Annual Library Goals

Today, I submitted my annual library goals to my principal, and found out this afternoon they were approved.  Here they are:

Technology

Goal 1: Use social media to promote reading and available resources

I would like to use social media to increase communication between the library and the school community.  This will give the library another avenue to spread the word about upcoming events, book releases, reading tips, and more.  By informing stakeholders in our students’ education about what the library has on offer, we can directly impact student learning by promoting reading and available resources.  I will create a Facebook page and make at least one post each week.  We will actively promote the page through email signature, hand outs, and word of mouth.  By the end of the year, we will have over 50 people from our school community who have “liked” the site.

Goal 2: Create an elementary library website for students, faculty, and parents

I would like to create a one-stop website for everything related to our library (class sign-up calendar, card catalogue, book suggestions form, links to units).  By knowing where to go and find things easily, library patrons will feel more encouraged to use our services.  By the end of the year, there will be at least one unit up for each grade level in each subject area. 

Goal 3: Create resource lists for patrons to find resources more easily

Our card catalogue system has the ability to hold resource lists on any topic that we would like, but this has not been utilized.  By the end of the year, there will be at least 50 resource lists with 10 or more book suggestions in each one.

Curriculum

Goal 1: Review, adopt, and align curriculum library standards

While there are some library-related curriculum objectives currently up on Atlas, the curriculum is not very developed.  There are organizations, such as the American Association of School Librarians and the American Library Association who have published library standards for students.  I would like to review these as a starting point and adopt a set of standards for us to begin working from.  By the end of the year we will have our standards selected, and many or all of our grade level benchmarks in place.

Instruction

Goal 1: Develop a list of age-appropriate read-aloud books for each grade level to be used during library period

The first 10-15 minutes of every library period involves a read-aloud story, but currently nothing is in place as to what books will be read.  We would like to have a list that can be used from year to year (modified as needed) and that promotes library and classroom curriculum objectives, a love of reading, and the development of age-appropriate critical thinking skills.  By the end of the year, we will have these lists formed (many of which we will have used in our classes).

Assessment

Goal 1: Collect data from students to create a stronger library program through the use of student-friendly surveys, discussions, and observation. 

To create a stronger library program, I would like to collect information on students’ reading habits, what they like to/don’t like to read, strategies, strengths/weaknesses, and interests.  By the end of the year, we will have used student friendly-surveys, discussions, and observations to create a report that has this information.  This report will help us make more informed decisions to guide instruction.

Y Books

We have hundreds of books for our youngest readers too, which are our pre-school and kindergarten students.  Some of these books are hardbound, but most of them are paperback.  We encourage students to take these books out since many of them have just started to handle library books, and are learning how to take care of them, to bring them back, etc.

Last year, these books stayed in boxes, and each week kids could take out books from a particular box.  This did not give them full access to the collection and did not mirror what older students do.  Another huge problem was that parents, teachers, and librarians had to search through hundreds of books if they were looking for something in particular.  

I think it is fun for students to pick books directly from the shelves if they want, so this year we used some of our shelves to create a special area just for them.  Some of our younger students find choosing books from the shelves to be overwhelming, so we also lay a few books out on the floor for kids to choose from if they prefer to do it that way.  It is another way to differentiate. 

These books until now have been labeled as “E,” grouped in with what was until recently the same call letter for our picture books.  Now that we will be using the call letter “E” for a brand new section - “Emerging Readers,” and renaming the picture books as "P," we have to give these books a new call letter as well.  They are in their own distinct section of the library, and people need to know where to go if they look up these books in the card catalogue.  Until recently, people have looked up these books, and gone to the "E" section of the library since they carry that call letter, only to find that they are not there.  We have decided to call these books "Y" books in honor of our "Younger Readers."

We have been making labels in Microsoft Word and printing them out in color.  I love how they look, and we never have to worry about running out of a particular color because we can just print more.  We attach these to the spine with spine label adhesive tape.  

