Why students need a librarian- Pt 2

   Here are a few more reasons why students need you ( the librarian) to help them in their school careers These are good talking points if you need to defend your position in your school.

   1. Librarians teach students how to evaluate the information they find on the internet. Is is authoritative? Is it up to date? Students  are offered areas to look for in order for them to be sure the site is reliable.

   2. Librarians plan lessons to instruct students how to devise different questions so they can find answered  . There are fat and thin questions, they are open and closed questions. Then librarian can help students learn the difference and then how to construct them,

  3. Librarians can recommend books  to suit readers interests  and levels.  The librarian can provide students  book sites and blog where students can look for new and interesting titles

Noodle tools / citation builder

      If you have an active library page and a citation program, make sure to put a link to it on your page. Then be sure the link works.
     Your next goal is to provide instruction the use of your citation program. Connect with your staff and students to show them where the link is. Offer to teach the students how to use the program. Every time you get in front of a group of students and staff, remind them of the link to the builder that is on the library page.
    We use Noodletools so I developed a mini lesson to instruct the students and staff . I also devised a cheat sheet to back up my instructions. This sheet is a hand out for students, which they can refer to for help after the lesson is over,
  

Library Bulletin Boards for February

Now it is time to think about February and what to do about the bulletin boards.   Here are some ideas :

We love to Read!- Give pink or red hearts  to students and have the write their favorite books. Students can write I Love...   and give the title and their name. Place on BB with letters of slogan on top in black letters - Can use a light background and heart /scallop edges.

Black History Month- Place pictures of famous African Americans . You can number them, Give some clues under each one. Students can use references or online sources to find out . Students can give guesses in to you- At the end of the month, place names under each one.

Tech tie in- Tweet a sweet Book! Give students an enlarged note. Place a cute bird on each side of the BB- Students can write their favorite titles on each note and then placed on the BB.

Presidents Day- You  can do this similar to Black History Month.( Use presidents that students do not know) Or you could place some presidents  and have students find little know facts on each person.

Fiction to Film: Scan covers of books that you have in your library that have been made into movies.  Place the slogan in the middle and the covers around. A slogan to add  would be: Have you read these?

Update your library web page!

  How often do you update your library page? What exactly should you update?

  1.If you do a lot of collaboration with teachers and student then you need to do quite a bit. Whenever you work with students, try to add/ edit a livebinder or a curated list of sites for them to use.

 2, Update links/ websites for students to use in projects - check links to be sure they are working and up to date.( eliminate old ones and look for new ones)

 3. Additional resources- add links for staff to use for their information , or teaching resources

 4. Add your newsletter if you do one.

 5. Add Book recommendations ( what the librarian is reading - or have kids do this with reviews

 6. Information about what is happening at the library

 7. Publicize new resources

 8. Add links for student recommendations   to books if you have a section on that.

Quotes about Libraries!

I love to search out quotes about books and libraries.  Here  are just a few of my favorites!

 "Books are the mirrors of the Soul." V Woof

 " A library doesn't need windows, a library is a window." Steward Brand

 "We may sit in our library and yet be in all the quarters of the earth." John Lubback

  " Libraries change lives for the better." Sidney Sheldon

   " When in doubt, go to the library." ( Ron) J.K.Rowling

  "A library could show you everything, if you know where to look" Pat Conroy

   'There's a magical place, called a library." Moria Fowley Doyle

   " All that is necessary for a student is access to a library." Thomas Jefferson


    So what do I do with these? I might add them to my signature line in my emails. ( I like to change mine a lot).  I make up posters with the sayings and fit them on the walls of the library  or in the stacks and in the halls at different spots.   Sometimes I put them on information sheets or work sheets for both students and teachers.  I might include them in my monthly newsletter.  And then I change them whenever I come with more library/ book quotes!

A Book and A hug- Great site

   This is a great site  ( A book and a hug) . If  you haven't seen this site yet , check it out. I think you will be impressed. I only just discovered it and I am loving it!
    First of all you can search for books to read  by author , title and  Everything! There is also an advanced search tab- like category, reading/ age level, and reader personality type and other additional options.
  Students can take a reader personality type to determine what type of reader they are. There are basic and advanced tests.
   Up at the top there are tabs: Books by category, read alouds, authors, lesson plans and a blog. Barbara Langridge  is the creator of the site. She is also a speakers about books and librarians. Barb was a former librarians and book store owner , so she has the experience of a book lover. Her goal is to create readers, and connect students with books.
  At the bottom of the site, there are more links. My favorite is the " If you liked, then you'll like" a great tool for students!

