Right On Time

Today has been one of those days with repeated bits of good news.  And it came right on time as I needed some positives. 

#1 - The HUGE OPAC station that I used to have in my library has finally (after months and months of the task being pushed from department to department) been removed from the library and transferred to its' new home in a middle school.  So happy to see it go!

#2 - My book order has shipped!!  That means the new books will be here later this week and I can not wait! 

#3 - I received an email confirmation that I was selected to co-present at Common Ground.  (Not sure if this makes me feel ill or excited.)  Such a cool thing to be selected.

#4 - My 2nd grade is writing Fractured Fairy Tales and I am giggling at what they have created.  I can't wait to get them typed and displayed and shared electronically.  They are really cute.

Staff Development

Let me just start by saying I really like staff development days.  It's not the endless amounts of information presented, the newest job expectations or the data.  I can hear the minds twirling and whirling.  If that is not what makes her like staff development, then what could it possibly be that makes her so happy?  Well, await in suspense no longer.  I like staff development because I like spending time with other librarians in my county.  Such a diverse group they are with varying levels of experience, expectations and plans. I can't help but walk away from each of these meetings with something new and exciting and AHA! in my brain. Many times this comes from the people sitting near me and not the presenters (Not to knock presenters as they provide valuable information but oftentimes that kernel from "in the trenches" makes all the difference.)

Yesterday's staff development day was one of those days I like so much.  We gathered at the public library closest to our school and learned about their programs and resources that can compliment our curriculum.  Our school system is really developing a strong partnership with the public library and so many of their programs compliment our curriculum and educator needs.

Another bonus was that I go to see the other librarians in my area.  We were able to share.  I was approached by several more librarians who want to arrange a visit to see our gentrified library. How exciting!

Guest Blogger - Cindy Sexton

Yesterday I had a visitor!  Isn't it nice when you have the opportunity to talk with and share with your peers? I had such a nice visit.  It can get lonely being the only LMS in a building.  Anyway, as promised, here is Cindy's guest blog post.  Thanks again Cindy!

When I heard that Sandy had ‘un-Deweyed’ Edgemere’s library my mind was kind of boggled. Who doesn’t have their library in Dewey order? (Other than Library of Congress, what other system is there?) I mean, even when I went to Greece two summers ago I visited their National Library and spoke with the librarians there about how they catalog books and they use Dewey!

I had tons of questions for Sandy. Who picked the categories? How are books in Destiny? Do you mix fiction and nonfiction subjects together? What about books that have two main subjects? How did you decide where to put them? How do students know where to look for them? What are the positives? What are the negatives? I knew I had to see the library and talk to Sandy. So we found a day and I went to explore the library and ask my questions.

I had some time to walk around the library while Sandy did bus duty. I looked at the categories within the fiction and nonfiction sections. I looked at categories within categories. I feel like most of the nonfiction generally followed Dewey guidelines but with some awesome exceptions (space books with books about space shuttles and also biographies about astronauts – genius!). I asked Sandy how students found the books and she explained how she taught it to the students. It really seems like an awesome system and one that would definitively get some of those books that are never borrowed, out in the open and into the hands of students.  Sandy shared that even the teachers are now more aware of the books in her collection. (We can tell them about the books, show them how to use Destiny, pitch our books, the databases, the ebooks...but it seems that Sandy’s new system really let teachers see what is there). Sandy also shared how seeing the books in these new categories (supernatural, for example, let her realize just by looking at the shelves where she needed to focus when ordering books). Genius!

I left with the idea that I need to try this with my fiction section to start. I personally love fiction books and feel as though that area is under utilized in my library. So many times students will ask me ‘Where are the mystery books?’ and I will tell them to do a Destiny search for ‘mystery’ and we’ll locate the authors etc etc. (Put your own subject in there, we all have those topics that students just can’t get enough of!) Sandy’s un-Deweying puts these kinds of common subjects together allowing students to peruse the titles and then select ones that are most appealing. After a thorough weeding I plan to begin to make this change in the library at Villa Cresta. I can’t believe it will be anything but successful. My kudos to Sandy for undertaking this huge task –it is clearly what is best for students. Also, many thanks Sandy for sharing your insights and your time.

