The Calm Before The Storm

Tomorrow is the BIG day.  We begin to genrefication of the nonfiction section.  I must be honest and say that I am STRESSED.  It seems like an awfully large project to accomplish in 2 days. 

After an early closing Wednesday, and start to the Thanksgiving Break, I chose to take the long weekend and recharge with my family.  Spending time with my son who was home from college, enjoying family and even participating in a bit of retail therapy.  But now it is time for a reality check with a full inbox and a plan for the next 2 days.  I began shifting some books last week in hopes of getting a jump start on moving the titles in my nonfiction section.  Let's just say there is still much to do.

But, lest I get too overwhelmed with the tough stuff, first some statistics!  I ran a Collection Circulation Report for 11/18/14-11/26/14 (the first week of the new genrefied Fiction section) and 425 Fiction books were checked out.  I compared that to the same time period for the year before (I checked and Thanksgiving was on the 28th last year) and 251 Fiction books were checked out in that same time period.  That is an almost 60% increase in book check outs for the same time frame.  I realize there is a novelty factor that is occurring but I will take it!

So this is the plan for my upcoming week:
Monday - Work AM, work with Chimere in PM to ready for the crew coming in from 4-7pm (thanks to my principal graciously allowing me to get a 1/2 day sub), present at Faculty Meeting at 4pm, work with crew until 7pm.
Tuesday - Pray for cooperating weather so I can teach all day and work with the crew to finish (hopefully) the nonfiction section.
Wednesday- Area Superintendent visits and I am sure she will be stopping by to see the changes so I better be ready! Afternoon attend Professional Development session
Thursday and Friday - Capture student reactions to the change.

For those of you keeping up, here's the REVISED revised timeline from this post:

1) Create classification headings for the FICTION section of the library based upon the interests of my students and DESTINY classifications.
2) Work with the library office to design spine labels that include a graphic and word for each section. A matching larger sign will be created to be displayed above sections.
3) Complete Fiction section re-do by Friday, November 14th. Just in time for American Education Week!
4) Create classification headings for the NONFICTION section of the library by Friday the 21st!
5) See #2
6)Complete the NONFICTION section re-do by December 3rd. That's right!  Just 2 short days!!!!!
7) Remember to run circulation reports and statistics before during and after the process.
8) Document, in pictures, the transformation.
9) Document, via this brand new blog, the transformation highs and lows.
10) Complete Common Ground proposal before December 21st.
11) Update library wiki (Ok, let's be honest, CREATE library wiki)12) BREATHE!
13) Finish the signage for the Fiction section.

Wish us luck.  Photos and reflections to follow but probably not until Wednesday!

Tools of the Trade

This is a short week due to Thanksgiving.  That means just 3 short workdays of 6.5 hours each minus classes to teach equals AARRGGGHHH! Being the Type A, always need a plan, kinda gal means that this is freaking me out a bit. (OK- a WHOLE lot!)

So I gathered up my "tools" to plan an attack on the project today.

Tape, my beloved Post-Its, tape measure, pens, paper and markers - a genrefication go-to kit!

I know what you are thinking - she's finally gone over the edge.  But there is a method to my madness.  The shelves in my library are not all same sized.  Depending upon their location, they range from @25 inches wide to over 50 inches wide.  Enter the tape measure.  I needed a rough idea of how much shelf space each category would require.  This meant physically walking around and measuring the existing real estate being occupied by books in different categories.  Armed with these numbers, I began to write the new categories on Post-It notes so I could start labeling the shelves and working out the anticipated amount of space each category would need.

Initially I followed the layout of the library; aligned as closely as possible to the Dewey classifications. And then, I had an epiphany!  I was not bound by this any longer.  I was free to organize as I saw fit. 

