Heather Schubert will tell you straight out that she has always struggled with book clubs. This is the version that finally worked.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Heather Schubert, librarian at middle school in central TX, who runs Battle of the Books across district lines, partnering with two middle schools in Dripping Springs ISD, and a fourth school joining this year.

Four rounds a year, two books per round, chosen by the librarians and voted on by the students. Heather buys each kid at least one book per round so they can write in it. They meet weekly during a 25-minute advisory period, all three grade levels together, which means eighth graders end up mentoring timid sixth graders who now have someone to wave to in the hall.

The battles themselves rotate between campuses, with a breakfast spread the kids sign up to bring. Questions go up on the big screen, each school huddles at its own table with a giant whiteboard, and everyone holds up their answer when time is called. A trophy for the winning school, medals for every participant.

Her real point is who shows up. These aren't the sporty kids. They're the quiet readers who don't have an obvious place to plug in, and this became theirs.

Pillar: 🩷 Literacy

💡 Steal-this-idea: Let the students write the practice. Heather's team members come up with questions they think might get asked, then build Kahoots to challenge each other between battles. They're doing the close reading work themselves, and it's more fun than anything she'd have assigned.

🛠️ Resources:

• Kahoot

• Heather's library website

📖 Heather's book recommendations

Follow Heather: 🌐 Her library website — she's not much for social media, so this is the place

Think your library story belongs on the stage? Pitch your talk: thenextgenlib@gmail.com

Hosted by Amanda Hunt, MLS (@TheNextGenLibrarian) 🌐 thenextgenlibrarian.com

#TheLibraryStage #TakeTheStage #SchoolLibrarians #BattleOfTheBooks #MiddleSchoolLibrary #BookClub #LibraryProgramming #StudentVoice #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #TLA #TxASL

The Library Stage is an independent podcast, not affiliated with TED Conferences LLC.

Episode 21: Diamond or Dud? Weeding Is a Lesson with Heather Arguello

Heather Arguello adds about a thousand books to her collection every year. Which means every summer, a thousand books have to go.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Heather Arguello, school librarian at Almaden Country Day School in San Jose, California, a pre-K through eighth grade campus of about 425 students, where circulation has tripled under her watch from roughly 8–10,000 a year to over 30,000.

Diamond or Dud works like this: students fill out a half-sheet slip with the title, author, call number, and copyright year, then evaluate the book against five criteria and circle a verdict. Diamond, meaning it's been sitting there unnoticed. Or dud, meaning there's a reason nobody's checked it out. Heather wants five slips per book before she decides. If a kid falls for a book mid-evaluation, they can check it out that day and save it.

Her point: weeding isn't magic, and kids should know that. When they're part of it, the collection becomes theirs.

Pillar: 🩷 Literacy

💡 Steal-this-idea: Raffle the new releases. Students enter their name for the chance to be the first to check out an anticipated title, which means they learn what's coming out and when, and a new book arrives with a waiting list instead of sitting on a display.

🛠️ Resources:

• Diamond or Dud evaluation template — Heather's half-sheet student slip, ready to print

Follow Heather: 📱 Instagram: @borntobealibrarian

Think your library story belongs on the stage? Pitch your talk: thenextgenlib@gmail.com

Hosted by Amanda Hunt, MLS (@TheNextGenLibrarian) 🌐 thenextgenlibrarian.com

#TheLibraryStage #TakeTheStage #SchoolLibrarians #Weeding #CollectionDevelopment #ElementaryLibrary #MiddleSchoolLibrary #StudentVoice #LibraryLessons #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #TxASL

The Library Stage is an independent podcast, not affiliated with TED Conferences LLC.

Episode 20: Passion Clubs Are Programming with Rachel Joiner

At AASL, everyone at the table was naming their sessions. Passive programming. Law for librarians. Then they got to Rachel, who said she was going to Pokémon.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Rachel Joiner, librarian at Advent Episcopal School in Birmingham, Alabama, chair of the Yellowhammer Middle Grade Committee, and head of a library recently named ASLA's School Library of the Year.

What she found at that panel: ALA ships libraries a free Pokémon starter kit, and the whole thing is built to remove barriers.

Rachel opened it to K–8 against every kindergarten teacher's advice and had to cap enrollment. Her actual argument is bigger than Pokémon: low-stakes, no-barrier clubs built around whatever your students are already obsessed with. Legos, K-pop, D&D, squishies. Just ask them, then open the door.

Pillar: 🩵 Discovery

💡 Steal-this-idea: Passports. After genrefying her fiction, Rachel made a Genre Passport: 12 genres listed, read 10, get a literary prize pack at the end of the year. Kids check out a book and she stamps it. She added a Newbery Passport the next year to push new titles, and it was a raging success. Finished readers get their photo up in the library with the date. Some kids worked both at once, and a Classics passport is coming this year. Her checkouts are up.

🛠️ Resources:

• ALA Pokémon Club kit: still available to apply for, and she says you'll be amazed at what they send
• All other resources linked here

Plus, stick around for her Curtain Call featuring:

• 📖 Rachel's book recommendation — her favorite middle grade read of the year, still under consideration for the Yellowhammer list + 2 more professional titles!

Follow Rachel: 📱 FB @thesouthernliterarion

Think your library story belongs on the stage? Pitch your talk: thenextgenlib@gmail.com

Hosted by Amanda Hunt, MLS (@TheNextGenLibrarian) 🌐 thenextgenlibrarian.com

#TheLibraryStage #TakeTheStage #SchoolLibrarians #PokemonClub #LibraryProgramming #ElementaryLibrary #MiddleSchoolLibrary #PassionProjects #StudentVoice #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #ASLA #TxASL

The Library Stage is an independent podcast, not affiliated with TED Conferences LLC.