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.

Episode 19: Keira's Closet with Margie Longoria

A student walked into the library and asked if she could set up a hygiene closet for her Eagle Scout project. Four years later, it's still open...and it's still named after her.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Margie Longoria, high school librarian at Mission High School in the Rio Grande Valley, editor of Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America, and founder of the Border Book Bash.

Margie said yes without fully understanding what she was saying yes to. Four years on it's closer to a small store: spirit shirts collected from graduating seniors and washed, then clothes, shoes, jackets, prom dresses, suits. When a student's family lost their house to a fire, she sent them off with everything they needed to get through a hotel stay.

Her framing is the part worth carrying: it's a kindness closet. An empathy closet. Somewhere a kid learns that someone did something for them, and maybe, later, does something for someone else.

Pillar: 🩵 Discovery

💡 Steal-this-idea: Ask your people. Margie's entire supply chain is a Facebook post to friends, former students, and community members — most of whom want to help and just don't know what's needed. Be specific about what you're short on, and say it out loud more than once.

🎬 CURTAIN CALL — this week's rapid-fire recs: 📖 Book: Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America

⚒️ Edtech tool: How to Make an Amazon Wishlist

Follow Margie: 📱 Instagram: @margiesmustreads — she's happy to answer questions or send photos of the closet setup

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 #HighSchoolLibrary #CommunityCloset #StudentNeeds #LibraryAdvocacy #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #RGV #TLA #TxASL

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

Episode 18: The Library Is a Community Center with Melissa Silerio

We say the library is the heart of the school. Mel Silerio thinks we can do better than that.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Melissa Silerio, in her sixteenth year in education and now the librarian at Charlene McKenzie Middle School in Mansfield ISD, where she also serves on TLA's Reading List Committee and the North Texas Teen Book Festival Steering Committee.

Her argument: "heart of the school" is a beautiful sentiment and a vague job description. What does being the heart actually mean? Underneath that sits a reframe she's carried for years: you are the facilitator. You plan the programming, one kid shows up, and you feel like a failure. But your job was to provide the opportunity...and you did.

Then she gets practical with Create & Connect, the monthly drop-in program she ran all last year. Low tech, low cost, no sign-up. Plus where she finds ideas and supplies on almost no budget, and the free author visits worth knowing about.

Pillar: 🩵 Discovery

💡 Steal-this-idea: Make it a drop-in, not a club. No Google Form, no cap, no passes. It's less work for you and it lowers the barrier for the kid who's never been to the library.

Curtain Call: 📱Edtech tools:

• Beanstack⁠ — for reading challenges and contests
• Bookelicious⁠ — inexpensive and sometimes free author webinars and student book review opportunities

🛠️ Resources mentioned:

• Latinx Kidlit Book Festival — free virtual author visits, plus an entire back catalog on YouTube

• North Texas Teen Book Festival - March 5-6, 2027

📌 Mel presented the full-length version of this talk as a TCEA webinar, released August 13

Follow Melissa: 📱 Instagram: @melsilerio | Her library: @cmmslibrary

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 #MiddleSchoolLibrary #LibraryProgramming #CommunityBuilding #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #PassiveProgramming #TLA #TxASL

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

Episode 17: You Too Can Ditch Dewey with Lauren Claymon

Everyone talks about ditching Dewey at the elementary level. Lauren Claymon is here to tell secondary librarians it works just as well for you.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Lauren Claymon, high school librarian in Liberty Hill ISD serving both Liberty Hill High School and Legacy Ranch High School, and chair of the TLA TAYSHAS Reading List.

It started with a shelving problem. Pulling nonfiction for her OnRamps Rhetoric students, Lauren found herself crossing the whole library to gather books that clearly belonged together. Why is civil rights in the 300s when some vendors put it in the 900s? Why is LeBron in biography instead of sports? True crime turned out to be scattered across four sections at once.

Her results make the case: a massive increase in nonfiction circulation. Her conclusion is blunter than the usual line — it's false that teenagers don't want nonfiction. They just don't know how to find it.

Pillar: 🩷 Literacy

💡 Steal-this-idea: Do your labels last. Move the books, change every call number in your catalog, then print all your labels at once from a resource list.

