Showing posts with label library management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library management. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Weeding- Reference section

  This year I weeded my Reference sections  because I was looking for Makerspace room for LittleBits, and some other  items our district purchased. 
    I left the Encyclopedias even tho no one uses them for two reason: I think all libraries should have at least one set for quick look up, and 2) I like to do an activity each year where groups of students work together  to see who can find answers the questions- the inherent or an Encyclopedia. ( More details on this in another post)
   I moved on to look at the general books. With 4 books of costumes/ uniforms/ dress, I  got ride of all but one.  The same with Science Encyclopedias- I saved one - the newest . ( All though not completely up to date) The other sets I offered to the Science teachers , That is pretty much what did in each subject areas.
   I looked at copyright date, condition and scope. Some of the items I knew would never be used I also eliminated.
  I really dislike weeding because I feel there is value in most items I did weed items that were completely out of date( Mostly Science)  Most of my teachers are happy to take the items  for their classroom libraries. I ended up with shelving for my Makerspace so I was pleased with the process.
Check out more tips on weeding in The Organized Librarian!

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Supplies for Book Processing - part 2

  We don't have all of the necessary items yet for book processing. So in another larger box, we have several sizes of our most used book covers. We also have contact paper for our paper  backs- its not regular contact paper but one we get from the supply company especially for covering paper backs.( I can;t right at this moment think what it is called,)
  Both of these boxes are put on the bottom shelf of a flat shelved book cart that we keep specifically for this process. Then when  a shipment comes in , the books are checked in and put on the top shelf.
  This way we can wheel out the cart when we have time to work on the new books. It can be tucked away  when we are busy, This helps us be efficient and have supplies ready when we need them.
See The Organized Librarian for other tips on getting library jobs done.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Supplies for Book Processing- part one

    Get ready for processing your new books! Do  you have everything  you need?  Do you know where your processing supplies are ? Are they in on spot or do you have to go from cabinet to cabinet  to get them?  Or do they happen to be all in one location?
   A couple of years ago , I worked on getting  all of my processing supplies in the same location ( or at least close to each other) , so that processing  supplies would be together. Then my assistant or I would not have to hunt out the things we needed.
  We gathered up barcaroles, property stamp, label protectors  and genres colors into one large box- The barcodes are in a folder. Also in this box we included tape, scissors, fine line makers , a ruler and posts it, pens and pencils.  Later this week- part 2. Check out The Organized Librarian for more ways to be organized. For sale here or at Amazon!

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Budget Work for the Library

   This year I had to really streamline the way I kept track of my allocated funds. In the past I had done an excel  or google spread sheet to keep track . By doing this I knew I was accurate in what  I had spent and what I had left.
   But this year I went back to just doing paper based budget because I did not have time or patience to do the spread sheet. So staring with my beginning totals, I would just list and subtract  orders (both supply and books ) as I went along.I had a total as I went along. I could keep a running track of how much I had spent and what was left.  This is important to do as they year goes along.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Inventory Time at My school library.

     I am getting  the scanning for my inventory all done. There are just a couple of sections yet to do. MY non-fiction has not been done for at least 8 years! My Reference section probably even longer~! So we will see how that all comes out.
      The next  step is going back  to look for copies that were either missing or did not scan into the scanner, It is a new scanner so we do not have the ability to punch in the number if the barcode does not go in. Then we input the number into the report section if the item is  found. ( This is a step in the Destiny/ Follett system which is something new for me)
     The third step is to finalize. I am not sure if this is done though the reports , book by book, or we can d o it a section at a time.
      The inventory has gone pretty good  so far. But I also need to remember that my collection is very small and we did weed out books that were terrible shape. This collection has not been weeded in two years at least.
     But by doing the inventory I was able to learn more about my collection and what is exactly in it. This is will help me in future orders and also in helping  teachers and students when they are looking for something specific.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

May Bulletin Boards!

May bulletin Board for Libraries

  It  is  getting towards the end of April , so I am thinking of what to do about those bulletin boards.
Here are some ideas of what I have used in the past.

Sneaking around with a good book- copies of sneakers , students will write  on a blank sneaker their favorite spring books.  They can color them and then we will put   them on the board.

"When we read we Grow.'May flowers-  Blue Back ground.
  Battle of the Books - groups. scores , announcements.

"We're wild about Books!"- Jungle theme ( animals , trees) around slogan, maybe even titles on tree leaves, or book jackets if you have more room.

"Read, Return, Repeat"  Make slogan like the Recycle, Reduce, Reuse  Make  green arrows- put book jackets around that.