First round of organization was trying to create a logical "flow".  But when I sat back and looked at it, I realized I was not really meeting the needs of my students and of myself as a librarian.  Back to the proverbial drawing board.  I had a really hard talk with myself and dug deep to find out what I wanted to achieve.  Here's my answer:

1) I want to incorporate relevant biographies and poetry into each category.  Looking for a wild animal book and you might pick up a biography of Jane Goodall or a book of poems about elephants.  How about finding a biography of Neil Armstrong with the Space books?  Could be life changing for some student.

2) I wanted to separate "high traffic" areas to create better flow and visibility of under utilized sections of the library.

3) I wanted to put frequently accessed topics within a quick visual range to be able to assist the youngest patrons.

So I pulled off the Post-Its and repositioned them yet again.  Tiresome?  Yes.  Worth it?  Yes. I feel like I have a loosely planned idea of how many shelves each category will need and how I want them positioned.

I also took the opportunity after school today to quickly peruse the poetry section and pull books that I wanted to include in other categories and relocate them to that category.  I also did a very quick perusal of the biographies to pull any immediately obvious connections (like sports biographies) and relocate those.

I know I have only scratched the surface of what needs to be done in preparation for Monday's start to the genrefication of the nonfiction section.  So incredibly thankful that I have Kelly, Chimere and Fran working on labels and ordering and printing. 

Tomorrow's goal is to look at the layout again with fresh eyes and see if it still feels "right".  I might even ask a few students what they think. 

But for now, I am one tired librarian!

From the Mouths of Students

As much as I had hoped to interact with the students more during this first week of our new "genrefied" Fiction section, the reality was American Education Week was a deterrent to this.  Lots of parents and grandparents were really curious about the curriculum being taught (If I had a nickel for every "Wow, this sure is different than when I was in school" and "I need to come learn these lessons") and the changes occurring in the library.  And, fortunate that I am, many were parents of my former Kindergarten students who are always so gracious and kind and want to update me about the progress of the children in their family. I also got some wonderful feedback about our first ever Pumpkin Decorating Contest. 

So what is a librarian to do when she can't be everywhere at once to capture authentic reactions?  Answer: Flipcam   After the second day, it finally dawned on me that I needed to "solve the problem-get creative" as I tell my students all the time! We have a Flipcam.  My students know how to use a Flipcam.  (Technology working for me instead of against me for once this past week.)  I simply announced that during book check out a Filpcam would be available, on the circulation desk, for anyone who would like to leave a message for the library office about the reorganization of the Fiction section.  It could be positive or negative but they had to support their response.  About 30 students decided to take the challenge.  Since I am not posting all 30, you just need to take my word when I say that there were no negatives.  Unfortunately, the sound quality was not good on many and, as expected, there were some very silly students who just wanted to play around.  (I would not have expected otherwise.)  The clips below are a fair representation of what was recorded.  Take a listen.

(For the record, that is NOT a new book!)

 

Encouraging and energizing and just what I need to face the shortened Thanksgiving school week with my overly large To-Do list.

 

Tonight's task, after updating the blog, is to tackle the many emails hardworking Kelly has been sending today.  I really do appreciate sharing the load with the library office.  Two short weeks until the next transformation.

 

 

What's the BEST Way To End American Education Week?

It's been a LONG week of parent visitation, technology curses and cold bus duty but this picture shows exactly why all that disappears:

 

 

This 4th grader has been following me around the library for WEEKS asking for this book and for WEEKS I have been telling him it has been checked out.  Today it was finally returned and I snagged it before it could be checked out.  I called him down this afternoon during my planning and said, "I know you think I wasn't listening to you but I was and I have something for you." Then I handed the book over to him.  He was so excited that he jumped up and down and did a dance.  Then he looked at me and said, "You really did listen.  You're the best!" 

 

I saw him (and another student from his class) a short time afterward and the girl commented, "He was so excited about that book that he danced around his chair in the classroom and showed it to everyone."

 

Yep!  That is definitely a great end to American Education Week.  #winninglibrarian

 



They Like It!

Take a look at the swarm of students in part the newly arranged Fiction section.  This was a spontaneous moment.  I promise!  I just got one picture snapped because it is American Education Week after all!  Can't wait to see what the rest of this week's classes think.