📌 Lauren presented this at TLA with her colleague Julie Jennings. Dreaming of Ditching Dewey

Nonfiction Categories

Plus, stick around for her Curtain Call featuring:

• 📖 Lauren's book recommendations — as TAYSHAS chair, she came with a rapid-fire list

Follow Lauren: 📱 @lkclaymon @lhhslibrary

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 #DitchDewey #Genrefication #HighSchoolLibrary #Nonfiction #CollectionDevelopment #LibraryOrganization #SecondaryLibrary #TAYSHAS #TLA #TxASL

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

Episode 16: Is it Worth the Badge? with Deborah Zeman

Thirty-two digital badges. One of them certifies her as an expert in a platform that no longer exists.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Deborah Zeman, high school librarian at Hebron High School in Lewisville ISD, chair of the TLA Spirit of Texas Reading Committee, publisher liaison for the Young Adult Round Table, 2024 TLA Branding Iron Award recipient, Adobe ACE Innovator, and Wakelet Certified Trainer.

Her question: micro-credentials are everywhere, and school librarians have leaned in hard; we're the ones handed a new tool in September and expected to be the building expert by October. So is it worth the badge? Deb argues both sides. Where she lands is the useful part.

Pillar: 🧡 EdTech

💡 Steal-this-idea: Three questions before you start any micro-credential. Does it change my practice or just my paperwork? Is the skill transferable if the tool dies? And does it feed something bigger than itself? Ask what it replaces in your practice, not what it adds to your bio.

Grab Deb's resources:

• 📖 Deb's book recommendations: she reads and recommends across middle grade, young adult, and adult
• 🛠️ Her Linktree is a genuinely enormous collection of shared resources
• Microcredentials Resource List
• Queen Mel's Email Signature with Badges

Follow Deb: 📱 @z_brarian across platforms | ✉️ dgmzeman92@gmail.com

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 #EdTech #MicroCredentials #ProfessionalDevelopment #HighSchoolLibrary #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #DigitalBadges #TLA #TxASL

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

Episode 15: Social Media Is Your PLN with Melanie Wood

When you had a rough day in the classroom, you could slam a door and vent to the teacher across the hall. Then you became the librarian, the only person in the building who does your job.

In this episode of The Library Stage, Amanda Hunt welcomes Melanie Wood, an elementary school librarian in the suburbs of St. Louis, entering her fifth year in the library after nine years teaching second, third, and fourth grade. She wrangles 360 kids a week and shares library life with a growing community of educators as @melanie_in_the_library.

Her argument is simple: you need your people, and if they're not in your building, they're on your phone. Melanie is direct about the objection everyone raises: you don't have to be an influencer, you don't have to post daily, and nothing has to be pretty. Her instruction: post the sticky notes. If you reorganized your shelving and it's still marked with sticky notes because you haven't made real labels yet, post it anyway. A librarian somewhere is staring at her own shelves with no idea where to start, and that's the post she needs.

She covers which platform to start on, how her families found her account and started seeing the months of planning behind what looked like a cute activity, and the resource exchange she launched in May--expecting a hundred librarians, getting over two thousand. The rule: you only get access if you give something.

Pillar: 🧡 EdTech

💡 Steal-this-idea: Book Button Tuesdays. Weeded and damaged books get cut up and pressed into buttons on a button machine, handed out Tuesday mornings to anyone who shows up with a smile. No other criteria. Roughly a hundred kids stampede the library every week, and the rule is you wear it on your backpack so everyone can see how cool books are.

🛠️ Resources:

• Canva — Melanie's design tool of choice
• The Librarian Resource Exchange

Plus, stick around for her Curtain Call featuring:

• 📖 Melanie's book recommendation — a book she'll tell you straight up she did not like, and hasn't stopped thinking about since. Her point to students: you don't have to like a book for it to be good.

Follow Melanie: 📱 @melanie_in_the_library on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok | ✉️ librarybymelanie@gmail.com

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 #ElementaryLibrary #LibrariansOfInstagram #PLN #TeacherPLN #LibraryCommunity #EdTech #SchoolLibrary #TeacherLibrarian #TLA #TxASL

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