The Unquiet Librarian

About Me

As of June 1, 2022, I am a retired educator from Georgia public schools on “pause” until later this fall.   I most recently was an 8th grade Language Arts teacher in Gainesville, Georgia.  buffy-meI have thirty years of experience in public education, and I am passionate about creating meaningful learning experiences for learners of all ages.   My interests include literacy learning experiences, participatory learning and culture, ethnographic studies, and writing literacies.

In addition, I’m a 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker  who loves dogs, shopping, gardening, music, and poetry.  In addition to blogging here, I have previously blogged for DMLcentral.

My career path began with 20 years of service to the Cherokee County School District as an English teacher, technology specialist, and school librarian.  I moved to Cleveland, Ohio in January 2013 to serve as the Learning Strategist for the Cleveland Public Library.  When my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in late June 2013, I returned home to Georgia and resumed my career in Georgia public schools.  Since 2013,  I’ve served as a media specialist at Norcross High and Chattahoochee High, an 11th and 12th Language Arts teacher at Lanier High, Title I Writing teacher, and 8th grade Language Arts in north Georgia.

The content and opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone except myself, nor are they endorsed by anyone except myself.    Please visit my professional portfolio here at http://www.buffyjhamilton.wordpress.com.

My Work on the Web:  Snapshots

51 thoughts on “About Me”

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  3. This is a great site. I want to find out how you were able to set it up. Your site is just what I want to express myself.

    Thanks
    Deb M.

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  5. Hey,

    This is Rebecca Brooks from animoto.com. Your blog’s name seems awfully familiar, so perhaps we have spoken before (or maybe you just came up in my Google Alerts?). Either way, I thought you might be interested in our new “Animoto for Education” program. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!

    http://biz.animoto.com/education/overview.html

    Take care,
    Rebecca Brooks

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  6. Dear Buffy,
    I so much appreciate what you do for education
    for books
    and what you do for me since we met in Georgia
    Thank you….
    I keep on writing and drawing my books and really do not know how to deal with the electronic media.Too much time.Too much brain power…. Vicki Thorn said I should ask you what you think about the Facebook page my czech publisher established for me….I cannot go there,I really do not want to deal with it…but it exists….
    Do you think it makes any sense?It can help anything and I do not mean just to sell my books but more like what you are doing for the world in general?
    Thank you for your advice
    Peter

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  7. I have been having a wonderful time reading your site. It is one of my favorite feeds on my Google Reader. I just had a quick question for anyone out there and especially for you Buffy. I am in the process of re-acitvating my Elementary Ed. Certificate and I would love to find a good online Library Science Masters Program. I live in Northern Michigan and so far I have not been able to find any good programs within a reasonable driving distance. I am looking for a reasonably priced online degree program whose content is worth my time and money. Any help you can offer would be very much appreciated.
    Thank you and keep up the excellent work!

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    1. Becky,
      The University of Michigan has an Library & Information Studies program through the Department of Education. The University of North Texas has an online program that meets in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota (SWIM). They meet face2face for a few days at the beginning of the program and then the rest is online.

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  9. Becky, U of I Urbana-Champaign has an online MLIS program that is very highly rated. I believe Rutgers and U. Washington also offer their programs online.
    Good luck!

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing your intelligent and insightful work in education! I feel inspired by your energy and inventiveness!

    I am currently working to implement more technology use in my sophomore English classes – especially the research paper project. I am very intrigued about the possibility of integrating all these tools in order to refresh the project and infuse it with 21st Century skills. I also teach a comprehensive communications class that I would love to update also. Thanks again for sharing!

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  11. Hello,

    I love your site and will be piloting a Kindle Program next year. Thank you for all your resources. I had a quick question – how do you embed your slidehares into your blog? I was able to get the embed code from slideshare, but I don’t know where in mmy blog to put the code.

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    1. Good morning and thank you! When you click on “embed” in Slideshare, look then for a link that says “custom code”–it will generate a code just for WordPress.com users. Then go to the HTML in your blog post as you are drafting, paste in that code, and you are good to go!

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  13. I am going to pilot a Kindle prgram in September – we just have three to start with but are hoping to acquire more. I’ve amended some of your forms and am using them, either giving credit to Kathy Parker or to you. Do you mind if I also use your process for checkingg them out? Your directions in your blog of the process are so detailed and easy to follow?