Company's Coming!

Tomorrow we have Academic Night and one of the stops is in the library.  This will be the first time that many parents will see our new "bookstore" model.  I am anxious to get their impressions.  I am also going to be joined by our partner library from the public library system.  Good times!

I also have another librarian in my school system who has requested to come and see the new configuration.  As an added bonus, she is going to be a guest blogger!  So look for Cindy's reflections in an upcoming post.

I am off to do some tidying up before company ( and our early dismissal for upcoming snow) comes. 

Hello, My name is Sandy and I am...

Today I have the pleasure of going to a graduation luncheon for a very special person - my cousin Michelle.  Michelle and I are both first generation college graduates on both our paternal and maternal sides.  We are both educators.  In fact Michelle and I both have Early Childhood Education degrees and both had our first teaching assignments at the same school (not at the same time since she is 16 yrs younger than I am).  Now Michelle is graduating with a Masters Degree in Special Education.  So proud of her.  It takes a very special person to become a special educator.



I know that today I will encounter some workmates and friends of hers that I have not previously met.  And, as in all situations of this sort, I will have to answer the question, "So what do you do?"  It's the standard party question to break the ice.

My answer does not satisfy me.  I usually say, "I teach in an elementary school." To which, the new person usually smiles and says, "That's great!  What grade do you teach?"  And here's where it gets weird! My usual reply is this, "I used to teach third grade and then I was a kindergarten teacher for 10 years but now I am a librarian and I teach all the students."  It's not a bad reply but it always makes me feel like I am apologizing for being a librarian and I don't want to apologize for my position.

The problem is that most people don't know that a librarian is a SUPER-EDUCATOR!  When I transitioned from my kindergarten class to school librarian, my own mother asked, "So why don't you want to be a teacher any more?"  HELLO - MY OWN MOTHER!!!  (Let's just say, she learned.)

Most people, especially non-educators, have no idea what a school librarian does.  Their perception is that I am a nice lady who reads books to kids and helps them check out new books and puts books away.  They aren't entirely wrong but they also aren't correct.

I don't want to be a one-woman crusade to educate everyone I meet.  (Always remember the time and place for any discussion.)  But I do want people to know I am proud of my job.  It's a HARD job and a rewarding job and, honestly, more than a job.  I teach everyone and I have to get it all done in 50 minutes once a week.  I help teachers and administrators learn new technology and discover new resources.  I am a lot more than just the keeper of books. 

So today, when asked what I do, I think I am going to reply, "I'm a classroom teacher on steroids. I am a school librarian- that means I get to teach my curriculum to every student in the building and I get to use the latest technology to do it" of maybe I will just get flip and say, "I am human Google." :-)

And on an unrelated P.S. note, Common Ground postponed notifications until 1/23 so stay tuned.

Collection Reflections

I just hit submit and sent in my order for new books!  So thrilling!  So exciting!  So scary!  While I get mucho mucho mucho input from my kiddos, I still buy many items that I think they will like and that I want to introduce them to and that is a risk.  You just never know if they will connect with the book as you hope. 

 

 

I feel that collection development becomes, to some extent,  a reflection of the librarian in charge. So many factors play into the books that are chosen for any given library.

 

My collection was passed on to me by a wonderfully talented and amazing librarian and all around great lady - Jane Amtmann.  I used to joke and tell Jane that I wanted to be her when I grew up.  Jane knew her collection.  I mean really KNEW her collection.  She could point to where a book would be, suggest another book you may never have thought of and knew the Dewey Decimal System blindfolded.  She never left the building without her circulation desk being cleared.  In addition to that, she was well traveled.  She was also a member of the Maryland Black Eyed Susan book selection committee for many years.  This is our state book award.  Jane loved (and probably still does) books. 

