Okie Bookcast Chapter Fifteen - School Libraries with Jill Slay and Eric Dabney, Part 1

Text the Bookcast and say "hi"!Welcome to Chapter 15 of the Okie Bookcast! We're celebrating National School Libraries Month by talking with a couple of amazing Oklahoma librarians! Jill Slay is the librarian at Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City. Jill has  been an educator for 23-ish years and was a high school English teacher before moving into the Library about 10 years ago. She is currently working on her doctorate in Education in Curriculum Studies and Supervision. You can connect with Jill on Twitter (@msjillslay11) and Instagram (@jillslay11) and also check out her library on Twitter (@PCWlibrary) or Instagram (@pcwestlibrary). Eric Dabney is the librarian at Orvis Risner Elementary in Edmond, OK.  As a longtime researcher and editor for prolific author Bob Burke, Eric spent more than two decades rediscovering his home state over kitchen-table interviews and the family photo albums of many of its favorite sons and daughters including Gary England, Abe Lemons, Jane Jayroe, and George Nigh.  He is the co-author of several books and taught in the education department at UCO for more than a decade.  Eric began his career in public school education as a first-grade teacher at Orvis Risner Elementary in Edmond in 2014 and later moved down the street to Central Middle School, where he taught 7th-grade English and Literacy. He returned to Orvis Risner as the school's librarian in 2019.  Married to Shelley for 30 years, the couple lives on a farm northeast of Edmond, where they raised three daughters and are now very happy grandparents. You can check out one of the videos Eric made reading to his students here. We had so much to talk about in this conversation that I've split it into two episodes. In this part one,  we talk about their libraries, the role of librarians in the greater school community, and helping kids fall in love with reading. Part Two of our conversation is also available in Chapter 16.  Our review for this chapter is from Shereen Rasor - Shereen has been a teacher in Mustang Public Schools for 28 years and a school librarian for 10 years. She is married to her high-school sweetheart and is the mother of two sons, both in the military, and the grandmother of the two cutest kids ever! Her favorite past times are reading, horseback riding, and motorcycle riding… especially if she gets to do these things on the beach.Shereen reviews The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth.Mentioned on the Show:Orca Soundings Collection Jason ReynoldsJudy Blume AviTreasure Island - Robert Louis StevensonWonder - R. J. PalacioTony Hawk Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum The Good Sister - Sally HepworthMusic by JuliusHConnect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | FacebookShop the Bookcast on Bookshop.orgMusic by JuliusH