Collaboration or plain old help

  Classroom and special area teacher have hard jobs.  You may know this is you were formally a teacher. I myself was only educated to be a librarian, but I did turn into a teacher for a few years when I taught at a Catholic school.
  Anyway m if you provide extra help to your teachers , they will think you are a rock star! So how can you help them?
  If they need an extras set of eyes, ears, or hands when they are doing an activity or perhaps when they are using computers or laptop , your' in!  Maybe they need a few quick copies if  you have a printer in your space. Do they need a larger area/ work space for their students when they are doing a project based learning activity? Do they need an extra set of hands when they are doing a breakout box or a maker space activity? If you make yourself and your space available you become a partner in the classroom learning.

True Collaboration

 So far I have written about  ways for us librarians to introduce our teachers to true collaboration. As you know collaboration is when the librarian and teacher work together to develop  units and lessons that bring our resources into the teachers curriculum.  Librarians are the rock stars here when this happens . The students benefit  in their leaning .

  By working with teachers , and helping develop project based lessons or research unites or inquiry units, the librarian brings the 21st learning skills into play. More and more the student needs these skills to keep up with the expanding information. The databases , online resources  and other  library sources are continually updated with the expanding information.

 When you as librarian collaborate with just one teacher, more will follow when they see how the students are learning , and the teachers are getting a helping hand as the librarian partners with the staff,

Collaboration - Online Resources

   School librarians can also collaborate with teachers by promoting and teaching about the databases and pathfinders. The databases and online resources are usually tailored to specific grade and reading levels for ease of use  by the students.
  Librarians need to be available to instruct students and teachers how to locate where the databases are, include the log in and passwords if necessary, and then teach how to best use them.
  Librarians can collect ( curate) pathfinders for specific classes and students. A pathfinder is just a collection of reliable websites for students to use.  You can use Destiny to do this also.  Students then can then work closely with students and teachers in the use of these online resources.

Monthly Report- Part 4

  What else can  you include in your Monthly report? Here are some additional suggestions you might want to consider.
  Do you do a newsletter for your teachers- I  did a monthly one- sometimes in print- some online. Attach a hard copy into your monthly report package.
  How about bulletin boards or book displays? Take a quick clear shot and put that into your monthly report. Insert captions with each one.
   How do you announce new books? I send a "New Book list" .  Then I would Print out and attach to  the  monthly report package/
  All of these showcase some of the things you do for the staff and students at your  school.

Collaboration- lessons

  There are man different ways librarians collaborate with teachers and students. These lessons can be  customized to the teacher/ student  needs and requirements. Many times , lessons are based on research projects or project based learning activities.

  Librarians can develop lessons with teachers on databases  your school district has access to. Pathfinders can be constructed  by librarians for student use which helps direct the student to reliable , safe, and accurate information which saves the student time .

  Librarians can show students how to use the databases and include passwords and log in's if needed, Other lessons can include use of the school online card catalog and library website , which usually contains many helpful mites for students and teachers

Monthly Report- Part 3

  So  you are doing a monthly report to submit to your administration- you have circulation records and book stats. So what else should you include?

  Here are a few ideas.

  If on a flex schedule ,you could include : the classes that came to the library for books, the classes that came for a lesson on research skills, the classes that came to use the resources for a project , the classes that came to use the computers.
  I would list the teachers name,  name of lesson I taught  , or type of research they were doing. ( and how many classes for each since middle school teachers had 5 or 6 classes each day.) I would also include if I went into a classroom for a lesson or with the laptop cart, or I assisted a class in the computer lab with research or writing projects.

  One of the other items I always included is  a listing of teachers whom I provided with books for their classrooms or if I curated a list of websites for them to use with students.

 This information  showed that I was working closely with the staff and students to support the learning goals of the school.

  

Collaboration- Begin with Books!

