Automation Project cont.

Since the automation project requires that each book be examined individually, we are using this time to locate titles that the librarian wants to do something with, for example:
- new titles that have not been checked out more than twice are pulled for display instead of being re-shelved
- books with mold anywhere in them are pulled to be discarded as they are a health hazard
- books whose covers are mangled are pulled for repair
- books that are incorrectly shelved or cataloged, such as books that are E for Easy but have been shelved with F for Fiction need to be replaced.
- This library also separates paperback from hardcover and so we pull any that are mixed up as well .

Things I'm Learning: Displays

Although the copy cataloging itself is rather boring, it leaves ample opportunity to speak about other library issues. Over the last few days we have spent time discussing various topics that I was curious about. Some are tips of the trade that all librarians learn along the way, others are innovations that the librarian has devised or are personal preference.

Displays: I did a very poor job of displaying our new books. I realize this after seeing the amount of effort that the librarian puts into her new titles.
- new titles get displayed face out, similar to book store shelves, with fiction and non-fiction separate to make it easier for kids who are into one but not the other.
- exciting covers get displayed first and most prominently. Also books that are culturally relevant, since this is a main focus of the school community. The librarian also points out that the students do gravitate towards books that have pictures of kids who look like them on the cover.
- books get re-shelved with the general collection after they have been checked out 3-5 times!

This is one area that I would like to improve on in my own library next year. My new collection shelving needs to be more dynamic and I will find better ways to show off new titles.

For each book that we enter into the system it is important to encode the correct information. Any mistakes can render the item impossible to locate. This process is called copy cataloging since we import the information from a MARC search. Since some of the copies are very old we occasionally have to do original cataloging, which is substantially more time consuming as I must create the record from scratch. Fortunately the Alexandria electronic catalog comes with the capability to locate MARC records online based on a books ISBN number. Then you match the Title, Author, Publisher, year and edition to ensure that the information applies to the copy in the library. I also look for the MARC record that includes a summary as this can be extremely important for teachers and students who are browsing for a book. The record is then imported. Manually we enter the local barcode, and price for replacement. This work is rather monotonous and I would not wish to do it at length. Fortunately I will only have to complete this process with titles I wish to add to my own libraries collection as the previos librarian and aid undertook the automation process!

Automation Project

When I began working as a librarian all of our current collection was barcoded and entered in the Alexandria database system. Over the year I learned to manipulate the database somewhat for the purpose of reports and understanding how well our collection is being used. The next project I will be working on is to work with an elementary school to enter their collection into the database. They just recently purchased the Alexandria program and all the books need to be catalgued so they can use the system next school year.

Weeding

Last school year I did not do any weeding. I inherited a bunch of discarded books that I did not know what to do with and did not want to add to my problem. Fortunately I had a chance to work on weeding at JMMS and get a more complete understanding of the process. We began by discussing the weeding criteria that he uses. To discard a book the following criteria are considered:

• Poor condition/damaged
• Outdated (old copyright or publication date)
• Outdated or biased information
• Unappealing to read
• Other copies of same book exist in collection
• Other, better books on the same topic exist in the collection

Once we had established the basis for keeping or weeding a book we began working on the nonfiction collection. I found the task difficult as although some of the books were very old there were not always newer options available. In this case we needed to determine if any of the information was inaccurate and whether or not students were checking out the book. If anything was inaccurate the book was discarded and we made a note to find another of the same focus. If students were using the book regularly it was less clear whether or not to get rid of it. A lot of the time the cover of the books was so dated as to make the book unattractive to teens. These books got weeded quickly to make room for more modern takes.

Reading Contests

At both Muir and Bancroft we host the California Young Reader Medal Contest (CYRM). In recent years the John Muir Librarian has noticed a drop in participation. We spent some time thinking about why students were not interested in participating and what we could do about it. I know this year due to budget constraints I couldn't purchase all the copies and titles we had in the past and that hurt our participation numbers. But we both were wondering if a reason why students may be reluctant to read is that the titles don't appeal to them. Maybe we could have a reading contest that is specific to the interests of our students. Although the CYRM is state wide and our students can nominate books (we should do this in years to come), it might be more fun to have a local contest. This could also be a great opportunity to partner with the local library and involve more students in planning library events...sounds like this might be a project idea...

Keeping techonolgy in shape

There may have been a time when being a librarian did not require one to be at the forefront of information technologies, but that time has past. Today's librarians, and especially Teacher Librarians, are herald's of the technology revolution. We are often responsible for providing equal access to modern technologies and must offer base levels of instruction in its use as well. In order for this to be possible we must maintain the technology systems in functioning order and make sure that they receive necessary maintenance.

