Boots on the Ground

Observations and questions from a week in different junior high and elementary libraries.

Sign you are in a great junior high school library.

• Post it notes with the release dates of new books stuck to the window above the librarian's computer!
• ALL the books of a series are in the collection
• Note left for librarian: Dear (librarian), you have a GREAT collection. You have every book I looked for in the OPAC!
  (wonders, does she read BookMoot.com?)

At the desk and in the stacks
____________________

Student: "Do you have any more books by this author?" (Gail Carson Levine)

Me: Ooooh is that Fairest?
Student: "You've read it? It is sooooo... good!"

Us: (fan girl squeals)

____________________

Student: "Can you help me find something to read?
I'd like it to be a book with other books that follow it."
Me: (frustrated grumbling) So many Book "1"s of series checked-out.

Student: "I don't want to start with Book 2"
Me: I don't like that either. How about finding an author to follow, even if they don't write series books?
Student: OK.

____________________

Student: "Is Return of the King checked out?"
Me: hmm...Yes.
Student: I'm reading Two Towers now. It is sort of hard to keep track of all the characters.
Me: I know. When I read the books for the first time (whispers) I skipped all the songs.
Student: "I'm skipping the songs TOO!"
____________________

Teacher@Library #1:  Do you know how to get pictures off a camera?
____________________

Student: "Can you help me find some realistic fiction?"
Me: Is this for your genre dog tag?
Student: Yes.
____________________

Student: "Can you help me find some historical fiction?"
Me: Is this for your genre dog tag?
Student: Yes.
____________________

Student: "Can you help me find some fantasy books"
Me: Is this for your genre dog tag?
Student: Yes.
____________________

Note left for librarian: Dear (librarian), some lessons on Genres might be a fun for your students.

____________________

Student:  "Where are the books on WWII?"
____________________

Student:  "Are we allowed to read the newspaper?"
OH YES!
____________________

Parent: "Is this a good book to read to a class?"
Me: "Well, that is by David Wiesner and there are no words in that one, the story is told in pictures. Is that ok? What grade?
Parent:  Oh, no, I want to read.  Third grade.

Me: This Wiesner is fun as a read-aloud.  June 29, 1999






___________________

Student: "When is the book fair?"
____________________

Student: "Where are the comic books?"
____________________

Me: "Holy cow, the Car Section is a wreck!"
____________________

Teacher@Library #2:  Do you know how to get pictures off a camera?

Aiming for LOWER test scores? Fire the school librarians

MOOT POINTS on the vital importance of school libraries

I have yet to meet a school administrator whose attitude is, "Woah, slow down now, our school's test scores are TOO good!" In my experience, they are constantly looking for that edge, that extra something that will motivate students and enhance the learning environment in order to RAISE test scores.

It would be crazy to REMOVE personnel and programs that have demonstrably improved student achievement, wouldn't it?

Jen Robinson;s Book Page points to this article, "Parent Volunteers to Play Larger Role in Dearborn Public School Libraries."

The Dearborn school district is attempting to deal with budget issues, in part, by laying off many of their school librarians and obliterating (my word) their school library programs.

from M-W.com: Obliterate = "1 a : to remove utterly from recognition or memory b : to remove from existence : destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of ...
2 : to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away"

My suggested headline for this article would be:

"Dearborn School District Aims to Lower MEAP Test Scores"
or
"District Knee-Caps Student Achievement"

After reading the article my heart went out to:

1. the librarians facing the loss of their jobs
   
   
2. the impossible mission of the eight librarians who will be left to build, support, run, and teach at 32 libraries
   
   
3. the earnestness of the parents who understand these programs are important and want to volunteer to fill the void
   
   
4. the students who are being denied a vital part of their education
   

Michigan is one of the MANY states that has demonstrated the importance of school libraries to student success in The Impact of Michigan School Librarians on Academic Achievement: Kids Who Have Libraries Succeed.

From the Executive Summary, pg. ix:

Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) reading test scores rise with the extent to which the state’s school library programs are headed by qualified school librarians. The relationship between school libraries and test scores cannot be explained away by other school or community conditions at any school level.

Parents and tax payers must hold the district administration and state legislators accountable.