     When you have true collaboration with your teachers, it is the most ideal situation for your students and your teachers. I think most everyone knows that. There are many different ways librarians can collaborate with their staff. If you are just beginning and trying to get teachers to collaborate  with you, one way to start if with books.
    If you can provide books for students and teachers  for teachers to use is just one way to start the process. Books can go to the classroom or stay in the library, depending on where the class will meet,         
    Books can be on display or for use to support teacher units. Books can be used to help with project research, fact finding, or extended information, or further enrichment/ engagement. They can be used to expand on units studied. 
    If teachers or students need books you don't have, many librarians can do inter library loan to get them. If I have book requests from teachers for units, I usually put them on the purchase list for the following year, if I know they will do the unit the next year.  I also keep lists of books that go with units so I have it the next year.  

Monthly Report- What should I include?

    What are the basics you should include in your Monthly Report?  First and Foremost  , your circulation shows what books and another items( eBooks, audio books, other items you circulate and are in charge of)  went out during the month.
   Another stat to show would be how many students came in during the month to check out books, or even in your classes. This shows how much student contact you have during the month. If you have a sign in ( sheet or log in)  to account for student use.
   Just these two items will show how many students you see each day. In a basic report like this , you could also indicate the number of new books that are received and processed each month.  You could also report funds spent on books and materials.
 See Part 1 of Why should I do a monthly report in my last post.

 If you do a monthly report, what do to include? Leave a comment below - join the conversation! When you follow me or leave a comment you will be entered to receive a copy of "The Organized Librarian"- Drawing to be held at the end of the month.

Monthly Report- should I do one?- Book Giveaway!

   I think every librarian should do a monthly report.  Even if you have loads of classes,  maybe no help, and are crunched for time, make time to at least do a brief report.  I am suggesting that a basic simple report  to administration leads to greater understanding of what librarians do.
    Why? First of all, doing a monthly report  demonstrates that you do more than just classes  or just book check out.   Many Administrators and staff   have no  idea of what is involved in running a library. If you give even the basic details you can show what else you are doing to maintain the library
  It is our job as librarians to  educate our Administrators and staff of what librarians can do and should be doing!
  If you do a monthly report, what do to include? Leave a comment below - join the conversation! When you follow me or leave a comment you will be entered to receive a copy of "The Organized Librarian"- Drawing to be held at the end of the month/1

Library Bulletin Boards for October

  These are just a few ideas for October:

 Fall in love with reading!  leaves falling down to the ground from a bare tree- could put titles of books on the leaves

Scare up some good books- ghosts with titles on it

Pick of the patch- lots of pumpkins!( include book titles / authors)

Reading is a Scream - put up covers of
scary or horror  books all around the letters!

 Have students create starting in early Oct. Make a whole bunch of plain orange pumpkins- Have them write on a good scary book that they would recommend.

Six steps to Processing new books

  The new books are rolling in . What do you have to do to get them ready for the shelves?? In case you have them come processed, there are still a few things  you need to do before you put them on display or on the shelves.
  1. Property Stamp
  2. Gentrify- If your fiction are arranged this way-We use opaque colored labels to go over the spine label. We also change the spine label in Destiny so it signified where the book is located.
  3. Cover the books if needed.
  4. attach labels if not complete
  5. Load mar records intro your system if not completed,
  6. Adjust records in your system: price, vendor, funding
  Display them in a new book section!!

Free Easy Lesson for GRs. 4-7: Internet versus Print

 I have an easy lesson plan for grades 4-7, that involves students in a completion and shows them the importance of using both books and internet sources for information,
 For the set up , I have  some non-fiction books, a set of encyclopedias, and computers - laptops, desktops, or chrome books.
  Think of some simple questions that students might need the answer to- What year was Lincoln president? When did the civil war start?  Link the question to what the students are doing in Social studies or science so it has some significance.
  For class prep: Go over /ask students to tell the class how to find items in books and encyclopedia quickly/ ) use the table of contents, index, know the Encyc are in alphabetical order.
  Hand out the questions to each group. Students will work together to find answer. One person in each group should be a time keeper, writing down how much time it takes to get the answer. Students write the answer down with the time.
See who gets the correct answer first!! Each group can state the answer , their source, and how much time it took to get  the answer.
 If time permits, students can do another round of questions.
  Exit ticket: Have students determine  what source is best for the quickest answer.
   

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!

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.