A school computer lab is a vital school resource for all members of the learning community including teachers, students, administrators and parents. It may not be part of our formal job description but the librarian often doubles as the technology coordinator (at least I do : ). At the end of the school year substantial time must be devoted to cleaning and updating computers for the year to come. Each one needs to have any new applications installed, old files deleted and trashed, and networks checked. There is software to purchase that can make this job easier like Deep Freeze, a program that returns the computer to preset settings and erases everything from the desktop. But then you still have to delete everything from the documents folder.

The job of computer maintenance can be easy or hard depending on the age of the machines, the amount of monetary support, ones own personal knowledge of computer systems, and whether or not the majority of machines run the same operating system. Luckily for me we have budgeted an IT guy. But working with Russ at Muir I was able to learn a process for cleaning and restoring computers at the end of the year that is efficient and sets the space up for the incoming groups of students.

Textbook Policy

So many of the decisions that I made around textbooks this past year were seemingly arbitrary. I looked for what had been done in the past and attempted to replicate the process, perhaps with a few upgrades. But I did not feel that my process in policy making was rooted in sound theory or practice. Russ, the John Muir Librarian, was able to fill in some of the information that I was missing in order to understand the "why" of things.
Collection of textbooks traditionally begins the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Librarians on the CalLib listserve agree. This usually allows 3 weeks for the task to be accomplished. I will use this date as well. Teachers tend to resist the due dates and I will feel better not arbitrarily picking a day but using the formula that many school librarians use. We both agree that class sets tend to to get abused and lost of the year. Russ is trying to strategize ways to minimize this in the years to come. He will be putting together some data to share with teachers about the monetary impact of thier lost/damaged collections. I should share this information with staff as well if it is having a large negative impact on our textbooks.

Textbook repair

I have sat at the foot of the Textbook Repair Guru - And her name is Veronica Ortega! In the storage room of John Muir MS library the textbooks are stacked from floor to ceiling - and they are beautiful! Each one has been reviewed (quickly) at the end of the year and every single book with a bent corner has been carefully repaired by Muir's Library Assistant. She takes the utmost care to locate all places where a piece of tape or a bit of hot glue can be the difference between the extended life or the immediate death of a textbook. We sat together as I learned to cover corners, separate and adjoin spines, white out grotesque doodles, and put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I am a little nervous because I did not give the same attention to my textbooks that were returned and believe I have severely diminished their shelf life. Next year once the books have been checked out and the worst ones kept, we will begin a repair process. Now I know how to make all the work worth while! Thanks Veronica!

Textbooks, textbooks, textbooks

Textbooks are a HUGE issue in school librarianship. They demand weeks of focus at the beginning and end of each school year. They are extremely expensive ($65 on average) and, with the state of the state budget, they are increasingly difficult to replace. Textbooks are checked out to individual students as well as to teachers in class sets. They are returned to us in all states of disrepair. This years distribution and collection of textbooks left much to be desired - it was not the smooth process I had envisioned. I also do not enjoy making numerous phone calls home to inform families of the large amount of money they are expected to pay because their 12-year-old lost a text book. I look forward to having conversations with the Librarian and Library assistant at Muir about their textbook policies and what Best Practices they have developed over the years. I believe this is one area where you can get better each year although it will never quite be a "done deal".

Hopes for Learning...

Many of the struggles that I faced during my first year as a librarian came from not knowing ANYTHING about the daily functioning of the library. I needed to learn a new automated system and had no one to show me the ropes after the first few days. Importing records for patrons and materials was a daunting task and slowly, throughout the year I learned to sue the tools of the trade. For this reason I am really looking forward to spending time at the other middle school in our district and having an opportunity to ask questions about their procedures. The Librarian and Assistant team at their school has functioned together for many years and, from what I could see during visits to their library runs a tight shift. I have many questions for them regarding textbook policies, collection management, and running the daily operations. I plan to tap into the expertise of both the librarian and the assistant to find ways for my library to be more efficient in the processing of books and materials. I'm sure there will be lots more to learn as well!

Throughout this class I will be working with Roxanne on the development of projects that meet the needs of a diversity of students throughout SLUSD. We will begin brainstorming project ideas and building on conversations we have had over the year as to increase information access for all students. Some ideas center around online access including making databases available to students for research, as well as having the library catalog be available via internet. We have talked about ways for the library website to be an engaging and useful portal for students, and I would like to design one project that increases the usability of our middle school website. Getting students ready for the high school reality of independent information searching is one of the great chalenges of a middle school. We must invest time in making sure students can navigate the vast number of web resources and locate what they need to be academically successful.

Overview of Internship

For the internship portion of this class I will be working throughout the San Leandro school district under the supervision of Roxanne Ansolabehere, MLIS, and high school librarian and technology coordinator for San Leandro High School. She is a fabulous supervisor due to her number of years working as a librarian and her willingness to be a mentor to me over the last year and continuing this summer. In order to make the best of this opportunity I will participate in activities taking place on elementary, middle and high school libraries. This will help me become familiar with all levels of the school library environment and be better prepared to create projects that meet the needs of a variety of students.