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TL11.1_v5 The Teaching Librarian Volume 11, no. 1 9 The crisis in Canadianschool libraries isn'tnews to any of us -- we're living it. How can we cope with such challenges as the workload, staff cutbacks, inadequate budgets…? I'm sure it comes as no surprise to regular readers of this col- umn that I believe connecting is the key to coping. Let me use a food analogy to illustrate my point. If you're having company for dinner, you can prepare everything your- self, organize a potluck dinner, or order take-out food from your favourite restaurant. Sure, it's nice to put together a good dinner party yourself, but if time and resources are limit- ed, a potluck dinner might be more feasible. And sometimes there's so much going on that take-out food is the most sensi- ble option. Teacher-librarianship works the same way. Doing every- thing yourself might sound nice, but it's not realistic. Why not become an active member of your local teacher-librarian association and practice potluck teacher-librarianship? Work with your colleagues to divide up the workload so that each of you prepares one piece and shares it with the group. And don't hesitate to take-out some of the wealth of resources already prepared. Web sites of provincial, national, and international teacher-librarians' associations are often the best starting points. Check out the links and resources sections. Ontario School Library Association www.accessola.com/osla Association for Teacher- Librarianship in Canada www.atlc.ca International Association for School Librarianship www.iasl-slo.org Many of the sites withgood collections ofInternet links and resources are identified on the associations' Web sites. In addition, it's worth check- ing out these sites: ALA/ALSC: Great Web Sites for Kids http://www.ala.org/ parentspage/greatsites/ amazing.html There's a lot here! This list will be valuable for parents, teach- ers, and students as well as teacher-librarians. EdSelect www.edselect.com Put together by an Ontario teacher-librarian, this collec- tion of Web sites is extensive and well organized - very impressive! And it's designed with the Ontario curriculum in mind. Thames Valley Teacher- Librarians' Association: Educational Resources on the Web http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/tvtla /edresources.htm The TVTLA does impressive work and it's worth checking out the rest of the site too. This is a useful collection of links. Toronto District School Board: Cyberlinks http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ instruction/cyberlinks/ cyhome.htm Wow! What can I say? This is an excellent starting point, with information about the research and inquiry process as well as a wealth of well-organized Internet links. And finally, don't forgetto take time to laugh -it really does relieve stress! Check out these sites for some online library humour. British Columbia Teacher- Librarians' Association www.bctf.bc.ca/PSAs/BCTLA Check out the "Humour and Quotes" section in Teacher- Librarian Links. Warrior Librarian http://www.warriorlibrari- an.com If you want to laugh out loud until it hurts (which, oddly, is considered a good thing), check out this zine. CCooppiinngg wwiitthh tthhee CCrriissiiss:: CCoonnnneeccttiinngg iiss tthhee KKeeyy by Brenda Dillon P r o fe s s io n a l c o n n e c t io n s T L