Birds of Sicily is an exploration into the geography of proximity. Dipping relentlessly and empathically into the “shadow of lack,” Reale unravels travel to reveal the “life of hard work and paradox” that links us all. —Cameron Conaway, Author of Malaria, Poems Michelle Reale’s Birds Of Sicily is an outstandingly powerful poetry collection which has personal resonance for me due to our shared Sicilian background. In these wonderfully written poems, Michelle explores themes of migration and finding one’s place in a new, unfamiliar world and culture. Not much literature is written on the Italian-American experience and Reale’s work is a most welcome contribution to that end. This is a work you will come back to again and again. —Julian Gallo, Author of Breathe Michelle Reale fashions lines that bite and burn. The delicate yet fanged poetry in Birds of Sicily draws from the depths of history and blends voluptuous landscapes with raw depictions of human fragility. Weaving and blending together various poetic forms and structures, the language of each piece sings. This collection, both universal and deeply personal, remains with the reader long after they’ve turned the final page. —Janie Cannarella, Editor-in-Chief, HOOT Review

Birds of Sicily

Literature & Fiction

Reale, Michelle

Poetry

Aldrich Press

Most academic libraries could not operate without a host of part-time student workers. But employing students is different from filling a professional position with an experienced worker; often their library employment will be their first job experience. Since many student positions make them the public face of the library, effective mentoring of such student employees is vital. In this book Reale explores the challenges and opportunities involved in recruitment. Her guide 
<ul>
<li>Shows how a library job can be more than just employment, teaching students important responsibilities and life-skills </li>
<li>Covers the entire scope of a student's tenure at an academic library, from bringing new hires on board and training them to disciplining student employees and the unpleasant but sometimes necessary task of firing </li>
<li>Offers mentoring advice for helping students navigate the cultural contrasts, irregular hours, and other day-to-day issues faced by young people away from home for the first time </li>
</ul>With Reale's guidance, supervising academic librarians can effectively mentor students while maintaining an enjoyable, productive workplace that functions efficiently in support of the institution.

Mentoring and Managing Students in the Academic Library

Reference

ALA Editions

Embedded librarianship is not one size fits all, yet many books on the subject treat it in a cold, objective manner that doesn't adequately communicate how becoming an embedded librarian actually works in the real world. Here, Reale shares her own university classroom experiences to offer a step-by-step primer for those contemplating the practice. Demystifying what can sometimes feel intimidating to academic librarians, this down to earth resource 
<ul>
<li>defines what embedded librarianship is, and isn't;</li>
<li>explains why being in the classroom is so important, and how it creates communities of learning;</li>
<li>shows how to clarify the role of the librarian in a classroom by being a facilitator of process ;</li>
<li>offers strategies for relationship building, setting goals, and honing a teaching style; and 
</li>
<li>discusses embedded librarianship and branding.</li>
</ul>Readers will feel confident applying the lessons learned from Reale's first-hand account to their own experiences both in and out of the classroom.

Becoming an Embedded Librarian: Making Connections in the Classroom

Too much of the time our attempts at achieving a work/life balance instead amount to a rigid compartmentalization of the different parts of our lives. But the very qualities that make us human, including our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, are the keys to making us better librarians and teachers. The path forward is through reflection, which can help us gain insights that are applicable both personally and professionally. In this book Reale employs a conversational tone to lead readers through the steps of reflective practice, offering 
<ul>
<li>a concise framework for reflective practice, from laying the groundwork and getting started through creating and sustaining a reflexive loop;</li>
<li>guidance on how to use journaling as a tool for expressing experiences, creating a dialogue with oneself, listmaking, and other constructive reflection;</li>
<li>tips for becoming a reflective practitioner both inside and outside of the classroom;</li>
<li>a plan for using reflective practice with colleagues through conversation and collaboration; and</li>
<li>strategies at the end of each chapter for putting ideas into practice.</li>
</ul>This thoughtful book illuminates reflective practice as a pedagogical tool that holds benefits both for ourselves as professionals and for our students.

Becoming a Reflective Librarian and Teacher: Strategies for Mindful Academic Practice

Traditionally, academic librarians have delivered “beck and call” service to educators both in and out of the classroom. But the role of the academic librarian is shifting. We have become embedded in classrooms where we fully co-collaborate with other faculty, have in most cases been awarded faculty status, and in many cases teach our own classes. Far from being merely auxiliary to the learning cycle, academic librarians are educators in our own right. However, even though so much of what we do is “education,” it has not be perceived or recognized as such within our institutions. This book seeks to show the librarian as educator both in structured and unstructured spaces on campuses and to offer strategies for teaching in many different areas. It will serve to both empower and validate librarians as educators.

