2/11/16

Today I worked a full day. I have been here since early this morning, which has given me a chance to experience what a full day is like at the library.

When I first got here Ms. Gratto had left me a note asking me to look at the library catalog and note which websites and databases have relevant information on each of the topics for the PE & Health teacher’s substance abuse project with 7^th grade.

I spent most of my morning working on that (the internet is rather slow sometimes and I have been having some access issues).

Today I also observed Ms. Schell and Ms. Gratto give lessons to 6^th grade TAG classes. It was interesting to see how they took the same lesson they were giving yesterday a step further for these students.

2/9/2016

So, when we filled out the midterm report last week, we realized that I needed to work more on teacher collaboration (one of my learning outcomes). I knew that this week Ms. Gratto and I would be meeting with the PE and Health teacher to help her plan for a project she is doing on substance abuse with 7^th grade (more on that later). But as I came in this morning, Ms. Schell was getting ready to go visit a 7^th grade classroom and give a talk about how to do online research and what resources are available through the library website.

Ms. Schell used to be a science teacher before she became a librarian. So the science teacher asked for her collaboration organizing an activity where students have to do a presentation on an assigned African American scientist. Ms. Schell already had the list of names and she knew what kind of information they had at the library on print and online.

I do not have much experience in the classroom that is why I always appreciate being able to observe other teachers work. Ms. Schell’s talk was short and to the point and together with the science teacher she showed the students how to quickly find the information they are looking for (the names of the scientists were preselected by the teacher, the students picked each name from a hat and the assignment includes a bullet list of the specific information the teacher wants the students to find on each scientist).

Ms. Schell succinctly covered reliable sources and citations and then gave them a print out with the sources they could use and where to find them. Sometimes I think they make things too easy for the students, but at the same time I realize that they have much more experience with them and know their needs much better than I do ;)

Towards the end of the day the PE teacher came in for a meeting about the upcoming assignment. This is the first time she is having her students do a PSA so she is starting from scratch. I sat in the meeting as they discussed different ideas on how to approach the assignment. Ms. Gratto offered to help her find a good rubric and they talked about how they need to come up with a list of topics for the students to choose from. Ms. Gratto is also going to give the students a quick reminder about the ABCs of note taking. 
I thought it was very interesting how quickly these two instructors put together and good and instructive assignment that it is going to challenge the students and also help them learn on their own.  

2/2/16

One thing I am learning about the job of a school librarian is that every day can bring something new. Also, you need to be flexible to accommodate the needs of your patrons. The other day, I came into the library and there were dozens of books spread out on the tables. It turns out that a 7^th grade teacher had emailed Ms. Gratto the night before telling her she wanted each 7^th grade student to check out a poetry book on their next class visit to the library. Ms. Gratto and Ms. Schell then decided to pull out all the poetry books and spread them out on the tables so that they would not have 20 kids looking through one bookshelf at the same time. This made it easier not only because the students would not be all crowded in front of a bookshelf but also because they could browse the books more easily and look at the covers and decide what to check out. 

I thought this was a great idea and I think the students enjoyed the experience. Ms. Gratto pointed out though that one problem they face during poetry month is that the whole district does poetry at the same time and the libraries do not have enough resources for everyone.  

1/26/16

More work at the circulation desk, which I must confess I enjoy. A lot of the students are shy, but I love seeing their faces when I make a comment about a book they are checking out. This two girls came in, one of them was checking out a book about reptiles that had an ugly lizard on the cover and I made some disgusted face and joked with her about ugly scary gross animals. She kept smiling in a proud way J

I also enjoy shelving. It gives me a chance to explore the collection. Too often I find myself just standing by the shelf reading excerpts of the books before I shelf them. It’s interesting to see what books interest middles schoolers.

1/21/16

There is SOL testing today. Ms. Gratto is out and Ms. Schell and Ms. Ward are proctoring. So I am by myself at the library manning the circulation desk. It is very quiet…

1/20/16

Ms. Gratto showed me how to add copies in Destiny (their cataloging system). We went through the whole process from getting the book, adding the copy, assigning a call number and barcode, and printing the labels. I also put plastic covers on the books. (see pictures!).

Since I was already working in Destiny, Ms. Gratto showed me how to edit the existing copies to add “series” to the call number of some of their more popular series. She is doing this to make it easier for the students to locate the books in a series (popular series are also shelved separately). Today I added “series” to the call numbers of A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Printing Barcode Labels

Add New Copy

Adding plastic covers to paperbacks

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a VERY popular series!!

1/14/16

Today I worked at the circulation desk and did some shelving. I also observed Ms. Schell give a lecture about non-fiction, where to find it in the library, and the basics of the Dewey Decimal System. This was a very short, to the point lecture to introduce the topic to the students. Ms. Schell said that in the next few weeks they will keep doing short activities related to non-fiction books at the library.