This section sees a lot of movement, with kids pulling them off the shelves and sticking them back anywhere nearby repeatedly.  At this age, we do not want kids to be concerned with call numbers of course (some of them can’t even count or say their alphabet yet), but rather just to love coming to the library and developing a love for books.  As a library staff we wanted to develop a system that allowed for this age group to choose books at will, but also allowed us to keep them organized enough so we could find books quickly.  We didn’t want the standard practice of call numbers and letters to be the way we organized this section, since this would not help this age group very much and because it would be a shelving nightmare.  After much thinking, we came up with a system that we really like and are enjoying.  We have broken the books up, 50 at a time, into different color groups.  We now have call numbers that say "Y Red," "Y Brown," "Y Yellow," and so on in the card catalogue.  As mentioned, before students, parents, teachers, and librarians had to go through hundreds of books (over 750) to find a book, but now they only have to look among the small section of the shelf that has that color (about 50 books).  We are able to find a book now in less than a minute. :)   

Our young readers love the color bands and the freedom they have to take books at will off the shelves.  Our parents and teachers love the ease of locating a book.  Our librarians love all of the above, as well as how easy the books are to shelve. 

Being politically correct…even with your library sections

We are completely redoing the sections in our library - where books are located, what books belong in each section, and even the names of the sections as well.  A name says a lot.  So, here's to being politically correct…even with your library section headings and call numbers! :)

We have had the following sections in our library…until now.

ENF – elementary non-fiction

JF – junior fiction 

TR – teacher resource

E – easy

BB – big books

LIL - literacy library 

REF – reference

Because we are part of a Pre-K to 12 school, we cannot completely redo our call number sections without taking into account what already exists in the middle and high school libraries.  For example, middle school and high school libraries simply use the Dewey Decimal system for their non-fiction books (without any letter code in front) and just use an “F” for their fiction section, something pretty standard in many other libraries.  

The designation “ENF" (Elementary Non-Fiction) was placed before a Dewey Decimal number to specify that a non-fiction book comes from our elementary library instead of the middle and high school libraries.  However, sometimes the "ENF" designation has been confusing for elementary students, especially since we have another section in our library that is just “E.”  By dropping the “(E)-(F)” and just making it “N,” students will not find this confusing anymore.  It will not impact the middle or high school libraries either, since they do not have a section designated as "N."  Lastly, it will also be more in line with other parts of our library since we are dropping all sections to just one letter (for example, "LIL" will be "L," and “REF” will become “R”). 

Does this mean having to redo the spine labels?  Yes and no.  Because libraries get new books each year, we will have to create spine labels anyway for our new books (our order for this fall still hasn’t come, so here’s an opportunity in the making).  As for redoing non-fiction books that are already on the shelves, we want to drop our decimal points at least to the tenths-place anyway since it’s harder for kids to find books when there are too many decimals and it also makes shelving more time-consuming.  Therefore, we pretty much need to redo a lot of the spine labels  and will take advantage of this opportunity to switch them to “N.”  The only ones that we would be changing the call number labels for, not so much for the sake of change...but rather for uniformity, would be the books already on the shelves that don’t have decimal points beyond the tenths-place.  But, since we want to color code all of the section letters in the call numbers (more on that later), it is something we don’t mind doing.

I am not sure what to do about the JF designation.  We cannot really take off the “J” and just be left with “F” because that would confuse our books with those belonging to middle and high school.  But, it doesn’t seem that there is any other term you could call these books beside fiction (there are not really any good synonyms out there).  Please feel free to comment below and suggest one! :)  Until I come across a better term, this will be our only section of the library where the call number is made up of two initial letters instead of just one.  It would be nice to find a term that allows this section to stand on its own (not in the shadow of another division, not a mini-version of something else).  This would be sort of like switching from the term “junior high” to “middle school,” where the later stands on its own and doesn’t mean “less than” or “in preparation towards” something else, like the former one does.

"BB" has stood for "Big Books." We were going to just drop the one "B" from "BB" (in line with our push to have single letter call letters), but thought that "B" might be better for a "Beginner" section we would like to create.  We are now calling these books "O" for "Oversized" and will also include a few books under this call letter which we keep in the "Office" for certain reasons (more on that to come in another post).

We have a large professional development section and are changing the term “TR” to “S” for “staff” since other people besides teachers use this section (administrators, assistants…).  It also keeps us in line with our goal of just one initial call letter per section.  Again, we want to color code these letters and make them bigger, so we would be redoing the spine labels anyway.  Right now, these books have the call number "TR" and a Dewey Decimal number, but the books still do not seem to be grouped properly, even when shelved correctly.  I am coming up with a system to make this easier so that staff members not need to know the Dewey Decimal system in order to find books, and they can be re-shelved more easily.  More on this once finished.