58 and Counting!

The time crunch is looming so I spent my planning today condensing the student suggested categories into one cohesive list.  I took their categories (some of which were really interesting) and my rough list and combined those.

Tonight I sat down and typed the list and we are at 58 categories (so far)!  I've emailed the list to Fran, Kelly and Chimere to get feedback.  I know there will be more additions but I have looked at it so much that I can't see it any longer.  I'll share the list later when we have finalized it.

2 weeks until the crew comes to transform the Nonfiction.  YIKES!

Nonfiction and New Learning

First,  thank you to my fellow LMS who have reached out via email to show some love for the project.  That makes this endeavor all the more exciting.

Now, as promised, lessons learned.

1) Having the books already placed into genres was a HUGE timesaver.  I had a few middle school students come for 2 afternoons to help with this but I forgot to take their pictures.  Thanks Riley and Kenny!

2) Making a "rough" map of where the genres would end up on the shelves was also a plus.

3) Listening to adults touch a book and spontaneously share a memory about it = priceless.

4) WOW!  It became IMMEDIATELY evident that my Fiction collection was unbalanced.  The Science Fiction and Sports books barely fill 1/3 of a shelf.  This is going to be such a huge asset in purchasing for the future.  The ability to scan a shelf and tell instantly what genres need "beefing up".

5) I removed the baskets that originally sat on the top of the bookcases because it was too cluttered with the signage AND the genres in the bins did not correlate with the signs.  I am still mulling this over and trying to determine if I want to somehow reposition the signs and return the baskets.

6) I reabsorbed the Matt Christopher and American Girl books back into their respective genre collections. 

7) For the series on the series bookcase, I did not add spine labels yet.  I want to see how the students are interacting and, frankly, it will make shelving easier for me right now because anyone helping me will know that no label=series bookcase.  I am sure I will add them in the future but probably not until the nonfiction section is completed.

8) Kelly is investigating the feasibility of having a location field in Destiny to point students to the correct genre location.

Speaking of Nonfiction, we had a meeting Friday afternoon and the timelines from before have changed.  Here's where I stand:

1) Create classification headings for the FICTION section of the library based upon the interests of my students and DESTINY classifications.
2) Work with the library office to design spine labels that include a graphic and word for each section. A matching larger sign will be created to be displayed above sections.
3) Complete Fiction section re-do by Friday, November 14th. Just in time for American Education Week!
4) Create classification headings for the NONFICTION section of the library by Friday the 21st!
5) See #2
6)Complete the NONFICTION section re-do by December 3rd. That's right!  Just 2 short weeks!!!!!
7) Remember to run circulation reports and statistics before during and after the process.
8) Document, in pictures, the transformation.
9) Document, via this brand new blog, the transformation highs and lows.
10) Complete Common Ground proposal before December 1st.
11) Update library wiki (Ok, let's be honest, CREATE library wiki)
12) BREATHE!
13) Finish the signage for the Fiction section.

Piece of cake, right?

Fiction Princess

Remember that movie with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, The Princess Diaries? (I love those predictable feel good movies.)  Today felt a lot like that movie and first date prep all in one!  To refresh you (with thanks to Disney for the images), here's her before:

I had looked at my date's digital footprint (blogs, posts and articles online), planned my outfit (signage and book labels) and had directions to our meeting place (my "map" of the planned shelving areas for the Fiction section).  I was ready and waiting. (It was Elementary Conference Day so there were no classes just families coming in for conferences with teachers- perfect day for this.) So at 8:30am, this is what the Fiction section looked like:

Stacks of books (much like piles of discarded clothes before a date) awaiting labeling and reshelving.  The clock moved ever so slowly as I awaited the "crew" coming to help me.  The thought of leading the charge was daunting.  I wanted someone to tell ME how to make this work.  I wanted direction and instead I was the one who would be giving the direction.