The kids deserve better.

More information and links to many studies on the importance of qualified school librarians and library programs are available at Library Research Service.

Now is the winter of our discontent

Dear School Librarians,

Go read this post by Ms Yingling as she ponders Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child.

I loved Yingling's personal take on the five important things she strives to do for her students.

I loved her list because...

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York;

Shakespeare. Richard The Third Act 1, scene 1, 1–4

It has been cold. Very cold. People are cranky.

School is back in full swing now. Benchmark testing is ramping up. January seems long but the real-deal state assessment tests are not far away. Each grading period offers the potential for disaster as paid-up Spring school trips hang in the balance.

School situations that parents worried about all Fall are about to become more fraught with peril for all concerned as (teachers, fine arts directors, coaches, administrators, crossing guards, bus drivers, or cafeteria workers) either pick the "other" kid in the audition/tryout, or give the grade, or make the comment, or write the note that will send the parents stomping to the (department head, principal, or school board) to complain.

When things swerve out of control in daily life, people seek control in other areas and often that means a narrowed gaze at the library books their children are reading. Book challenges in schools happen for all kinds of reasons but usually the least of them is the book itself. It is rarely JUST about the book.

Think now, before the Spring thaw--what can you do to attract parental good will and student involvement? As librarians we need to be the "children of York" making the "winter" into the glorious summer for our students.

Hopefully your program is thriving as you:

• book-talk,

• teach and plan lessons,

• purchase library materials

• present to parent groups,

• mentor students and faculty,

• catalog,

• serve on committees,

• troubleshoot your automation system,

• attend professional meetings,

• plan and carry out book fairs, author visits and reading programs,

• supervise student workers, parent volunteers, and library aides.

But on those days you are feeling overwhelmed, just try for
Ms Yingling's Five.

The End of the Year in a School Library

Ah yes--the end of the school year is such an interesting time in a school library.

1. Librarians run and run and print and print reports that present the grim statistics about the horrific number of books STILL checked out to students even though the end of school is just a few days away.
   
   
2. Librarians send out MORE reminders and requests for the return of missing books.
   
   
3. Librarians cheerfully call home phone numbers and leave messages requesting any kind of response or acknowledgment of the lost school library books.
   
   
4. Librarians cheerfully walk to the shelves with students to look for the book that the student is positive he/she already returned or never checked-out in the first place, "no doubt about it, honest, they remember."
   
   
5. Librarians cheerfully point out that the book is NOT on the shelf, therefore, it will be necessary for the student to look again.
   
   
6. Librarians cheerfully suggest places the child can look for their library book.
   
   
7. Librarians cheerfully invite book characters like, say, Viola Swamp, to go on the morning announcements to request the return of library books. Viola infers she will be roaming the hallways and looking into classrooms for library books
   
   
8. The librarian's child, who is watching those morning announcements in horror, from her classroom, SWEARS her mother is NOT at school that day when her classmates suggest Viola bears a resemblance to her!
   
   
9. Librarians cheerfully roll book carts down to 5th grade and request that everyone clean out their desks in the hope that lost library books will materialize.
   
   
10. Librarians cheerfully roll book carts back to the library having netted at least twenty missing books that suddenly appeared in desks, on classroom counters and mixed in with classroom libraries.
    
    
11. Librarians cheer and clap as the student, who was sure that he/she had already returned or had never checked out that book in the first place, "no doubt about it, honest, they remember," comes running in, beaming with joy announcing, "I found it, I found it!"
    
    
12. Librarians cheerfully listen to teachers who explain they never checked out those materials for their classroom "no doubt about it, honest, they remember."
    
    
13. Librarians gulp hard and hug children who present them with flowers, cookies, picture frames, and precious thank-you notes for a year that was full of reading and imagination.
    
    

School librarians, you've worked so hard all year.

Thank you.

Have a wonderful summer and try not to think about your library every day this summer.

The Rush of a New School Year

Parking lots and streets were overflowing as "Meet your Teacher" events were scheduled this evening at local elementary schools. If you are a school librarian, one of your goals for today was to get something on the bulletin boards before the crowds descended. Bulletin boards are hard. The expanse has to be covered and there are all those letters to cut.