In an previous post, I mentioned that we were changing the "E" from "Easy" to "Everybody."  We don't want kids to feel bad if they are struggling with books that are supposed to be easy.  But, we have since decided to change our "E" books into "P" for "Picture Books."  One reason is because that is what these books primarily are and another is because it will free up the letter "E" for another section we hope to create called "Emerging Readers." 

Drum roll, please!  Here are our new more politically correct (and more simply named) sections!

N - non-fiction

JF - junior fiction (the one I still struggle with)

S - staff

P - picture books

O - office/oversize 

L -  literacy library 

R - reference

However, the fun doesn’t stop there.  We’re actually creating new sections, something we are very excited about…meaning there will be a few more section letters you’ll get to meet. J More on that coming in a future blog post!

Help with fiction call numbers: Imagining yourself as an author

Students often ask me if we carry books by a particular author they are looking for.  This could be any one of a large number of popular authors such as Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, Cynthia Rylant, or even someone more obscure.  But, all too often it seems that students are unaware that the answer to their "Do you have any books by _______?" question is literally right under their noses.  I want students to feel empowered so that they can explore and discover books that they are interested in.  Helping them understand call numbers (be it because they located a book in the catalogue first or because they have a particular author in mind) helps them do just that.  However, some elementary students really struggle with the concept of searching for books using an author’s last name.  Some had even thought that the letters on the fiction shelves were meant to mark book titles or to even indicate different reading levels (like Fountas and Pinnell).  I wanted to give them more practice.  

Today, I thought of a fun, quick way today to help students in grades three to five conceptualize and practice searching for books based on authors' last names.  I had them close their eyes and imagine themselves as authors one day in the not-too-distant future, authors of books that other students will want to read.  I could see some students enjoyed this daydream. :)

After opening their eyes, I asked third-graders to say their last names to a partner, and also what the first letter of their last name was.  Students then moved around in pairs to help each other find the shelf where their books would be.  They were very excited!  

Most of them did well, but of course some needed help.  We have a lot of ESL learners and sometimes the letters are hard, especially for those who are newer to the language (this actually makes me think that I should put up an alphabet chart somewhere in my library).  Therefore, deciding where G might go, out the following sequences A-D, E-K, L-Q, and R-Z, is not as easy as it might appear.  This is an important skill that will need more practice (Note: this task would be equally difficult if real authors were being used also).  

In fourth and fifth grade we started out in a similar way, but I had kids try to find their aisles individually.  Once they found these, I then asked students to go a step further by pinpointing the exact location of where their book(s) would be in the aisle. I had them put their finger in that spot while I came around and checked.  Some students were absolutely thrilled to see that they shared the same call letter combination as authors already out there, quickly generating interest for them in who those people were too.  

This was an activity that got kids moving and filled them with pride since they could visualize their future spot as an author in the library.  It also made the concept of call numbers more concrete, and generated some excitement and understanding about looking for books based on authors’ last names.  We will be practicing this again of course with real authors now, but it was a fun, quick introduction to get them thinking about how books are arranged in the library.

In addition to library orientation and tours, we've been using color coding in the library to help students keep track of the section they are in.

Author Visit

Today, Ms. Khyrunnisa A, author of the comic series “Butterfingers,” came on a very special surprise visit for some of our fourth and fifth-grade students.  It was really wonderful to see students’ faces light up  when they heard the news – especially our Indian students since Butterfingers is quite popular here.  Her Butterfingers character first appeared in Tinkle, famed Indian magazine, in 1996.  The author recently cast this beloved character in the starring role of her first novel, and is set to come out with her second book of the series this coming June.

Butterfingers is a likeable 13 year-old boy who is extremely clumsy.  In fact, he has inherited the nickname of Butterfingers since everything slips through his hands.  His friends regularly appear in the comics as well, bringing with them their own special personalities to entertain readers.  In the novel, titled "Howzzat Butterfingers," the main character proves once again that he very much deserves his nickname - this time in the context of cricket, a sport loved by most of India.

The author shared strategies with students on how to come up with writing ideas (basing things on real events, keeping a journal…), got students thinking about their own possible futures as authors, and read from her book.  At the end, there was a question and answer session, and Ms. Khyrunnisa signed autographs for students.  We hope to have her back again!   