So the helpers (hair and makeup people- if you will!) arrived and we got down to work. (Here's the movie reference again!)

Labels were placed on each book spine.  First problem of the day - where do they go?  Above the spine label or below?  What about the books with Black Eyed Susan stickers?  Uhhh...ummm...Below?  Put it over the sticker? Uhhh..help!  So the stickers go under the label unless there is a Black Eyed Susan sticker.  Then it goes above the spine label.  After the label is affixed, cover it with a clear label protector.

Everybody grab a book and jump in!

 The clear covering (for the labels we created) were "challenging" to remove from the roll at times.

 Note to self: Bigger trashcans needed for Nonfiction!

 

 

Second hiccup of the day: Fantasy and Science Fiction.  If you remember, I was pretty adamant that they be combined.  However, I listened to the rationale for separating them and decided it would be in the students' best interests if they were separated.  After all, that is how it is done in the "real world" libraries.  So now I have a Fantasy section and a Science Fiction Section.

 

Third hiccup:  The 5x7 and 3x5 copies of the labels were missing and the school's color printer was not working.  Not a catastrophe by any stretch of the imagination but disappointing.  It was like not finding the matching earring for the pair you want to wear. 

 

So after all the books were labeled (which surprisingly only took about an hour and a half), it was time to return the books to their new shelves.

         Not too many pictures of this because we were busy!                                                 

 

Throughout this process, curiosity from people passing by was high.  Parents peeked in.  Teachers stopped in for a second.  We kept working.  And, just like in the movie, we have a pretty amazing finished product:

 

 

 

 

Take a peek at our final results,

 

Princess Amelia is all ready for the ball and the Fiction section is all dressed up and ready for the doors to open Monday morning.  I hope the kids like their "date".  I sure do!  I so appreciate the help of Fran, Chimere, Kelly, Ben, Jennifer, Justin and Val.

 

When we were finished, we basked in the "beauty" of it all for a few minutes and switched gears to look ahead at what is happening next - Nonfiction and new learning.  A much larger undertaking to be sure!  More on that in a later post.  Right now, I just want to gaze (in my proverbial mirror) at the loveliness that is my date ready Fiction section fit for a Princess.



"On Pinterest, you read the recipe after you've seen the photo."

The title of this blog comes from one of the presenters on a School Library Journal webinar that I attended on November 4th.  The webinar was entitled "Keeping Libraries Relevant: Using Technology • Understanding Informational Text • Improving Literacy" and the quote from one of the presenters (sorry I don't remember which one!) stuck with me.  The discussion was regarding marketing informational text to students and the importance of the cover of the book.  They referenced a talk by Chip Kidd on NPR "How Do Book Covers Tell Their Own Story" which I immediately looked up online and loved! (I have saved you some time and you can watch it now.  Go ahead.  I'll wait. Warning: Adult content.)




Wouldn't you just love to have dinner with him? I would! (Call me, Mr. Kidd. I'll clear my schedule.) 

At @ the 8 minute mark, he says, "The book designer's responsibility is threefold: to the reader, to the publisher and, most of all, to the author. I want you to look at the author's book and say, "I need to read that.""

That quote resonated with me.  Pardon me for taking liberties but...

The school librarian's responsibility is threefold:  to the school district, to the school and, most of all, to the students.  I want students to look at the school library media center's collection and say, "I want to read that. I NEED to read that."

So, just like Mr. Kidd's book covers reel in readers, my library space needs to reel them in as well. True, as an elementary school librarian, I have a captive audience who is assigned to come to me 50 minutes every week. But I need to entice them to read not only their favorites but something new and something different. I've been exploring not only traditional library sources but also some nonconventional ones as I think about the "global" experience of the library. And, I want to get some teachers in there too! More plans in the works.

 Stay tuned.  You never know what you might see.

