Are you a School Librarian, needing solutions for perplexing problems? You’ll find those here at the Looking Backward blog.

I wish I’d had a blog like this when I began as a Middle School Librarian after teaching science for 9 years in an alternative high school for at-risk students. The middle school was only 2 years old and built as a high-tech exemplar for the time, so we were a great match. I remained there for 13½ years and only retired due to health issues, otherwise I’d still be there! (I love working with the kids that make most folks cringe—alternative schoolers, middle schoolers, and toddlers 2-4… clearly a woman in need of therapy!)

I strive to see the big picture…how it all fits together…so that I can integrate it for others to more easily understand. I’m a voracious reader of education bloggers and books related to teaching, school libraries, and educational technology to make sure the information I share is relevant for the current educational climate.

I began blogging in 2005, creating BrP Bytes on Blogger. I retired that site in 2015 and created Looking Backward on Edublogs. I want to share my acquired knowledge & experience with you to build a legacy of quality school library information. I like to help people find answers (probably why I became a school librarian) and I hope you find some through this blog.

I’ve loved technology since taking a FORTRAN course in college (long long ago, in a galaxy…no, wait, just long, long ago). When I took a few defunct computers at my alternative school and built 2 working ones for a fellow teacher, I earned the title “Tech Queen.” In 1995 I ventured onto the text-only WWW and began creating Web pages. I soon became our district’s Web Trainer and even presented at a Texas Library Association conference. I try to keep up with all the new stuff, although the learning curve is much steeper as I get older!

What I most appreciate about being retired is having the time to create authentic, easy-to-use materials for middle school librarians and making them available through No Sweat Library, my TeachersPayTeachers store. My primary online activity is my Pinterest curation service, especially my Pin4Teachers work, which allows me to share my passion for organization and for education. Both of these online activities allow me to contribute to educators worldwide and supplement my retirement income in a (very) small way.

My other interests include home improvements—from painting & wallpapering, to plumbing & electric, to landscaping & gardening, to repairs & construction. (My hubby gifted me a radial arm saw!) The one thing I hate is housework, so even though I retired after 26 years in education, I still have a cleaning lady every other week!

“barupa” has been my online moniker since 1991, when I returned to education after 15 years as stay-at-home-mom, and created an email address using the first 2 letters of my first, middle, and married names: Barbara Ruth Paciotti. I later added my state of Texas’ PO abbreviation so you can also find me as barupatx. My students and colleagues just call me “Ms. P“—although one of the teachers dubbed me “The Goddess of All That Is Known.”

I usually sign off on things as…
BrP
(Not indigestion, just my initials)
blogging from the Dallas TX Metroplex, USA
You can email me at barupa@gmail.com.

I am also a Visual Content Marketing Specialist, focused on helping teachers with blogs and/or TeachersPayTeachers stores increase their online presence. I can:

• create branded pins for Pinterest with optimized keywords and pin descriptions
• schedule pins through Tailwind
• curate other online sources into posts or pins
• create Pinterest boards with branded board covers
• analyze basic analytics to develop your marketing strategy
• assist with blog: copy writing and editing posts, clean up older entries, troubleshoot display errors.

If you’re interested in my Content Marketing Service, email me at barupa@nosweatlibrary.org for information and pricing.