I am re-crafting a post from a year ago with some thoughts for school librarians as the new year begins.

First the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations:

1. Do your students look forward to their time in the library?


2. Do you interact with your students while they look for books? This means you have to leave the check-out desk. (I know, this is hard if you do not have a library aide or volunteers.)

If I'm asked for advice, I like to walk the shelves with the kids and point out titles they might consider. Often, children just want some attention from an adult (in addition to your excellent booktalking) so this is time well spent.


3. Do you learn your students interests and reading strengths? They love it when someone takes a personal interest. Parents love it too. A parent asked me, once, if I knew what every child on my campus liked to read. I could honestly answer, "not every child, but I'm working on it."


4. Do your students recognize you in the hall? Do they know your name? Do you recognize them in the hall and do you know their names?


5. Is the library part of the "welcome to your new school tour?"


6. Do parents hear about the "very cool" things you are doing in the library from their kids?


7. Does your administration hear about the "very cool" things you are doing in the library from you?


8. Do you take the opportunity to speak to the PTA or other parent groups at your campus about your program? They always need speakers. Volunteer!
If the PTA or PTO paid for you to attend a workshop or conference, give them a report and send a thank you note. They may fund your efforts again if you do.


9. Are you proactive in spreading the word about the importance of school libraries? Too often budget cutters think eliminating or cutting back on library programs is a valid way to cut costs. Share the research on the impact school libraries have on test scores.

I've never know a principal who did NOT care about state assessment testing results or who thought their school rating was too HIGH. School libraries improve test scores.


10. Does the library have a presence on the school website? Do you contribute to the school newsletter regularly? These are PR opportunities.


11. Do you read the books so you can booktalk at the drop of a hat with passion and enthusiasm to students, parents and teachers?


12. Do your teachers rely on you for recommendations and support in the classroom?

Phew! Tired yet?

Now, in addition to all that:

You must:
1. Understand your automation system
2. Answer reference questions
3. Plan lessons that engage, teach and fire the imagination
4. Catalog your collection
5. Plan book fairs and reading celebrations
6. Order light bulbs for the overhead projectors.
7. You may also be the sponsor for a student group or mentor a child or provide bef0re school/after school tutoring.


I salute the librarians who work so hard to teach important research skills, stoke young people's imaginations and instill a love of books and reading in their students.

Your joy and passion for your job is contagious.

But, this year, remember:

There are only so many hours in the day.
Try to leave on time or close to it.
Enjoy and take care of your family.

Have fun and a wonderful school year.

Clip art from School of Library Science, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX

The hum of a new year

Along with other essential personnel, school librarians start the school year early. The librarians started back to work, this week, in my neck of the woods.

The first day on contract is spent checking in with the other important folks who have turned up, the financial clerk, the school nurse, the attendance clerk and the principals. They all enjoy a sort of reunion, bringing each other up to date with family news, vacations enjoyed and health reports.

They fall into that fellowship that comes from experience, mutual goals and the camaraderie of soldiers in a foxhole. This solidarity and support is essential in order to get the job done each school year.

Back in the library, automation systems must be updated with the new school calendar, new faculty members must be added and of course the students' names must be imported. The library schedule must be devised and new district edicts must be incorporated into the routine.

Boxes of new books, which were delivered over the summer, must be checked against the packing slips. Glowing new covers must be caressed, new titles must be exclaimed over, marc records must be shined up. There are bulletin boards to cover, reading programs to prepare and lesson plans to write.

The teachers arrive early, long before their contracts start. Overhead projectors, cd players, globes and other life sustaining classroom equipment will be mustered in the library and moved into teachers' rooms. After the first or second day, the library staff is not working for itself anymore but for the teachers, so it should burn rubber those first few days.

Just as you start to get some things done, you realize that the building is still on summer hours so you will be booted out just as the work begins to flow. Frustration.

Before you know it, there will soon be new faces to meet, new reading interests to learn. There will be kindergarteners and first graders who cannot wait to learn to read. There will be fifth graders who do not care to touch a book.

They are waiting for you to make this the year they fell in love with books and reading.
The year ahead beckons and you can't wait.