 

When it became obvious (to Jane, my principal and I) that Jane would be retiring midyear, she was gracious enough to share with me her way of doing things without ever making me feel as if changing anything she had in place would be a big no-no.  She shared the hows and whys of the way she set up the library and the procedures she had put into place.  It was much like being a student teacher again.  Having a safety net already in place meant flying solo wasn't so scary.  I also was blessed to move from a classroom to the library within the same school.  This meant many of the students in the upper grades were former students of mine and it was exciting to see how they had grown since kindergarten. 

 

But just like getting your own classroom, getting your own library means putting part of you into the space.  While you share it with students and faculty, it is still the librarian's domain and the content within is curated and maintained by the librarian.  The buck stops here so to speak. So I did make some changes in the remaining months in which I was the librarian.  Happily, when Jane visited at the end of the year, she was gracious in her praise.

 

Each librarian has their own approach to building a collection and no two collections are the same.  Imagine if you will, a row of brand new townhomes all built to spec.  On paper, the dimensions and shapes and structures are the same.  But when you walk in the door, you see the personalities of those who live there.  Different colored walls, floor coverings and even the use of each space within the home.    Each librarian's collection is based on standards for collection development as dictated by their school system and national standards.  But they are also based upon the librarian's personality and, in the hands of a skilled librarian, the personalities of the population they serve.

 

Jane loved Black Eyed Susan books.  She purchased many copies of each year's offerings to ensure that students had an opportunity to read them.  Her collection was arranged to reflect how she circulated books (particularly to her youngest patrons).  I have been in libraries where collections were dominated by Everybody books.  I have also been in libraries where there seemed to be no more space available on any shelf in the Nonfiction section.  Clearly, these libraries reflected the personalities of the librarians. 

 

So as I sat to order my books for this year, just like in previous years, I factored in many things.

 

1) What did my students say THEY wanted to read about?  What books and authors did they think were missing from our collection?

 

2) What books did teachers ask for throughout the year?

 

3) What books were in my new curriculum that were missing from my collection?

 

4) What were the deficits showing in my Titlewave analysis?

 

5) What books were on the "best books" lists that always circulate at the end of the calendar year?

 

But this year, I also had a secret weapon.  I had my genrefied library!  SCORE!  How easy it was to look at a shelf and see that ALL the jokes books were, yet again, checked out.  Additional joke books ordered - check!  I could quickly move about the library in the Fiction and Nonfiction sections and note the shelves that were looking lean, see what books were being checked out ALOT and what sections had books that still weren't moving despite my merchandising and the genrefication.  That told me that the books in that section were not appealing in some manner.  Those very same books may be a hit in a library just down the beltway.  But for my students, the interest is not sparked.

 

Finally, I order thinking about certain students.  I think about that student that LOVES Stella Batts.  Did I get the latest book for her?  And those boys who check out military books EVERY week.  Did I order some new books for them to keep them reading?  Can I find some military fiction appropriate for my students?  I've noticed an upswing in checkouts in the mystery fiction section.  What can I get for that section?

 

I also have to think about quality literature vs. what kids want to read.  Those two things are not mutually exclusive. There are many wonderful books that have stood the test of time and that students still fall in love with on a daily basis.  It thrills my little reader heart when I see a child fall in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder's books because those books hold such a special place in my life and I have such fond memories of reading them as a child.  But I would argue that Captain Underpants is just as important to some child and that one day, some of my students will grow up and tell their children that they remember reading Captain Underpants when they were in elementary school.  For the record, LOVE Captain Underpants because he makes reluctant readers into happy readers.

 

I was a member of a book award selection committee comprised of school librarians and public librarians.  What an eye opening experience!  I felt like, to some extent, we were speaking two different languages.  It took one meeting where someone said, "Is our goal "quality" literature or literature that will make kids want to be readers?"  That was the main crux of our dissention.  The school librarians wanted kids to READ.  We wanted them to read anything and everything.  So we voted for books like Who's Butt? by Stan Tekiela.  Why?  Because it says "butt" in the title, has amazing photographs, easy text and facts about each unusual animal as well as insight into being a wildlife photographer. 