Nonfiction Categories - Round Two

How do you find books in the nonfiction section of our library? 
A. Using DESTINY
B. Using the pictures in the library

Hmmm....so if the students are using the "pictures" in the library to help them find books, on one hand I am happy (Way to use the resources around you!) and on the other hand I wonder if those very same signs have influenced the creation of their nonfiction categories. 

So today was an experiment of sorts.  Today, I removed all those signs BEFORE sending them off to create their category lists. 

Did they need them?  No. Did they miss them?  Yes, at first.  I saw them looking and even had a student or two asking about them and heard some chatter but once they got into the groove, their natural discussion kept the categories flowing.

 

                              

                                   

Students used the shelves (and even the nonfiction return cart) to get inspiration and ideas for nonfiction categories. Lots of great thinking!

                                                                  



 

The Place Looks Great (Just Don't Open the Closet)!

True confession time.  If you call me and tell me you are "stopping by" later today, I am going to whip myself into a frenzy of running the vacuum and shoving things in closets that you have no business opening.  I am going to light some candles, wipe the bathroom down and you will be, if not impressed, unaware that the closets are bulging with my hidden stacks of "treasures du jour" AKA mail, school stuff, shoes, purses and other stuff not yet returned to their rightful places. Chances are, being housework phobic, those treasures will stay there until the next big cleaning spree or remodeling bug that hits.

If you walk into my library, you will see a wonderful space that looks awesome.  I work hard to make it inviting and colorful and library-ish but not in a stuffy way.  Neat stacks, labeled shelves, signage and shelf markers galore help to make this happen!  My library makes me proud.

But today I humble myself and shake my head and throw open my library's proverbial closet.  The closet that has not been touched for a while.  SIGH! 

In the past, I have "casually" weeded the Fiction section.  That cover looks old.  That one is torn.  What is THAT book? Nothing too strenuous as I know my Fiction section needs to be beefed up but I have been focusing on my Nonfiction and trying to get it more current.  I also have been buying Fiction ebooks.  With the upcoming genrefication of the Fiction section this Friday, a good hearty weeding was long overdue.  So I printed an aged titles list, grabbed an empty cart and went shelf by shelf.  Let's just say one cart was a laugh.  There were way too many oldies hanging out on my shelves.  I promised to be honest as I wrote this blog so, ugh, here goes.  Take a look.  It isn't pretty.

Yes this is a card pocket in the back of the book.  I didn't even learn about these in grad school.  I just remember them from my own childhood.

And these are just SOME of the cards.  Let's take a closer look shall we?

              
That's right ladies and gentlemen!  You are NOT seeing things.  Some of these cards are stamped in the 1970's and 80's. In reality, had I attended this elementary school, my name could be written on some of these! YIKES! Go ahead.  Add my name to the Librarian Wall of Shame.  I'll wait while you write it up there in (hopefully) non-permanent ink.

Just to be clear, these are not beloved classic books like L.Frank Baum's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" or Marguerite Henry's "King of the Wind" or even Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary books.  These are bell bottomed, rotary phone dialing, station wagon riding books.  In many cases, it has been so long since the book has been checked out that the last patron's name isn't even listed in our library automation system. 

My closets are clean now and ready for reorganization and sprucing up.  Join with me in pledging to not let this happen again. 

Once you hit submit, there's no turning back!

I did it!  With proverbial knees quaking, I hit submit on my first AASL Presentation Proposal. I have mixed emotions about this.  On one hand, how cool to share what is happening in my school in the southeast corner of Baltimore County with librarians across the United States.  On the other hand, how frightening to share what is happening in my school in the southeast corner of Baltimore County with librarians across the United States.

Kelly was a wonderful help in crafting the proposal.  I wouldn't have known where to begin without her.  I've roped Kelly and Chimere into being co-presenters.  There is no way I am doing this alone!

And honestly, there is about 1/100th of a chance of being selected.  I am pretty sure the knee knocking is all for naught.  But, on the off chance we do get selected, YIKES! 

But out of my mind it goes as I have lots to do.  Next Friday is the reorganization of the Fiction Section--WOO HOO!

