Library Safari: The Next Chapter

It’s been a while — in fact, since 2012, this little corner of the internet has been quietly waiting while life took me on quite a safari of its own.

In the years since my last post, my family moved twice, my babies grew into wonderful young adults,  and I stepped into new library roles and even earned National Board Certification. Those adventures kept me learning, growing, and collecting stories worth sharing.

Now, with fresh inspiration and a deep love for both libraries and technology, I’m excited to dust off Library Safari™ and begin exploring again — trekking the wilds of libraries, literacy, and technology with new tools, new ideas, and the same sense of curiosity that started it all. 

Thanks for coming along for the next leg of the journey. The trail ahead looks brighter than ever. 

Build-A-Blog: The Fun Steps

Once I settled the fundamentals (see this post), it was time for a couple of fun steps: first to snag the web address and then to install the web template.

I used my Google account to sign into www.Blogger.com and  clicked "New Blog." At this point there are two boxes to complete: Title and Address. This provides the option for having a title that is different from your address. Since I prefer that they be the same, I just skipped the "Title" box and went straight to the "Address" box. I began typing in my ideas for blog titles. Blessedly, the one I wanted was still available, so I took it by clicking the "Create Blog" button!

Purchasing the blog design I wanted from Honey Bunch Blog Design was a great experience. By following their instructions, they were given temporary admin rights to install the design for me. Easy-peasy!

Build-a-Blog: Fundamentals

I began blogging in 2011 as a result of enjoying my friend Patty's lovely blog over at Pattyville. At Mom's Best Nest I write posts about my life as a Christian, a wife, a mom, a homemaker and a blogger. That little blog has become such a blessing to me! It's...

• an outlet for self-expression
• a way to meet lots of fellow bloggers and make new friends
• a way to create a searchable archive of things important to me. For example, I can't seem to remember my recipe for Crock Pot Meatloaf, but I can quickly access it via my blog anytime I like. If someone wants to see a picture of my dog, I can just go to my blog :)

As the school year began, I really wished I had a blog related to my career as a school librarian.  Hence, Library Safari was born! It would have been nice if I had written about how I created my first blog, but, alas, I didn't. So, just in case I decide to build another one someday, I've decided to blog about building this blog. Remember, I am NOT a professional blogger. In fact, these posts will prove that ANYONE can do it ;)


First I had to make a few decisions...

1. Blogger or Wordpress? After researching the two, I concluded that Wordpress has many more options, but Blogger is more easily administered. I chose Blogger, because my time constraints require point-and-click ease of use. 
2. Focus? I wanted to write about the things I did in my library and learn what other were doing as well. My mission statement: "The mission of Library Safari is to log what's going on in my elementary school library for reference and reflection and  to build a community of school librarians and literacy educators for support and sharing ideas." 
3. Blog Title? After deciding on a title and locating a beautiful premade design at The Honey Bunch, I happened to see this safari one on the same page and thought of a title to match it.

Next time, I'll share about signing up for the web address and about the design process. Thanks for joining me on my new blogging adventure!