Related links to the novel "Howzzat Butterfingers" and Tinkle magazine:

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article504285.ece
http://www.yentha.com/news/view/4/1178
http://www.tinkleonline.com/registration/index.php

Library welcome and information session

Sign greeting people to the library information session

Today we held a “Library Welcome and Information Session” for the AISC community from 8:30-9:15 a.m.  We advertised this event on our Facebook page as well as in the weekly principal notes, starting about two weeks ago.  In addition, we have had a sign up in the library informing parents about the event and have been sharing this with them verbally also when they come to check out books. 

Explaining the online card catalogue

During the forty-five minute session, library staff introduced themselves, went over our educational program and lesson format, talked about library usage policies, and showed parents on the Smart Board how to access and use the card catalogue.  We gave parents a tour, registered some of them as new patrons, and gave them a chance to check out books.  And of course, we also had coffee and cookies for guests. 

In addition to handing out a list of tips on helping students choose good books, we passed out a one-page hand out with important library-related information, including our email contact, catalogue web address, Facebook link, library hours, and much more.  Much of this we went over during the presentation, but it is good to have things in writing for visual learners and people still learning English.  It also gives me a chance to relay the information to people who could not attend the meeting by giving them hard copy or sending it through email.  

On a funny note, we had an emergency lock-down drill take place during our presentation.  However, no harm done.  It was a good chance to show parents that we also have safety codes in place.

This session was part of a greater series of sessions where parents can get to know different departments (coffee with the ESL Department, Learning Resource Center, etc.) and I think it is a great idea.  We have already had Back to School Night this year, but not everybody could come and some families have joined our school since that event took place, so this is another way to bring more people into our library.  I would like to continue having these info sessions for parents, and even have specialized ones throughout the year.  Topics will include: getting the most out of your library searches, choosing a “just right” book, how to promote reading at home, responsible and safe Internet usage, and more.  

Computer stations and printers

When I arrived a month ago, we had only one computer in the library area for card catalogue searches and one computer at the circulation desk for check out.  It was possible to look up books in the adjacent computer area,  but this was a little cumbersome since there is a half-wall that cuts across the library and you have to go all the way around.  Also, looking up books on those computers isn't really possible when classes go on in there.  As for the circulation desk, one computer was fine as far as individuals or small groups went, but classes could not be checked out as effectively and students had to wait (even with individual patron barcodes on their "shelfmarkers").

Enjoying two check-out stations at the circulation desk

I am happy to announce that we now have three card catalogue stations for patrons and two computers at the circulation desk for check out!  This is really great news because it means that people have more access to the information they need and that they can retrieve this more quickly.  


How did this get remedied?  My  assistant and aide shared a work computer about ten feet away, but the way it was set up meant that their back had to face the library.  By drilling another hole in the circulation desk for cables and bringing their computer over, it meant that we could now also use it for checking out books.  This means that we also have another pair of eyes to help supervise when students are in the library.  Because we are a team, I like having everyone being together like this much more as well – and it translates into more smiles at the circulation desk.  There is still plenty of space for my assistant and aide to still do library-related work, and when there is not a heavy volume of patrons in the library, the second computer will still be used for that purpose (i.e. cataloguing).  I put signs up on the back of each computer to greet patrons.  One reads "Hello and Welcome!  How may I help you?" and the other says "It's so nice to see you!"  These colorful, friendly signs make our library even more welcoming. 

In terms of solving the amount of card catalogue stations, I decided to move two computers out of the computer classroom area and put them nearby, just outside in the library area.  Because there is only a half wall between the computer area and the library, it means that teachers and library staff can still work with those students just like the rest of the class when students come down to use the computers.   Classes only come to use the computers occasionally (although quite frequently at peak times during the year or for certain units), so the rest of the time patrons have more card catalogue stations at their disposal. 

We are one of the main printing places in elementary school for color printing, but the color printer has been located behind the circulation desk.  This means that teachers and students have had to come behind the desk to retrieve printing.  This is not favorable because it's less convenient for teachers and students, library staff needs to have their own space in the library, and it's nice to have fewer people in the actual work station.  We switched the location of the color printer with the black and white one, so now people can retrieve their printing from the front of the desk without having to walk behind (see photo above near plant - additional note: people do not need to print black and white usually to the library because everybody has a printer in their classroom).  

Our next plan is to get speakers for our library so that we can play classical music during check out.  We are very excited about that too.