"Don't be angry -Read a Good Book"   Angry birds and book jackets or titles

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Planning your day

 Planning - how much do you do?  Do you plan what you will do each day or do you just go into work and then wing it?    For many years ( more than I like to admit)  I just  did lesson planning ( when I was at School) and the rest of the time I just sort of "winged" it.   That worked out fine for a long time because I had great support library assistants and when a big job came around we got it done.
     When I  lost my full time assistant was when I really took the time to plan out what I needed to do and how in the world was I going to get it all done.  To add fuel to that idea was the fact that I did have people coming into to help but  they would be with me for  a period or at most maybe two periods .
   Its similar in the public library, especially when staff are different each day or vacation time rolls around like now when everyone is getting their time in .
     So I really took stock to determine what I would have them do when they arrive at the door.  Now, some of those  aides really jumped in and did what ever they thought  was the best for the library. But some of the aides had never been in the library before so I had to  train them  in various jobs. Which was not always easy because most of the time I had many many classes, or programs  and projects going on.
      Anyway my point is that whether you have help or not. Or whether you have a full time or part time person, you will accomplish more and feel better if you at least plan out part of your day.  If you know you have a certain task to complete , and it is a big one , break it down into segments and begin to work on it when you have a block of time during your day.
     Look at your schedule - with classes and special programs and decide  what you will do to further you jobs completed.
    Check out   my ebook- The Organized Librarian. This details how my days went from  'winging it'  to more organized and efficient.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Manager's meeting - part 2

   Her are some more thoughts coming from our workshop on developing a good working team.   As a manager , it should be a goal of ours to help our staff fulfill their potential. By doing this, we develop a staff who does their best  and most creative work.

  It is a process no doubt but a gradual one.  As managers / directors we need to discuss and explore with each one of our staff their strengths, talents, and  interests.   We need to observe and analyze as we go about our work with our staff to help them to identify their most positive abilities.

  Another possibility would be to create a survey asking them what they like to do best.  Then we can assign the correct person for the job and have the jobs/ tasks fall into the 'lap" of the right person.  This will help to develop the sense of team work within your staff. When they begin to think of themselves as a team  , then work and tasks at hand become more efficiently accomplished.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Managers Workshop: Discovering and Mentoring Talent-

   I attended a recent workshop for library manger's , directors, and any staff who has people to manage and direct.  It focused on mentoring  talent in staff and getting the best results.  But the speaker also addressed becoming a better leaders to help your library build a dream team of staff who will love what they do and be creative in their positions.

  Her firs big question to use was "Why are you in this job and in this field?"  We had a small group discussion to tell our story of how we got into the library field.

  As manager or directors , we need to a) develop a vision, share it, and have our staff buy into it, b) communicate regularly with staff, and c) create an environment  that allows discussion and a good communication system

  So our firs step would be to create our vision/ mission/  Then challenge staff to help build and fulfill the vision you see for your library.  As you listen to staff and their ideas , make changes . Embrace good discussions that bring up points to improve your library. Have staff become more involved in the work at hand and the vision of what your library is becoming!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Manage your time with a Kitchen Timer

     Using a kitchen timers can help you manage small blocks of time. It may sound silly, but it does work.  Once you turn it on, then you have two goals: Finish your project before it dings or try to get done before it dings.  Then when you are done, you can cross off the job that has been completed.

  Use your Timer

1. To remind yourself to make a phone call.

2. Promise yourself to work on something for say 10 minutes on something you do not want to do.

3. Use  your timer to go off when you need to be reminded to do a specific task.

4. Divide yo your time/ day . Spend say 30 minutes on one project and another 15 on another.

5. Play ' beat the clock" and set your timers and try to get all your tasks done in that time period.

6. Use your timer to control length of meetings or discussions.  Each person gets a certain amount of time to speak / present their points.

7. Use your timers to work out length of time for specific regular tasks. Then continue to use  the timer to make sure you stay on task and complete items in the time frame required.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Procrastination

   Are you a procrastinator?   Most of us procrastinate in one area of our lives or another.  There are many reasons why we procrastinate: fear of failure, wanting to do something else, feeling overwhelmed ,or being just plain lazy.

   First determine what situation cause you to procrastinate. The best way to overcome procrastination is to start small.  Figure out what it is you need to have done.  Take 10 or 15 minutes and tell yourself  you will just start the task.  (By breaking the task into smaller increments , you will feel better about starting, and you will see that you did accomplish a small portion of the task/ job.

  I like to break down large projects into do-able task.  The other thing that helps is writing down steps/ activities that need to be done and due dates when you want each segment done.

   Another help is to keep your written tasks in front of you , so you can grab a few minutes to do one part.
Then cross off /or date  each segment, and  you'll be able to see your self getting the job done.

