Mind Your Manners

When I was a classroom teacher (and mom to a wee one), manners were very important to me.  I made it a point to make sure that the little people in my life said "please" and "thank you" and "you're welcome" and "may I?" and "excuse me" and "I'm sorry".  They knew that people were finished and turkeys were done. We always wrote thank you notes for field trips or gifts or when visitors came.

So now the time has come for me to mind my manners and say,

 

 

I have so many people to thank and I know I will forget someone so I must apologize in advance if I do.

 

First, I have to thank Fran Glick who is my supervisor in the Office of Digital Learning(ODL).  Fran tossed out the idea of genrefying and let me run with it.  She read (and commented!) on the blog, emailed and tweeted and talked about me behind my back - in a good way.

 

Next up are Chimere Neal and Kelly Ray, both of whom are resource teachers in the ODL. Chimere helped me kick things off and was instrumental in helping getting the categories and corresponding graphics nailed down.  Kelly was a powerhouse who helped me craft presentation proposals and the corresponding presentations.  She gave so much of her own time to meet with me and work on this project.  She worked tirelessly on the project wiki, library wiki and Destiny solutions.  She truly was the OZ behind the curtain.

 

Remi and Donna, data clerks in the ODL, who came to my school and scanned and scanned and scanned my books and put them all into their new genre classifications so students could find them via location fields in Destiny.  You saved me so much angst and didn't laugh too loudly when I fell out of my chair!

 

Justin, Ben, Jen and Valerie, S.T.A.T. Resource Teachers, who came to my little corner of Baltimore County and peeled labels and label covers and more labels and more labels covers.  Then stacked books back on shelves - all the while laughing and making time fly by.  Thank you also for packing the seats at Common Ground even though my session was the last one on the last day.  You tweeted and came and made my day!

To the many fellow librarians who supported this project with time (labeling and shelving books), encouragement via emails and tweets and attendance at Professional Development sessions and enthusiasm for the project, thank you.  There is nothing like being supported by your peers and feeling like you can give something back to those who have shared so much with you, in so many ways, so many times before.

I'm not finished.  The blog isn't finished.  The library isn't finished.  I still have a bunch of things swirling around in my head that need to be done.  But the most important is now complete.  I have minded my manners and said, "Thank You!"

Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day weekend.  The unofficial start to summer and the unofficial beginning of the end of the school year. 

Friday we had Sports Day at our school which is always such an amazing day for our students.  Despite the sunscreen, I still managed to obtain a healthy red glow on my face and arms.  In the afternoon, our Follett rep visited the school.  He was very interested in our un-deweying project. I gave him a personal tour of the library and how we were able to set location fields into Destiny.  He asked me if I was tired of repeating all these things over and over and I could honestly answer that I was not.  I really am thrilled by the whole project and the results. He appeared to be very excited about the project as well. Bob and I discussed ebooks and pondered how we can take some of the knowledge gained through this un-dewey process and channel it into a successful ebook campaign.  I know what my brain will be pondering in a few weeks.

But right now, it's almost Memorial Day.  So I wanted to share my "favorite" Memorial Day book with you.  Eve Bunting has written a beautiful story entitled, "The Wall".

Each year, I have the painful pleasure of sharing this with my students.  On good days, I can get through it with just a catch in my voice.  On not so good days, a tear may fall.  Either way, it is inevitable that someone will ask me if I am ok and I will share with them my own personal story of The Wall.  I will share with them that on Panel W27, Line 55 is the name of a very special person to me.  A person I never had the pleasure of meeting, my father,  PFC Guy T. Fletcher, Jr.

My father was killed in action on April 11, 1969 just 10 days after arriving in Viet Nam. He was 20 years old.  I was -3 months old (my mother was 6 months pregnant with me- their first child). To this man, I owe my life even though we have never met.  At this point, not only have I lived twice as long as he had but my own child has lived longer, than he ever did, as well.

While I do not share all these details with my students, I do share that I can make a personal connection to the story and I share about how it felt the first time I visited The Wall with my own son and why this is such a special book to me.

This year, I did not get to share the story with my students.  Time is racing by.  And yet, several little ones asked if I was going to read "that special story about your dad's wall".  How sweet of them to remember.  How touching for them to continue to make that connection. 

So Happy Memorial Day!  However you choose to spend it, and whomever you choose to spend it with, I hope you take a moment to remember someone who gave their all and, if you get a chance, check out Eve Bunting's poignant book.

It's All About The Numbers!

As promised, here is the data that we have been sharing at our inservice meetings and that we shared at Common Ground.

Total Circulations

November 18, 2013-April 17, 2014  9103

November 18, 2014-April 17, 2015  9930

Total Increase In Circulations  827 or 8.3%

Let's look at fiction and graphic novels first.

 

 

As you can see by the graphs above, Fiction and Graphic Novel Circulation has increased by @ 50 titles each.  While running the Destiny report to see what titles still needed to be assigned genre classifications, we discovered a wealth of information that helped up disaggregate the data further.

