if you need anything—just reach out!