   Some other tactics to stop your procrastination : offer yourself a reward/ bribe for the completion of the task or project, delegate part or all of the job, clean your workspace and leave only the task at hand out, or trick your self: I 'll only do one page today"

  Check out my book"The Organized Library" under the tab Books for Sale for more ideas on how to get more done.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Weekly Memo's For Staff

  About every other week, I will send out a weekly memo. The reason I do this is so I can keep the staff informed of various events, activities, policies, and  other items that I  need to tell them.

  The weekly memo helps me because  I can write it once and then know that I have told everyone what I needed to tell them and I don't have to ask- "Did I tell you.....?"  

   My next step will be to post the weekly memos on our library Libguide  ( More on that in another post), so that  the staff can refer back to the weekly memos easily and not have to search through their emails  to find the email I sent.

  Some items I might include:  updates to policies and procedures,  new programs coming up, food drive/pet drive month,  opening & closing procedures,  items to be done when at the circ desk,  birthdays and graduations,  monthly tasks, and other housekeeping items.

 

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Magazine management

   How do you manage your magazines?   How do you keep track of if anything is missing?  There are many ways to do this. One of the easiest is one described in The Organized Librarian ( See under tab for books for sale).

   Now that I am in a public library , my clerks do most of the keeping track and it is one thing I do not have to stress about.  When a title is missing , I just give a call to our magazine supplier and our friendly Allison takes care of it.

 But I do recommend   keeping a listing of what magazines you receive. Now I also like to track how times each title goes out so I can decide if I will reorder when the renewals come up. 

 We bar code each one as we get  a newer one each month. Which means the current month does not go out, but back issues can. 

 Our present magazine rack is not the greatest. But I am hoping that our Friends group will be able to purchase a regular one for us.

 We keep the magazines for a year and then we discard them. We have a "Free Box" where patrons can recycle their magazines. So at times we will place the outdated magazines in their.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Book Processing

 You still may be processing  your new books. And you may be getting tired of doing it and wish it were done.  Especially in a public library when you may get a shipment every month.  How can you get it done and still do something / anything else to have your library in good shape ?    In "The Organized Librarian" I give some ideas  on getting everything done or at least not feeling so very overwhelmed at all there is to do.

        But I still get the feeling that the books will Never  get all done and then a new shipment comes in with more books. Now I love love new books but I want them to be all ready for the staff and patrons, and not have them staring me in the face.   So what I do is this , depending on the number of other things I need to do , I set a daily goal of the number of books  to do each day.  

         The rest I 'hide"- no I really do not hide them , I just place them on a cart facing toward the wall or in a closet  so I do not see them 24/7.  Then I get the book goal done as soon as I can - coming in early, staying late, making sure that the other activities I need to have completed  are finished. If I am having a good day- I sneak out the next days goal and do them. 

        If there is a great day of only a few classes or a meeting that I do not have to attend then I sometimes do a marathon day of stamping, date due slips,  and  putting on genre stickers.  Then I really feel great about getting all the books ready.

    
    

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Establishing Routines

   Where ever you are in your  life's work , trying routine of regular  tasks is worth thinking about and establishing .  Determine   what routine tasks you normally do .

   One idea is to take 3 by 5 cards and write down some of your regular tasks.  I would do a daily card and list the items that I do on a daily basis. ( Circ stats,  checking emails,  ect)

   Then I would do a weekly one - figuring out what needs to be done on a weekly basis. ( magazine check in / straighten, 

    Lastly I would do a monthly list ( on a card if it was big enough)  and list the tasks / jobs needed to be done.  ( reports,  calendars,

    When looking at all the cards , I can then figure out which items should be done when I am fresh and  ready. Morning  happens to be my best time for important tasks, typing, reports. and financials. .

.   This I placed up on my board with a card file  I can glance at that and see what tasks I need to complete.    I can figure out when to do certain tasks, at times that are convenient.It seems to work for me. Try it you might like it.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Shifting Shelves! Moving Books!

   What  is your technique for shifting ( moving ) books on shelves?  We were helping yesterday at the Public library . I have shifted shelves many times in my many years of librarianship  and each time I try to think of how to do it more efficiently.

     One of the most obvious things to look at and consider is height of books. If they are all consistent then it is not a problem. If you will have the room, you might want to adjust the shelves and put more of the books all upright and not turned down.  ( This is much better for the  books of course)

  When you get into the mode of moving and adjusting shelves, get a cup for shelf brackets , a couple of towels  to wipe the shelves and backs of shelves and maybe even a tape measure or ruler.( This saves a lot of time when you have to get the brackets even for the shelves.

   If you do not have to adjust the shelves then the job will go a lot quicker. It is easier to work backwards, ( for me anyway) then you can move each shelf either over or down.  While you are shifting, check the books, dust them off if need be , and also  look for books that need repair or could possibly be deleted,
 
   When you are doing this process it may remind you of inventory . It is also a great way to get to know  your  collection : see what you have, see what you want to check the circulation stats on.