The Bright Side of Being Sick

I'm sick.  I was sick on Sunday and visited ExpressCare, dragged my hoarse sore-throated self into work on Monday because it was only a half day and I was presenting at an afternoon staff development.  Yesterday was a rest day because of the Election Day and last night was a long night of lots of coughing and little sleeping.  So, like all teachers dreading sub plans, I went to work for a half day today before heading back to the doctor. The verdict - bronchitis. That means no school for me tomorrow and more sub plans to write. :-(

But there is a bright side. I have NO voice.  None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.  This is great for the hubby but not so great for teaching...or is it?  I created a very simple PowerPoint to introduce my students to the switch to a genrefied library. This morning my schedule was a 4th grade class followed by a 5th grade class and then planning before I left for the day.  I picked a "teacher" for each class to read the slides and lead the discussion  before they headed off to make category lists for the nonfiction section.  It was eye opening to hear the discussion. When they landed on the slide that said, "Is it easier to locate a book at the bookstore or in the school library?  Why?"  They began with saying what they perceived to be the "right" answers- school because we are here each week and know where everything is, school because we can use Destiny, school because you can help us.  Then one brave soul said bookstore because they have all these labels with genres and categories and I can just go where I think the book I want is and start there.  Others began nodding their head and piggybacking on that statement but saying they could just look at the books in that section, the sections are close to one another, they could look independently because their mom would know what section they were in.  Suddenly, the shift was to bookstore.  And I just sat there, off to the side, not saying one thing during this whole discussion that they were having.  I just sipped my tea and avoided eye contact so as not to taint the conversation.

They moved on to the slide telling them that they would be creating categories for the nonfiction section to be reorganized.  No enthusiasm whatsoever until I eeked out enough voice to tell them that this, in fact, was REALLY happening, that we were the first school in the county to do this and it was happening SOON!  This was not just another scenario being given to them but a real life challenge.  Oh the buzz that occurred then.

I passed out markers, chart paper and waved them off with little to no instruction.  The results were AMAZING.  (I will show those in a later post as I did not take photos before I left.)

Here's some photos of the kiddos hard at work.

So the bright side of being sick today - I didn't have to "sell" anything and they stopped trying to guess the "right" answer and started a genuine conversation.  WIN! WIN!

It's Election Day!

Did you get your sticker today?  Did you vote?  I did!  It's such an important right that we have and, even if my candidate isn't the winning one, I feel like I had input and I made a difference.  I think my students are going to need to feel like they had a say in this reorganization of our library.  I need to make sure that THEIR voice is heard and appreciated.  After all, this is their library too! 

Yesterday the emails were flying as I realized that I only had 11 days to get my space prepped and ready for the shift to genrefication in the fiction section of the library.  I am blessed to have autonomy in this process, to have my decisions supported and to have resources made available to me. I am also blessed to have suggestions, questions and the opportunity to "defend" my choices and flesh out my thinking.

The Fiction Categories have been chosen!  They are:

Action/Adventure
Humorous Fiction
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Sports Fiction
Just Like Me
Graphic Novels

Chimere and I had discussions about the combination of Science Fiction (one of her favorite genres) and Fantasy.  The two are closely related and my rationale, for combining them, is that having these books all together in one place will expose readers to both genres and an expanded set of books that fall in the categories. 

Fran mentioned a category "Just Like Me" and originally I thought, "what?!" but the more I think about it, the more I like it.  I like the approachability of "Just Like Me" versus Realistic Fiction.  I perceive this category being contemporary Realistic Fiction. 

I've printed reports from Titlewave showing my Collection Statistics and aged titles in my Fiction section.  I've also begun to curate Resource Lists in Destiny, using MARC record fields, to have a starting point for classifying the books in the Fiction section.

Reports, reports and more reports!



If you look at the photos of my library, you will see that many popular fiction titles are already housed in the Series section or in baskets for quick and easy access.  I am considering moving some of these back into the new "genrefied" fiction sections to expose students to other similar titles.  I am still thinking on this although I need to speed up my thinking as this big shift is occurring in just 10 days!