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    1. Please use any of the forms or materials you’d like! I can’t remember if I have the “bookmark” template up there (the one we use to “check out” the Kindle), but if it isn’t, let me know, and I can get it from my colleague Roxanne to share with you. I can’t wait to see where you go with your project! Best, Buffy

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  16. I attended your presentation at the School Librarians Summer Workshop at Emporia State University in the summer of 2010. I am envious of your energy and ability to complete so many wonderful learning opportunities for students.

    I want to try your “book tasting” with lit circle groups of sophomores and juniors. Would you be willing to share the handouts that you use.

    Thanks,
    Sharyl Edmondson

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    1. Hi Sharyl!

      First, thank you for your gracious words of encouragement–they are truly appreciated!

      You are more than welcome to use the book tasting activity! If you go to the blog post and click on the slideshare of the document, you can download the handout. You can also email me directly at buffy.hamilton at cherokee.k12.ga.us if you’d like. Thank you!

      Best,
      Buffy

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  17. Well hello Unquiet Librarian, let me tell you about how I came to be here writing a comment:
    I was an English teacher, and now I’m a University lecturer. I’m teaching preservice English (Language Arts) teachers, as well as Masters of Education students in a course on…Teacher Librarianship! And their second assignment is to make a group blog, and one of THOSE group blogs added yuor blog to their blogroll, which I clicked through to, and now you’re on my blogroll too.

    So, fellow English teacher come Librarian come teacher-of-teachers, a big G’day from Brisbane, Australia 🙂 Glad to find you!

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  18. Hi. Thanks for alll your information.

    I’m a 1975 University of Georgia grad (M.A. French and Romance Languages) who wound up as a public library reference librarian and administrator. I retire in February, but am sharing your link with all my still-youthful colleagues here at
    the Beaufort County (SC) Library.

    Happy 2012!

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    1. Dennis:

      It’s great to connect with a fellow UGA alum! I genuinely appreciate your kind note and vote of confidence—congratulations on your retirement and legacy of service to the library community—I’m sorry we haven’t had an opportunity to meet before now. Thank you again, and best wishes as you prepare to begin a new chapter in your life!

      Very best,
      Buffy

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  19. Ms. Hamilton,
    In October, when School Libraries, What’s Now, What’s, What’s Yet to Come, was offered, I downloaded it to my IPAD. It seems it is unavailable now on any format. Our district was going to use it for a book study this semester. Could you possible help us with this?
    Susan Mitchell, Media Specialist
    Northwestern High School
    2503 W. Main Street
    Rock Hill, SC 29730
    803-981-1220
    shmitche@rhmail.org

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  20. Hey Buffy!

    I have a question for you regarding your Kindles. I recently purchased a Kobo for our Library (as they are the most popular ereaders in Canada I’d say) and the Teacher-Librarians in our board have been talking about buying a group subscription to an ebook and audiobook vendor.

    We’ve looked at Follett Shelf and OverDrive – are there any others you’d recommend?

    If you could let me know via Facebook or send me an email, I would really appreciate it!

    Suzi

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  22. Just stumbled upon your website and I love it. One question: How does a librarian not feel overwhelmed by all the new responsibilities and expectations of a 21st century school library media program? My question stems from the goals I have been charged with for the coming school year and my feelings of how in the world can I be it all: copyright and technology guru, data analyst, co-teach model developer, reading program innovator, program space designer, etc., etc.?

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  24. I just discovered that I won’t be able to attend either of your sessions at the Texas Library Assn. conference in Fort Worth. Will you be sharing your presentations online?

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  25. Ms. Hamilton,
    I am a former librarian who now works as a Title I Facilitator in a small district southeast of New Orleans. Our librarians, especially middle and high school, are really struggling to understand how their roles have changed as a result of Common Core. I would love to speak to you about possibly doing some professional development with our librarians. We only have 8 librarians, so I was hoping that maybe we could include one teacher from each school to encourage co-teaching. If you are interested, would you please send a contact number via email so that we could discuss this further. My email is kpetkovich@ppsb.org.
    Thanks,
    Kenny

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  26. I am so glad to see you back at a school. I saw you at FAME in Florida in 2012 (I believe). You were about to go to Ohio. I would love to come and visit you at your school. I am at a 9th. grade center in Florida. I would love to come visit your Media Center during my Spring Break or another time if you allow.

