Buffy Hamilton's Blog, page 13

Poetry and Possibilities: Do They Live at Your Library?

Those of you familiar with my work over the years know I am a passionate advocate for poetry. Thanks to a life-changing course I took with Dr. JoBeth Allen at the University of Georgia during Spring Semester 2003, my world changed, and so did my outlook on the importance of poetry in the classroom, libraries, and life. In my work as classroom teacher at Cherokee High and then Polaris Evening School, I tried to give my students many kinds of experiences in immersing themselves into reading, wr...

New DML Post: Narratives and Metanarratives of Libraries as Sponsors of Literacies

I have authored a new post that is part of a larger ongoing series I’m composing and researching for DMLCentral. In this second post, I do some additional foregrounding of inquiry and reflection that will inform research and exploration of how this concept plays out in different kinds of libraries and communities. These concepts and the fieldwork I hope to do resonate deeply for me, and I hope they will for you, too.

Libraries as ‘Sponsors of Literacies’: Diving Deep to Expose Narratives & Met...

Action and Reflection: Aligning and Mapping the Work of a Library to Its Community of Learning

Photo by Buffy Hamilton

While I was in Cleveland, Ohio as Learning Strategist for the Cleveland Public Library, I was fortunate to see the work of many different kinds of organizations outside of education who were interested in supporting learning for people of all ages in formal and informal spaces. One of the most interesting experiences was going with my friend and colleague Jennifer Schwelik of INFOhio to visit Patti Choby at the Cobalt Group. During my visit there, I had the opportunity...

Thinking, Wondering, and Blogging at DMLcentral

Literacies and Fallacies | DMLcentral via kwout

I’m delighted to share that I have joined the blog team at DMLcentral-–I’m humbled and honored to write and think in this learning space as so many people who are part of the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub have inspired my work and pushed the boundaries of my thinking. My first post, “Literacies and Fallacies“, is now up if you would like to read the first of what will be a series. If DMLcentral is not already one of the resources in you...

Turn, Turn, Turn (to Everything There Is a Season)

As I approach my birthday in August, I can’t help but think of all the changes and major life events that have happened along the way in the last twelve months: my ex-husband nearly died of a massive heart attack last October; I left The Unquiet Library and my home in Georgia to take a new job at Cleveland Public Library in January; I survived my first real winter on Lake Erie and first foray into city living as a resident of downtown Cleveland; and I embraced a significant amount of valuable...

Smile Because It Happened: An Ethnographic Project Looking at Institutional Culture Change and Transforming Communities (And Why Librarians Should Pay Attention)

As many of you have followed my work for some time know, I have been and continue to be a fan of the work of Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropologist, and his students. This year’s cohort of Digital Ethnography students created a moving and powerful documentary, “Smile Because It Happened”, of their exploration of community at the Meadowlark Hills retirement community. You can read more of the backstory of the project in this blog post, but after watching the video this morning, I could not h...

ALAO Distance Learning Interest Group and Instruction Interest Group Spring Workshop 2013– Making Noise in the Library: Advocating for Our Students and Our Libraries

Many thanks to the ALAO Distance Learning Interest Group and Instruction Interest Group for inviting me to be part of a day of conversation and learning about advocating for our students, student learning, and libraries! I’m lucky enough to have been part of an ALAO (Academic Library Association of Ohio) learning event twice within a year, and I appreciate how they inspire and inform my thinking. I’m including two pieces of content in this post that I crafted and facilitated for today’s day o...

“Teens and the Future of Libraries: Sharing Best Practices” Webinar Archives and My Questions for Thinking

Today I waspart of the panel for the final webinar, “Teens and the Future of Libraries: Sharing Best Practices,” in the collaborative month long series of conversations about Teens and the Future of Libraries facilitated by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) and Connected Learning TV, an initiative of the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub.

A Google Document with highlights from today’s conversation as well as a PDF of the Livestream Chat transcript will be available soon on...

Deep in the Heart of Texas: TLA 2013

Original photo by Buffy Hamilton

I’d like to thank the Texas Library Association and all of the attendees for their gracious hospitality and big warm Texas welcome to their annual conference here in gorgeous Fort Worth, Texas! It was my honor to present two sessions today:

Transliteracy and Participatory Practices of Learning: Praxis for Transformation of Today’s School Libraries and Learning Communities
Illuminating Learning Communities Through School Libraries and Makerspaces—Creating, Constru...

IASL 2013: Taking an Inquiry Stance on Participatory Culture, Learning, Literacy, and Libraries

I want to thank the Iowa Association of School Librarians for inviting me to speak at their conference this past week; I so appreciate everyone’s hospitality and the opportunity to think aloud and learn together. I’d also like to give a special thanks to conference chair Kathy Kaldenberg for her efforts in coordinating a flawless day of fun and professional learning.

Below are my slides from my opening keynote as well as my concurrent session that was a conversation exploring the concept of tr...