Advice for School Librarians

It seems inevitable. Each spring the swallows return to Capistrano, baseball season begins, azaleas bloom, and book-banners stumble out of their caves and narrow their eyes in the direction of the school library.

I believe book challenges occur in greater numbers in the spring because parents have built up a store of unhappiness, resentment, and/or feelings of powerlessness earlier in the year and tend to lash out during the second semester. In junior high and high school the books get edgier just as parents are feeling less in control. If you are dealing with full-blown-book-banner-nutter-dom (as opposed to an interested parent who talks to the librarian about their concerns) you just have to ride the wave and hope your principal and district follow policy. Realize that it has very little to do with THE BOOK and everything to do with the parent's neediness.

In the interest of forestalling book challenges, as this new school year begins, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do your students look forward to their time in the library?

2. Do you interact with your students while they look for books? This means you have to leave the check-out desk. I know, this is hard if you do not have an aide or volunteers.

3. Do you get to know the kids' interests and reading strengths? They love it when someone takes a personal interest.

4. Do your students recognize you in the hall? Do they know your name? (added: Do you recognize them in the hall and do you know their names?)

5. Do parents hear about the "very cool" things you are doing in the library from their kids?

6. Do you take the opportunity to speak to the PTA or other parent groups at your campus about your program? They always need speakers. Volunteer! If they have paid for you to attend a workshop or conference, give them a report and send a thank you note.

7. Does the library have a presence on the school website? Do you contribute to the school newsletter regularly? These are PR opportunities made in Heaven.

8. Do you read the books so you can book talk at the drop of a hat with passion and enthusiasm to students, parents and teachers?

9. Do your teachers rely on you for recommendations and support in the classroom?

If you answer yes to these questions, you are an "A Plus" librarian and you probably enjoy the support and affection of your students, parents and teachers. You still may end up with a book challenge but lots of folks are going to think the complainer doesn't have enough to do with their time and lots of them will be in your corner.

Next:

1. Are you an "in-the-office" librarian, only focusing on the administrative aspects of the job behind a closed door?

2. Do you try to have as little personal contact with the kids as possible?

3. Does your reading aloud performance (this applies to secondary school too) communicate a desire to be anywhere else, maybe in the dentist chair having a root canal?

4. Have you ever put a teacher to sleep during a lesson?

5. Are your faculty members afraid of you? If the answer is yes, does that make you happy?

6. Are the kids afraid of you? If the answer is yes, does that make you happy?

7. Do you black out the "bad" words in the books on your shelves?

If you answer yes to these questions you might want to re-evaluate your mission. I could warn you about book challenges but you probably already a stack of "problem" books on your desk.

I salute the librarians who work so hard to teach important research skills, stoke young people's imaginations and instill a love of books and reading in their students.

Your joy and passion for your job is contagious.
Have a wonderful school year.



Clip art from School of Library Science, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX

Literature inspiring research

I have been enjoying a few days at a local high school library doing research with 12 graders on "social issues." The kids are so nice and the library has a terrific collection. No matter how obscure the topic, the collection has material to match every query, it seems. It makes me feel like such a reference librarian again.

One funny moment today: As the kids filed in to the library, one girl stopped to grab the book Pretties by Scott Westerfeld from a book display. She was so happy to have the book that she hugged it; she had been waiting a long time for the book to come in she told me.

The kids had to clear their research topic with their teacher before starting work. Coming up with a topic was the focus of the day's library visit. My Westerfeld fan told the teacher that she wanted to do a research paper about parasites.

Hmmm...this is not a science class.
Her teacher, looking puzzled, asked her what kind of social issue involved parasites.

On a hunch, having just witnessed her enthusiasm for all things Westerfeld, I asked her, "Have you been reading Peeps?"

"YESSSSSSS, she exclaimed, digging a copy of the book out of her backpack.
”Now I want to study parasites."

The teacher was completely befuddled so I explained the premise of the story (parasites cause the myth/idea of vampires.) The teacher was giving us both the oddest look.

I think the student is going to do something about clean water resources (and no doubt, how bad water with PARASITES can cause health issues.)