 

I also realize that I have a lot of power as a librarian.  Book talking a book can make it zoom off the shelf.  But if it isn't truly appealing, it won't leave the shelf again after the first round of checkouts.  I have to make sure I am buying for them.  What they will read and what they don't even know they want to read yet.  And as they say, you win some and you lose some.  I have some books I was SURE kids would love and they fell flat. 

 

So I have pushed send on my order and I, and the students, will await the big white boxes of books hoping that I have more hits than misses. Waiting is so hard.....

 

 

 





How To Beat the Winter Doldrums

This past week we had a snow day and even delayed openings and it was only the first week back after Winter Break.  Everything looked crisp and bright.  But now, the gray has kicked in.  The slushy dirty icky snow is pushed to the side.  The brown "grass" is poking through and the weatherman keeps delivering news of cold and potentially an upcoming ice event.  The sad abandoned Christmas trees are by the curbs awaiting pick up from the sanitation department. And, for me the worst, my kiddo has returned to college.  Perhaps you have seen this gem floating around on Pinterest and Facebook:



So, here I am.  Sad, cold and alone with my computer writing this uplifting (note the sarcasm) blog post.  I checked my email and did not see an invitation to present at Common Ground (according to their website notifications were being made by January 10th) so I am assuming that is a no-go this year and, although the thought of presenting was daunting, I was really looking forward to the whole experience of attending the conference.  So I was wondering how to turn this bleakness around and avoid writing the lesson plan and pre-observation question write-ups for my upcoming observation.  And then I reach into my trusty schoolbag and what do I pull out?  My 2014-2015 Collection Development Allotment letter.  It's like Christmas has come again! 

I love ordering books for my library, don't you? I keep a running list all year long of books that have been loved so much they need to be discarded and books that teachers and students requested but I did not have and books that I have read some good "buzz" about.  This year I also added some books that I need for my new curriculum. I have the students make lists of suggestions and they (and I) await our shipment each Spring to see what arrives.  So I am off to buy some of my favorite things (books) in hopes that each one will find a reader who will love it. 

Let's get inspired, you and I, by watching one of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

January 1st - Happy New Year!  It's a day for traditionally looking back to see the (many)accomplishments and (hopefully) few regrets of the previous year and looking forward and making plans for the new year. 

So, in that vein, let's start by looking backwards.

1)  I ran circulation reports for the fiction and nonfiction sections for the same time periods.  Here are the results:

	11/18/2013-1/1/2014	11/18/2014-1/1/15	+/-  change
Fiction	764	1149	+385
NonFiction	176	695	+519
Total Checkouts (minus Everybody)	940	1844	+904

 So if the goal of this project was to increase the number of circulations, mission accomplished!  And that is the goal, isn't it?  All the hard work and hours have a clear payoff at the end. 

2) I submitted my first ever proposal to present at a conference (AASL).

3) I got to know my collection - intimately!

4) I weeded.  In January 2014, there were 8856 items in my collection and by the end of the Un-Deweying process, there were 7,812 items.  That is a difference of 1,044 items.  Some of these (let's say 10% or so) were normal weeding due to wear and tear but the rest were a direct result of the genrefication process.

5) I became an accidental blogger.  It's intriguing when I look at the blog stats and see that it has been viewed by someone in France, Germany or Russia.  I wonder what they must think and how they ended up here.  What possible search engine term did they use?

Regrets?  The first, and really only, one that comes to mind would be doing this mid-year.  I am a planner.  I am a thinker.  I like lists I can check off.  And yet, I plunged headfirst into this.  I may have been a bit less stressed and, honestly, done a bit less stress eating if I had made this a summer project.

Now to look forward.

1) Kelly and I completed the application to present at Common Ground. According to the website, we should hear by January 10th if our proposal was accepted or not.

2) I'll continue to monitor the circulation statistics to see if the upward trend continues.

3) I'll continue blogging.  I need to take the good camera in and take some clear shots.  We have a professional day coming up and I see that on my to-do list.

4) ??  Who knows what opportunities will present themselves!  I am going to be receptive and say "yes" more than "no" or at least try to do that.