One Lowco Librarian

04/21/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/179Nh87WzV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

04/20/2026

I know that I can be opinionated, and loudly so, on particular topics that I am invested in or that upset me. I also know that there are people who probably think that I should just shut up or suck it up or just let things go and maybe they have a point, but…I rarely ever listen…

So, I want to say a few things as National Librarian Week begins:
I have learned several things during this first year of being a librarian.

1) I am not expendable. I am an intricate part of a reading culture that is lacking in most schools, especially in school buildings that do not see the worth or value of their librarian.

2) Yes, as a librarian, I do have an advanced degree to do this job and while I know what it is like to be on the classroom teacher side of things, few know what it’s like to be on the librarian side of things. So again, just because you do not understand my value, doesn’t mean that I do not have worth.

3) Very few people are going to speak up to support you. You will have to speak up for yourself and that will make you a martyr. It will make you unlikeable. It will cast you as someone who isn’t a team player or that doesn’t deserve the same respect as other professionals in the education field (which let’s be honest, as a whole we get very little respect as it is, so excuse me for being a little salty when some of my professional peers do not support what I do as a professional).

4) I am responsible for carrying out and upholding local, state, and national standards. When those standards cannot be upheld, I get a bit miffed because it philosophically goes against everything that I should be doing within the position that I was hired for.

5) Just like every other educator, I want to be valued. I would like for my presence and influence to be impactful. I want to feel like I won’t be so easily replaced, to be fought for and I don’t want to be dismissed when asking for opportunity to be allowed to provide an environment that will support a love of reading to every student that I am responsible for in a way that I know that is best.

Happy Library Month and National Librarian Week.

04/06/2026

🎉 Happy Librarian Day, Ms. Scalmato! 📚
RSLA celebrates you — thank you for keeping books alive, inspiring curiosity, and turning reading into an adventure for our students. Your dedication makes our school a brighter place! 🌟

04/04/2026

Wishing Library Love To All Who Celebrate 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

02/05/2026

Oh, hey! Look! What an awesome display!
😉

The first book shelf you see when you enter our Media Center is for our namesake Robert Smalls.

We are proud to be able to carry his legacy and continue work towards a more just and inclusive society.

01/19/2026

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a proponent for standardized testing. We have lost so much actual education since NCLB and it continues to inhibit real critical thinking skills. Being a fluent and voracious reader is tied timr and timr again to more positive impacts than test taking skills and strategies. Period.

01/05/2026

EDIT: Hold off on the lids. My overly active brain thought of something instead of sleeping!!

Your Lowcountry Loco Librarian is now accepting the following items for donation:

Empty disinfectant containers (with TOPS) in various sizes (also, if you could wash them first, that would be awesome, but I’ll take what I can get! Haha)

LIDS, LIDS, LIDS: every shape, size, and color (soda bottles, water bottles, yogurt, butter, cream cheese—why can I only think about food as examples—ooo, oh, I thought of one—playdoh, etc.)

If you are part of my school family, I will have a collection site in the library…eventually…somewhere. If you are not a coworker, just let me know when and where!!

Thank you in advance for your recyclables!! ♻️eas

01/04/2026

The last day before Winter Break, I decided that it all needed to be undone. Everything. 🤦🏻‍♀️