Information overload? These are the most important DLL things to know to stay on track:Â
Is this a renewal year for your license? Make sure to check your CEUs now.Â
Stay on top of spring deadlines, like those for Finance, to get your orders in on time.
Whether they’re new students, new teachers, or new librarians (we see you), the middle of the school year is a challenging time for anyone to be “the new one.” Admittedly, I started in Wake County right about now once upon a time when the Egyptians were building pyramids. Then, I turned around and did it again years later, moving to Library Media Services in February. I’ve taken the “new year, new me” mantra a little too literally before.
Here’s what I know. Seek out those who are new at your school and within our community of librarians. Offer kindness and generosity to those who are adapting to new surroundings, circumstances, and people. - Kendra
NOTE: Library Media Services maintains the library staff comings and goings via our directory of school library media coordinators. It’s always available on our website, AND it includes school codes.Â
Laura Nowak - Apex Friendship Elementary
Susan Bock - Library Media Services
Lindsay Santiago - Parkside Elementary
Christine Jensen - Ligon Middle
Jackie Carrelha - Green Hope Elementary
Jenni Dry - Green Hope High
Lisa Payne - Heritage High
Garth Tolley - Wake Forest Elementary
Crystal Snyder - Bryan Road Elementary
Erika Larson - North Ridge Elementary
Cheryl Strong - White Oak ElementaryÂ
Heather Barkley - Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy
Keoshia Allen - Rolesville Middle
Stephanie Powell - Turner Creek Elementary
Dan McKey - Durant Road Elementary
Nancy Carr - Martin Middle
Mary Hoyle - Bowling Road Elementary
Allison McAuley - Fuquay-Varina High
Janette Johnson - Richland Creek Elementary
Jane Miller - Fuquay-Varina Elementary
Melandie Matthews - South Garner High
Alex Baucom - Sanderson High
Star Davis - Underwood Elementary
Liz Dotts - Sanderson High
Letissha Wilkins - Southeast Raleigh ElementaryÂ
Are you new? Did we miss celebrating your birthday last year? Help us update our birthday list by completing this brief form.Â
Congratulations to the 25-26 SLMC of the Year Finalists! Take a minute to check out the WakeConnect article.
Allie Pyles, Oak Grove Elementary
Stacey Fraley, Mills Park Middle
Monica Huff, Leesville Road High
We asked you to contribute your titles for “Best Books of 2025,” and here’s what you said. Note: Books in BOLD were mentioned by multiple people.Â
Question Formulation Technique - The Question Formulation Technique is a protocol focusing on one simple thing... creating questions. Earn .5 CEUs by completing 4 modules created by the Right Question Institute. This course is applicable for K-adult learning.
Destiny Library Manager Training - The Destiny Library Manager training familiarizes WCPSS employees with our current library management software, including daily use for circulation, reports and data analysis, cataloging and importing MARC records, curation in Destiny Collections, inventory, and other administrative tasks and settings. The course is designed for school staff with the Library Administrator access level.Â
Unified Library Teams for Secondary School Librarians - This course is designed to help new library teams establish a a strong foundation including a unified library vision, mission, values, and procedures. It allows teams to examine communication and conflict to ensure a collaborative working environment.
This is a great time of year to consider incorporating some literacy programming into your library! Take a look at some popular examples:
The North Carolina Children’s Book Award is sponsored by the Youth Services Section of the North Carolina Library Association. Students can vote for their favorite book from the list of nominees, and librarians can submit total votes from each title from March 1st - April 15th.Â
Take a look at these resources if you wish to incorporate the NCCBA into your library programming or lessons:Â
North Carolina Children’s Book Award site - view nominees for this year and from past years, find the form to submit votes, help students nominate books for next year’s award, etc.Â
2026 Activity Guide - view resources and programming ideas for using the nominated picture books in your library.Â
2026 NCCBA Picture Book Nominees Annotated List - WCPSS - While similar to the activity guide created by NCLA, this WCPSS-specific guide highlights ideas for connecting these books to curriculum topics and district-approved digital resources with an emphasis on information literacy.Â
Library Media Services site>Literacy>Programming>North Carolina Children’s Book Award - This newly updated page on the Library Media Services site outlines ways that WCPSS librarians often incorporate the NCCBA.Â
Launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA) and guided by a committee of educators, NEA’s Read Across America is the nation’s largest celebration of reading. We encourage schools and the broader community to partner in Read Across America events. While March 2 is recognized as THE day, the week before or of March 2 are great times to schedule reading events at your school.Â
In true Triangle form, we embrace the March Madness season and find creative ways to connect the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to reading promotion. While there’s no one way to design a program, one idea is to embrace Bracketology and create book brackets.
Have students vote on the different head-to-head matchups and winners advance.
Pair your top circulating titles with teams in the tournament based on seeding; books advance as teams advance. Have students submit their winner guess before the tournament starts and reward/recognize the correct students.
Create a physical bracket to display in the hallway or library; use colorful book covers or other symbols to attract attention.
Create a companion display of nonfiction/fiction/everybody/biography/graphic novels that feature basketball.
We’ve curated the data and information resources we’ve compiled as a result of our ongoing partnership with Data, Research, & Accountability. Find an archive of that information, along with practical tips for ways to use it to make decisions and have discussions about your library program on this new page on the Library Media Services site: Library Media Services site>Access>Circulation>Elementary School Library Circulation DataÂ
Remember to check the Lesson Plan Bank when looking for inspiration for instruction. These were the most viewed lessons for Quarters 1 and 2 this school year:Â
Elementary:Â
Quarter 1:
Review: Finding and checking out books in our school library
Intro to eWISE: Deep and shallow questions
Quarter 2:Â
Kindergarten Inquiry: How do animals move?
Investigate/evaluate with lateral reading
Synthesize: Vollis Simpson’s impact on the NC economy
Middle:
Digital Identity (Digital Tattoo)
Question Formulation Technique with Primary Resources
High:
In honor of Black History Month in 2026, we join the celebration of 100 years of recognizing the achievements and contributions of Black Americans and their place in American history. We have compiled resources for you to use with teachers, students, and families as well as to inform your library programming and instruction. While we encourage activities, lessons, and resources inclusive of Black Americans throughout the year, we take this opportunity to celebrate and learn.Â
If you are contemplating a potential move to a different school in 2026-27, note that the Transfer Application opens on March 2 and closes on May 8.Â
March 2: Requisitions for furniture
April 3: Requisitions are due to Purchasing for Fund 02 and Fund 06
Please work with your school’s bookkeeper to determine when they expect any final purchases to be made for the 25-26 school year. Knowing deadlines is important to accomplishing your expenditure goals for the library collection and program.