Destiny Title/Copy Data Report Findings – Fiction

1409 titles were listed on the exported report

533 (37.8% of the fiction collection) titles had increases in circulation over the previous year’s circulations

Of those 533 titles,

•315 (59%) had no circulations during the 2013-2014 school year

•257 (48.2%) increased by 3 circulations over the previous year (circulations of 1 or 2 only were not included in this number)

•139 (26%) increased by 5+ circulations over the previous year (circulations of 4> were not included in this number)

 

Top 3 Fiction Genre Classifications with title circulation increases were:
 

Just Like Me (67)
Fantasy (43)
Humor/Sports Fiction (27) tie
(*Note 106 titles are not yet assigned location fields in Destiny)

And now for the nonfiction...

Destiny Title/Copy Data Report Findings – Nonfiction

 

3893 titles were listed on the exported report

952 (24.5% of the nonfiction collection) titles had increases in circulation over the previous year’s circulations

Of those 952 titles,

•700 (73.5%) had no circulations during the 2013-2014 school year

•266 (27.9%) increased by 3 circulations over the previous year

•120 (12.6%) increased by 5+ circulations over the previous year

Top 5 Nonfiction Genre Classifications with title circulation increases were

Animals (119)
Science (90) – Top 3 subcategories: Weather 20, Inventors/Inventions 25, Experiments 13
Sports (74) – 25 were biographies now located in the sports classification
What Can I Make? (65)
Native Americans (39) – Discovered by the 4th grade teachers

(*Note: 83 titles are not yet assigned location fields in Destiny)

 As I look at the nonfiction data, I tried to draw some conclusions about why there are such large jumps in certain areas even though we have weeded so many books. For the 900's, the only conclusion I can draw is that they have been impacted by many of the biographies now being grouped with other genres. For example, I see MANY sports biographies heading out the door now that they are grouped with their respective sport. The "What Can I Make" has been a popular location to visit which may account for an increase in the 700's which also may be impacted by The Arts section as I am seeing dance books moving.

 

 

Circulation (as of 4/17/15) has increased by 8.3% which may not seem too terribly significant BUT over 1000 books (700 nonfiction and 315 fiction titles) that were NEVER checked out last year circulated this year which means my collection is experiencing a rejuvenation because my students and teachers can quickly and easily find what they want and related materials.

  I look forward to gathering some more data at the end of the school year to share at our June inservice.  I am loving the feedback and questions that have been asked and shared.

 

  

 

Guest Blogger - Anne Marie Martinelli

I just received this lovely email from one of last week's attendees and had to share.

Anne Marie writes:

Loved the Un-Deweying the Library workshop.  Took lots of notes and marveled at the circulation data.  I too see a lot of untapped potential in the PHES library.  There’s only so much time for book talks and only so much space (mine is a 2x5 book case top and a hallway showcase) to entice readers to pick up what you deem to be an enriching piece of literature.  Since I won’t have access to my library this summer (electrical work and a 3 week practicum) and in the fall I will be knee deep in portfolio, I loved…loved….loved that I can do this one genre at a time.  First step, to get my 3-5th graders started with their thoughts on organization and naming/labeling the various topics/genres.  I’m even adding some graph paper to my maker space to encourage students to change the layout of the library floor. 

I’m in awe and I’m inspired! 

 

Don't you just LOVE this?  Way to go Anne Marie!  I think it is great how she is giving her students some ownership of the library by allowing them to have some input in how the space is arranged.  What a great real life connection and application of their skills!  Way to work smarter.

Guest Blogger - Rita Godwin

I have been a bad blogger again but with good excuses (I hope!)  We held our first session for our district librarians and I have been fielding numerous excited emails from librarians who are eager to take the plunge into the genrefied library pond as well as emails from folks who attended our Common Ground session.  And, more exciting for me, my kiddo graduated from college! So allow me a proud momma moment as I gush and share a photo of him speaking at his college baccalaureate service.

Thankfully Rita Godwin, one of our attendees, was kind enough to email me a guest blog post to share with you all.  Thanks Rita!

The “Un-Dewey” training was awesome! Sandy and Kelly gave us great ideas to use to help us get started. Also, they explained the challenges they had and gave us great pointers about how to overcome those challenges. I took six pages of valuable notes to help me along the way. After the presentation, I snapped some pictures of Sandy’s beautiful library to get ideas about how to set the library up with signage and spaces. I am sold on the “Un-Deweying” process, and I can’t wait to get started!

We have another district session tonight (and hopefully another guest blogger or two) and then I will share the data that we have been sharing in our sessions.  I promise it is worth the wait.

Common Ground - Day 2 and 10 Reflections

Can I just say that I had a great time at my first Common Ground?  Day 2 had just as many wonderful presenters as Day 1. However, it did seem that attendance was lighter and attendees at sessions kept getting scarcer as the day wore on.