As all this is occurring, at the beginning of this post I mentioned having the students give input into categories for the nonfiction section.  Since this is a shortened week, due to a half day Professional Development on Monday and closed for Election Day today, I am going to have the 3rd through 5th grade classes for the rest of this week break into groups and create lists of categories they would like to see in the nonfiction section.  By introducing the concept of genrefication and sharing the process of transformation for out library in the upcoming months, I hope to ease any anxiety some may have about where their "favorite" book is now residing in the library. :-)  Don't worry, the Titanic book will still be there!

My plan is to break the classes into 5 groups and allow them to generate categories they would use, in their kid friendly language, and that they think others might be interested in using. Then I want to look at the categories that consistently appear across classes and grade levels and compare them to the categories floating around in my head and on the many pieces of paper that I write notes upon.  (I admit it!  I am a Post-It Junkie!  The more the merrier and the more colorful and quirky the better.)

Getting this input from students is something for the PLUS side of doing a mid-year shift. 

Photos Posted

Check out "before" photos here to see the state of the library before beginning the "genrefication" process.

It's All About History Changing the Future

Before I get too much further in this, I feel like it might help to have a little history lesson (or a lengthy one). I have been teaching for 19 years. I taught 3rd grade and kindergarten for the first 15 years of my career and have spent the remaining time in an elementary school library.

I became a National Board Certified Teacher (ECE GENERALIST) 10 years ago while teaching kindergarten. (I can say that because I have about 13 more days until my certification expires. If you ever have the opportunity to do this, SEIZE IT! It will make you focus on what really matters as an educator and bring to the forefront all the natural things we do that are so impactful.) I participated in a library cohort partnership between my school system and Towson University and received a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology with a concentration in School Library Media. Did I grow up and enter the teaching profession to become a librarian? NO. I really thought I would be a classroom teacher until the day I retired. But as I went through the cohort (chosen for its' reduced cost for educators, speed of classes and my love of reading-honesty always!), I came to realize that the little girl who LOVED going to the library might make a pretty good librarian. I admit it. I once had a high school boyfriend comment to me that I was the only person he knew who actually went to the library when they told their parents that was where they were going. As an adult, I embrace that geekiness and still can be found at the public library more than your Average Joe! After all, being an elementary school librarian is just classroom teacher but with more kids and more books! I have a curriculum to teach. I give grades. I have parent interactions and Student Learning Outcomes and Yearly Goals. I take attendance and monitor behaviors just like classroom teachers. I participate in school-wide testing and all professional development. The differences are that I also get to order books, read books, shelve books, manage technology and teach EVERY student in the school (yes- even my favorite Pre-K kiddos)and work with a fabulous outside support system in the library office.

Speaking of support system, now would be a good time to introduce them. In my district, Library Media falls under the Department of Digital Learning. My supervisor, Fran Glick, is an amazing agent of change in heels. Her fearless right hand ladies are resource teachers Kelly Ray and Chimere Charles. Together they assist new (and seasoned) librarians, coordinate professional development and keep abreast of every "hot off the presses" bits of information that one would need.

This past summer 2014, I had the opportunity to work with a small group of librarians and interns to completely rewrite and revamp the library media curriculum to fit the changing needs of 21st Century Learners and our district switch to 1 to 1 computing for students. It was an energizing July to work in such close proximity with such talented and learned librarians. Because our district primarily has 1 librarian per school, the opportunities to network and really delve deep into discussion about lessons is limited. This curriculum writing experience left us all excited about teaching in the new school year.