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  27. My name is Dominique Sullivan and I am a teacher-librarian on Vancouver Island. I am excited to attend your session in Vancouver with the BCTLA Aug 26th! I have been following your blog and related articles. Thank you for your work! I often quote you in my Teacher-Librarianship masters program. I just completed a “Vision of School Libraries Project” after 3 years of graduate studies and thought you would like it.

    Enjoy!

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  28. Hi. My name is Nell and I am relocating to the Atlanta area over the summer. I am currently a school librarian in central Illinois. I have already started the process of transferring my license, but was wondering if you had suggestions of job search cites, or organizations that I want to join to aid my school library job search. I will be focusing my search around Griffin and southern Atlanta. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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  29. I’ve just read about your blog on a NSW teachers site in Australia and I think it’s my new favourite. I trained as a high school English teacher but my first job has been as a teacher librarian in a primary school so I’m having a ball teaching big ideas to little kids. I love working with classroom teachers to create units that support what is being taught in class and having the freedom to teach critical and creative thinking without the constraints of content and assessment I would have in the classroom.
    Please keep posting these amazing ideas so I can add to my ever expanding repertoire and light up my students every day.

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  30. Hi,

    I wanted to let your know how incredibly helpful and inspiring I have been finding your blog. I am a teacher librarian at an international middle/high school in Vietnam, previously I was at an elementary school in Massachusetts. This is my fifth year of teaching, and I find I still have so much to learn. I recently tried your pre-search mind mapping idea with my students and it went over really well. I have struggled to teach the early slow down stages of research and your blog posts have been helping me to wrap my head around ways to do it. I just wanted to say thank you for your posts and I look forward to seeing them in my RSS feed.

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    1. Wow, thank you so much Elizabeth! This is year 23 for me, and I’m still learning, too! I am thrilled the strategy went so well with your students—I hope you will keep me posted! I have a brief but new post over on my media center blog for my school if you want to check it out at https://hoochlearningstudio.wordpress.com/2015/11/03/mining-our-topics-using-search-mapping-strategy/ . Thank you so very much for your incredibly kind words—it makes me happy to know the posts are helpful to others! I really appreciate your taking time to share those lovely words and your experiences. Very best, Buffy

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  33. Hi Buffy,

    Could I trouble you to send me the source for your writable surfaces tables that you have in your library? I’d love to get some for our library. I follow your blog and enjoy it quite a bit! I’m the SecondaryTeacher-Librarian at The American International School of Lusaka, in Zambia. So you have a follower all the way over here!

    Kind regards,
    Terry

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  34. I’m a 10th grade English teacher and I just discovered your blog and the post about the CRAAP test rumble while searching for creative ways to teach about reliable sources. Yay! I’m an official fan and new follower. I love your creativity. You obviously put a LOT of work into that activity. I know you already posted the word docs. I’m curious about the writing prompts and other station resources. Are those available too? Thanks for your help!

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    1. Hi Beth! It’s wonderful to connect with you! Thank you so much for reading the blog, and thank you for those incredibly kind words. I basically pulled a diverse range of resources—I had a NPR podcast, some databases articles, a book source, and maybe 1-2 websites (if I recall correctly). I am normally insanely zealous about backing up every file I create, but I have looked in my Google Drive and my external hard drive…I think I failed to back up that folder when I left that school in June. I think I basically took the CRAAP test and broke it apart to create the prompts or I gave kids a targeted menu at each “write around” station and source? You are the second person to ask me about this in the last week, and I’m disappointed I can’t find the prompts. Looking at this photo from my photo set, I think at least one station gave kids choices for the prompt, but normally I do targeted prompts per source/station. https://www.flickr.com/photos/10557450@N04/24912406076/in/album-72157664364004731/ . I’m going to go through hard copies of things I brought home and see if I saved any print outs of the prompts. If I find them, I’ll be sure to post them, OK? Thank you again, and please let me know if I can help in any other way.

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  35. Hi Buffy,
    I just saw your disappointed review of The Art of Relevance on Goodreads, and I wanted to reach out. I tried really hard to fact-check everything in that book – every story, quote, etc. If there are factual errors in the book, I’d love to know about them. Please feel free to email me at nina@museumtwo.com if you are comfortable doing so.
    Best, Nina

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