The Indispensable Academic Librarian: Teaching and Collaborating for Change

Read an interview with the author now!
In our technology-saturated world, all the answers we seek are at our fingertips. Right? Though students might think so, educators know otherwise. But beyond merely helping students find answers to questions, information literacy instruction ought to ignite within students a spirit of inquiry: a discerning curiosity that will spur them to dig deeper when conducting research. Here, Reale outlines such an approach. Showing how to deprioritize tools-based research in favor of encouraging critical thinking, in this book she
<ul>
<li>demonstrates why inquiry is the first step towards deep learning, and why it should begin with asking the right questions rather than finding the right answers;</li>
<li>presents strategies for viewing curiosity as a process;</li>
<li>shares methods and techniques that will kindle a spirit of inquiry, from discussion questions and reflective journals to one-on-one consultations and classroom workshops;</li>
<li>shows how I-Search assignments can offer students valuable guidance and encouragement to think; and</li>
<li>discusses how collaboration and communication with faculty can help lead to information literacy instruction that focuses on the conceptual rather than tools.</li>
</ul>
Filled with numerous examples of inquiry in action drawn from Reale's own experiences, her book can be a catalyst for cultivating curiosity and enthusiasm in student researchers.

Inquiry and Research: A Relational Approach in the Classroom

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

How can academic librarians strengthen their practice of teaching and provide education through access to information, using intentional efforts to both learn and share in a social context? Building and fostering communities of practice (CoP) is the ideal way forward, as Reale demonstrates in her new book, which is both inspirational and practical. With her guidance, readers will 
understand how coming together in pursuit of knowledge and shared goals can lead to a more fulfilling work environment and better professional outcomes; get pointers on how to begin with simple, casual collaborative efforts that won’t conflict with busy schedules; learn from Reale’s personal narratives of how CoP took root at her own institution, and the ways in which it continued to flourish during the lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic; receive a flexible CoP framework for implementation that can be tailored to fit their own needs and goals; see how to nurture conversation, participation, collaborative inquiry, and mindfulness, all essential ingredients of the CoP; feel comfortable using personal stories as tools for sensemaking within the CoP as well as ongoing individual learning and growth; and be encouraged to follow through and stick with it, using the reflection questions and activities at the end of each chapter.

Communities of Practice in the Academic Library: Strategies for Implementation

While the profession has generated many books on information literacy, none to date have validated exactly why it is so difficult to teach. In her new book, Reale posits that examining and reflecting on the reality of those factors is what will enable practitioners to meet the challenge of their important mandate. Using the same warm and conversational tone as in her previous works, she
<ul>
<li>uses personal anecdotes to lay out the key reasons that teaching information literacy is so challenging, from the limited amount of time given to instructors and lack of collaboration with faculty to one's own anxieties about the work;</li>
<li>examines how these factors are related and where librarians fit in;</li>
<li>validates readers’ struggles and frustrations through an honest discussion of the emotional labor of librarianship, including "imposter syndrome," stress, and burnout;</li>
<li>offers a variety of approaches, strategies, and topics of focus that will assist readers in their daily practice;</li>
<li>looks at how a vibrant community of practice can foster positive change both personally and institutionally; and</li>
<li>presents “Points to Ponder” at the end of each chapter that encourage readers to self-reflect and then transform personal insights into action.</li>
</ul>
Reale’s book is a valuable springboard for reflection that will help academic librarians understand the complexity of the challenges they face and then forge a path forward.

Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Information Literacy

Winner of ADP's inaugural Twin Antlers Prize for collaborative poetry, Bare Bulbs Swinging finds three powerful voices in conversation, feeding off the words of one another to create a one of a kind collection.

Bare Bulbs Swinging

Fowler, Heather

Tuite, Meg

Artistically Declined Press

Poetry. Italian Studies. "The poems in SEASON OF SUBTRACTION are at once effortlessly attainable, and at the same time surprisingly fresh and delightfully unexpected...If you listen carefully, you can hear Michelle say, Yes, you come too. SEASON OF SUBTRACTION is an extraordinary book."--John Stanizzi"The prose poems that make up SEASON OF SUBTRACTION bask in the poetics of language and syntax; they are bricks paving a dream-village, both American and Old World...I am in awe of the space Michelle Messina Reale creates: its friction, its strength, its mournful insistence, and the speaker who 'pin[s] my father's heart to the wall and pray[s] a novena to lost souls..."--Jennifer Martelli"SEASON OF SUBTRACTION is like Sicily's own citrus fruits--hybridized, yet native and emblematic; sweet and intricate, yet often bitter in places at the whim of life's turning. With its nuanced language, crafted metaphors, and raw honesty, Reale's work is a treat to be savored."--Chad FrameIn SEASON OF SUBTRACTION, Michelle Reale entangles you in the language of ache and need, and the search for a lost relative who becomes a found love...You will gather so many pieces in this beautiful collection, and you will exit it feeling whole, knowing what was once lost is now home."--Kailey Tedesco

Season of Subtraction (VIA Folios)

Bordighera Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Reale, Michelle. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Reale, Michelle