During a pop in visit, Fran had an impromptu discussion with us regarding a session she attended featuring Jennifer LaGarde AKA Library Girl! The concept of Zombie Librarians was amusing to me but I had work to do and half listened until I heard her say she really wanted some brave soul to step up and un-Dewey their library. It took about 5 seconds for me to say "I'll do it!" and her to say, "Really?" and me to say, "Yeah! I've been reading about this and would LOVE to make it happen." It took about an hour after Fran left for my fellow librarians to look at me like I had grown an external brain and question if I really meant it when I said I would rearrange my library and to ask why would I even consider doing this. It took about 5 hours for me to stop and look myself in the mirror and say, "Are you crazy? Do you know how much work this is going to be? Your library is finally in great shape. Other teachers envy your space. Why mess with the status quo?" But in true Bixby fashion, I leaped! 

I continued to read blogs, research best practices and discover all I could. My haphazard research produced just as many questions as answers. The Dewey Defenders were loud and many. They have very valid points to their arguments for keeping Dewey. But something inside of me kept saying, "This is the future and, more importantly, this is good for MY kids." How do I know? Because NEVER have I had a student say, "Where is the 904 section of the library?" but I have plenty of students say, "Where are the Titanic books?" And the frustration I feel when a student asks where the mystery books are and I have to say, "They are everywhere. What kind of mystery book would you like?" and they look at me blankly and say, "A mystery book" and I completely feel their pain at our inability to speak the same language. They don't know what mystery book they want (historical, sci-fi, contemporary) and neither do I. Yes, a good librarian in an utopian setting, engages in discussion to tease out the subtleties of their interest to find the perfect piece of literature. A good librarian in an elementary school setting with less than 10 minutes (on average) for book check out can not do this for 25 individual students. This good librarian is frustrated by that and believes that having a mystery section will allow them to find their best book independently and allow time for the librarian to interact with students who aren't quite sure what they want to check out that day.  This good librarian also believes that the student will meet likeminded mystery loving fans in the mystery section and organic conversation will occur about books they have read, enjoyed and recommend to one another or, if the stars align, I will have time to actually walk to that section and address many students, looking for mysteries, in one productive conversation.

 Am I putting all my eggs in one basket? Yep.  I might end up with broken eggs or I might end up with beautiful pysanky eggs.


I am SO ready to do this that I made it my teacher goal for this year. My goal is that by ditching Dewey there will be an increase in circulation (specifically in low circulating categories). My reasoning is that the students will experience a greater ease in finding materials and be exposed to other complimentary materials, in their areas of interest, that they may not have considered reading previously.

I keep harkening back to The Five Laws of Library Science by S.R.Ranganathan:
These laws are:

1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his [or her] book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

Fast forward to Halloween afternoon. Students are gone after the half day early dismissal and Fran, Kelly and Chimere come to the library to meet with me. I thought I was prepared but the discussion generated so many additional to-do's and questions. Initially, I thought I would just ditch Dewey in the nonfiction section. But after discussion, I am going all in (sort of). We will be ditching Dewey in the fiction and nonfiction sections but NOT the everybody section. I think it is important that my youngest patrons have the opportunity to use their alphabet skills in the library (that is the kindergarten teacher in me!). I also feel that the themes are so wide and varied, in picture books and early readers, that trying to classify them by genre would create more difficulty locating texts which is counterintuitive to the reasons for doing this. Additionally, I will not integrate the fiction and nonfiction sections. Out of our meeting came the following goals and timelines:

1) Create classification headings for the FICTION section of the library based upon the interests of my students and DESTINY classifications.
2) Work with the library office to design spine labels that include a graphic and word for each section. A matching larger sign will be created to be displayed above sections.
3) Complete Fiction section re-do by Friday, November 14th. Just in time for American Education Week!
4) Create classification headings for the NONFICTION section of the library.
5) See #2
6)Complete the NONFICTION section re-do by December 12th.
7) Remember to run circulation reports and statistics before during and after the process.
8) Document, in pictures, the transformation.
9) Document, via this brand new blog, the transformation highs and lows.
10) Submit presentation proposals for various events (This is Fran's idea and frankly it frightens me more than changing the library.)

All that in a month and a half with no weekend access?  Should be doable, right?