Blogs and Blog Readers

This week I had the opportunity to learn about blog readers.  Not sure about you, but I've always wondered if there was an easier way to keep up with all the new updates and information in technology.  I find that I get excited about many things that interest me.  I hadn't heard about blog readers, so it really made me curious and I was eager and excited to learn more about them.  As I read this article, I learned a lot about the 10 best feeder apps available.  It was a little overwhelming when I had to narrow it down to choosing one. 
As I explored each one, I chose to try out the blog reader Feedly.  I read that it was simple and easy to use.  It help keep all of your favorite websites at your fingertips.  Best of all, it was free!  After creating an account, I was able to easily search for blogs that interested me using the search bar.  I immediately found myself reading and adding various blogs to my Feedly account.  This was awesome!  All I had to do now, was log into my account and I could see all the new blogs shown on my newsfeed without me having to access each website individually. 
Below are some of the blogs I chose to follow and brief description.
Mighty Little Librarian---Tiffany Whitehead is the school librarian at Central Middle in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Her blog is current with her entry of today 2/21/17 discussing how she is shocked on how her school year has been a whirlwind.  They had a flood which was disasters to the Baton Rouge area.  They are slowing recovering.  She has also moved jobs and is enjoying her smaller school where she serves grades 6-12. 
The Techy Teacher Librarian---Jennifer Wells talks about how she tries her best to teach students the value of book.  She talks about how she teaches her students how to evaluate books and decide if they should be weeded out or kept.  She is criticized by some colleagues when she gets rid of books.  Though, she tries her best to explain that the goal is to provide a library to her patrons that is appealing and has materials that are up to date, interesting, and have value for them.  She wants to help foster the love of reading to all who enter. 
A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet---Julie Greller has been a Media Specialist since 2007 at Ridgefield Park JSHS.  Her blog is broken down into various pages including Authors, ESL, Reference, Science, Teacher Librarians, and much more.  Her latest post on 2/5/17 talks about DeVosBlackout day 2/6/17.  Here she is advocating for her community to speak out to their legislators to vote against U.S. Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos due to her being unqualified.  She urges educators to get involved and shares tweets and other blog posts from people who are also against DeVos being elected. 
David Lee King---Mr. David Lee King is the Digital Services Director at Topeka & Shwnee County Public Library.  In his blog he shares information about social media, emerging trends and libraries.  On his latest post he discusses his prediction for libraries in 2017.  He basically explains that no matter how many social media accounts one has as a librarian, if you don't utilize them or post frequently, then these social media channels won't help to improve your library.  He encourages you to look at your analytics and see what's working for you and what's not.  He goes on to say that you need to make goals for yourself in regards to the channels you decide to keep and become engaged in them by relating and informing your patrons what is happening in your library by posting.
Jenny Arch---Her most recent post of 2/16/17 talks about the informational pamphlet, "What is fake news?"  This pamphlet is part of her materials that she has developed and shares with all.  She stresses the importance of providing information literacy to as many as possible.  Here is the link the  pamphlet, which I thought was very useful and plan to share with my librarian.
If you haven't had the opportunity to read the article I mentioned above, I recommend that you click on it and read it.  You will definitely want to select a blog reader and try it.  Keeping up with so much information can be overwhelming, but these blog readers can be so helpful and can assist with organizing all the information you are interested.  I enjoyed very much learning about blog readers, opening my own account with Feedly and adding blogs to my newsfeed.  What an easy and convenient way to keep all the information I want and need at my fingertips. 


In addition, I also created a Tumblr account.  This is my link to my dashboard.