Nonfiction Feedback

This was the first week for the new and improved nonfiction section of the library.  Students were super excited to explore the new categories.  If I had a nickel, for each time a student asked if this was a "new" book, I could retire!  They, and I, discovered so many neat books that had been languishing on the shelves. 

I put out the Flipcam again and here is a snapshot of the videos that were recorded:

 

 

I did have a few kiddos who seemed lost and not sure where to go.  It is much like going to Nordstrom's for the first time.  So many floors.  So much to see.  Where to start?  It can be intimidating.  I'm anxious to see how things go over the next few weeks. 

 

And the unexpected AHA that happened today?  A third grader asked, "So when we return our books, we don't use the numbers anymore, right?  So, how do we put them on the cart?"  Ummm...hadn't thought about that!  Here's the cart he was talking about:

 



 I love this cart.  It was one of the first things I bought for my library and I worked really hard teaching the students to look at the spine of the book and put it in the correct spot.  We have almost 500 kids checking out multiple books.  That is ALOT of books to shelve by myself.

 

Thank goodness for 1/2 days for students, and a delayed meeting with Kelly, because I was able to make some very quick changes. I removed the numbers and added the stickers from each category.  I tried to anticipate the most highly visited categories and combine those with lesser visited ones.

 

 

We are going to live with this for a week or so and then I plan on making 2x2 copies of the icons and finalizing the placement of them on the cart.

 

Shortly afterward, Kelly arrived and we spent a couple of hours working on the submission for Common Ground 2015.  It is hard to believe only a month has gone by since all of this started.  We had so much to reflect upon and even more "next steps" to complete.

 

Check back later this weekend as I am going to crunch some numbers and see how circulation fared in the new nonfiction section.



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.