Resource Lists

 There are some things we, as librarians, do that many people don't think about. 

It's an obvious thing for teachers and students to know we can give book recommendations for a variety of subjects, or know what to suggest to a reluctant reader. But a librarian is a master of creating a list.

Although you might think I am talking about a shopping list (that would be the "to be purchased list), a to do list (which rarely gets completed because for every item crossed off, it seems two are added), or a recently read list (which I only made one time...and in 6 weeks I had read over 100 books and realized my time was better spent on OTHER lists). What I am referring to in this post is the "resource list."

A resource list is a list of many, not necessarily all, the items in the library for a specific topic. I have created lists for Pride month, research topics, and the like. This week, I have created two lists. The first was for International Women's Month. 

When I create a list for something like this, I search not only our collection, but I search blogs, publishing companies, and more to see if there is a book I need to add to the library or if there is a book in the collection I just didn't think of to add to the list. When I got to 100 resources on the list, I stopped. I felt this was a good list for the project junior school students will be working on.

The second list, however, is one that I had never thought of making, and one that I wish I didn't need to make. This list is on helping children (and adults) who are dealing with grief over the death of a loved one. It breaks my heart to know we have children who have SO much to handle with emotions they may not understand. Hopefully, though, a resource list can help. Sometimes reading about a fictional character who is going through a similar situation can help give a child insights on how to deal with it themselves.