I started my sessions with Wole Moses from Microsoft and his presentation "Hacking the Classroom" where he was discussing Office365 and many of the applications available to educators in Maryland.  I am very excited to explore Mix more closely.  I think this may change the future of sub plans!  I really appreciated the fact that is was NOT a sales pitch but a discussion of what we already have.  I wish the setting had been a bit more intimate.

Moving on to BCPS' own Jen Weaver and her "Great Infographic Challenge".  I have to say that Jen makes everything seem so attainable.  She is so positive and delightful.  I am already thinking of how to create a library infographic to display. Jen may be getting some S.O.S. emails from me in the future.

(On a side note:  Someone took the little Lego people that were on display at the Office of Digital Learning's Poster session.  They were Jen's personal ones from when she was a kid and she was hoping to share them with her daughter.  If you have any knowledge of their whereabouts, because I am sure it was an honest mistake, please send them home.  You can send them to me and I will get them to her.  My school address is Edgemere Elementary 7210 North Point Rd, Baltimore, MD 21219)

Kelly and I met during the next session to do some last minute prep for our presentation but I was able to sneak into last part the SAMR Smackdown session presented by 4 representatives from the Office of Digital Learning in BCPS!  The room was packed and the discussion was LIVELY!

Then it was time for Kelly and I to get to work and start our presentation.  But would anyone even still be there?

YES!  There were people there and they weren't just friends from BCPS who stuck it out until the bitter end of the day to support us but real live other people, who didn't even know us, but came to hear what we had to say! WOO HOO!  I wanted to go hug every one of their little necks and say thank you.

Kelly and I did our presentation and I admit, nerves ruled the day and I forgot to say some things I wanted to share.  I forgot to say that my kids love this as much as I do.  I forgot to say that we have lots of sub categories. I forgot to say that I love my job.  I hope the attendees got that point.  I hope they read the blog and see all the stuff I missed and I hope they ask some questions on the blog or through Today's Meet. I appreciate the people who took the time to stay and talk and ask questions and reach out.  I am glad that a dialogue was started for others. I saw smiling faces and nodding heads and that is always a good sign. 

Now that it is done and over with, I am kind of sad that AASL rejected us.  I would have enjoyed the opportunity to present again and tweak it to fit a different audience and to attend that conference.  I am already thinking of what I could do for next year...maybe :-)

And now...TOP 10 REFLECTIONS....

1) BCPS has a WHOLE lot of talent.  We have amazingly fabulously wonderfully talented individuals who are not afraid to push the envelope, try new things and SHARE.  We were well represented and I was proud to be a part of Team BCPS and Office of Digital Learning.

2) BCPS buddies stick together.  We made sure that our poster sessions were attended and our concurrent sessions were attended and that we smiled and said hello. We tweeted about each other and our sessions. That's a big deal when you are feeling like a little guppy swimming in a big goldfish bowl.

3) Always hold your long skirt in one hand as you travel up the escalator lest it get caught and grind the whole thing to a stop while it is full of people on their way to their first session of the day.  (I heard this happened to some poor unsuspecting young thing and they were still talking about it the next day - bless her little heart!)

4) If you ask nicely, the desk clerk at the hotel WILL wait until the elevator door dings and you step in before he laughs at the fact that you were so tired you could not remember your room number and had to get off the elevator and go ask him (even though it was Day 2 of your stay).

5) We all have a little Laid Back Louie and Neurotic Nancy in us just waiting to come out.  Thankfully Kelly and I were laid back and neurotic at opposite times and it worked! 

6) Free Post-its!!!  Yep, I got to feed my addiction one give-away table at a time!

7) Driving the Bay Bridge isn't so bad (except for that scary part where I used the EZPass ONLY lane and ended up traveling in the only eastbound lane open on the westbound span and it was my first time crossing the bridge EVER!)

8) In late April in Ocean City on Wednesday night at @7pm, there is not much open for delivery to your hotel for dinner.  So, when you decide to "stretch your legs" and walk across the parking lot to the nearest bar and grill, it is most likely mostly bar and less grill even though the desk clerk assures you they have take out.  They did.  It was fine.  But one gentleman, bless his heart, did ask me my name after introducing me to his wife and then asked if I was there for Spring Bike Week and when I told him that I was there for a conference and that I was an elementary school librarian, he looked at me and declared I did not look like a librarian.  I wonder, does that mean I look like a biker? Are khakis the new leather?  Have flats replaced boots? Am I in need of a librarian makeover???? Although I did find this on the web so maybe this is something to consider for next year....

9)  Now I want more!  I want to go to ISTE.  I want to go to MASL.  I want to go to AASL.  I want to soak up these amazing ideas and bring them back to my little corner of the world and give them to my kiddos and my staff and my library friends.  So if you know of any funding opportunities, send them my way(or pack me in your suitcase).  I promise to share what I learn :-)

10) My little library pond has some new idea stones sitting on the edge of it.as a result of attending Common Ground.  I can't wait to see the ripples they make when I start to pick them up and toss them in!