Writing a Vision, Mission, and Beliefs for the Library: My Thoughts

Posted on January 28, 2012 by plemmonsa

For the past 3 years, I have told myself over and over that I need to rewrite the mission statement of the Barrow Media Center to be more representative of the kinds of learning that are taking place within and beyond our walls, but every time I sit down to work on it I get stuck. One of the reasons I get stuck is that I keep re-reading the mission statement that is already in place and thinking that it sounds pretty good. This year, I tried something different. First, I gave myself permission to mess up. Instead of sitting and worrying over getting the words just right the first time, I just gave it a go. Second, I pushed the current mission statement aside so that it didn’t cloud my thinking. Third, I set a goal to write a vision for the future, a mission of how to get there, and a set of beliefs that represented what our program is grounded in. I also wanted to create a vision, mission, and beliefs that is grounded in the AASL standards for 21st century learning and the ISTE National Technology Standards…..and that is concise, exciting, and understandable. The last piece, understandable, was what proved to be a challenge. I spent a lot of time reading the AASL standards and the ISTE NETS standards. Then, I began to create a list of words and phrases that stood out. Then, I grouped the phrases and words together by similarity. It looked something like this:

Words to consider:

creativity; generate new ideas; create original works; innovation; publish; creative and artistic formats
interact, collaborate with peers, experts, or others; teamwork; personal or group expression
variety of media and formats
global awareness; consider diverse and global perspectives
solve problems; critical thinking; critical stance
inquire; display curiosity; plan and conduct research; locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information; multiple resources and formats; social networks and information tools to gather and share information
personal responsibility for lifelong learning; personal learning
leadership
digital citizenship; safe and ethical behaviors
demonstrate flexibility; adaptability; openness to new ideas; persisting in information searching despite challenges
reflect on learning
participate and collaborate in societal and intellectual networks
use information and technology ethically
demonstrate leadership and confidence
present formally and informally; multiple audiences; share new understandings
social responsibility
read, view, and listen for pleasure and growth; read widely and fluently
make connections to self, world, and other texts; respond to literature
participatory
transliteracy, transmedia

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to use every word and phrase that I wrote down as I wanted to make sure that what I wrote was grounded in the language of the standards. Finally, I started writing. This is what came out.

Vision:

The vision of the David C. Barrow Elementary Media Center is to be a learning commons flowing with innovation, collaboration, curiosity, adaptability, critical inquiry, and transliteracy.

Mission:

The mission of the David C. Barrow Elementary Media Center is to offer cutting-edge instruction and programming that develops innovative leaders who create content that reaches a global audience.

Beliefs:

The David C. Barrow Elementary Media Center is grounded in the beliefs that:

Reading is a window to the world which can be experienced in a variety of formats for pleasure or growth.

Creating information and story is just as important as consuming information and story.

Access to information and story across multiple platforms is essential to learning.

Technology is a pathway to a global audience.

A collaborative of expertise is present in every environment.

Flexibility and adaptability are important both in physical space and learning opportunities.

Locating, organizing, analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing, and ethically using information is a crucial piece of being a responsible, digital citizen.

Persisting through challenges strengthens understanding and confidence.

Reflection and self assessment promote excellence.

On January 12-14, 2012, I attended the School Reform Initiative Winter Meeting in Atlanta. Educators from across the country attended and spent time together in professional learning communities using protocols to have important discussions and offer feedback around dilemmas, student work, and adult work in education. I took my vision, mission, and beliefs (in progress) to that meeting. My group consisted of educators from around Atlanta as well as an educator from Texas. They were teachers, principals, instructional coaches, and data support specialists. Using a Tuning Protocol, they looked at my draft and tried to tune the draft to my goal. The biggest piece of feedback that I received was about the vision, mission, and beliefs being understandable. It was suggested to change the language so that words such as “transliteracy” weren’t there. I pushed back on this because I felt that even though some of the words are hard to define and might not be understood by every person reading the mission, they are crucial. The question that prompted the most thought for me was, “Then, how are people going to understand this vision and mission?” A suggestion was to have multiple ways of representing the vision, mission, and beliefs. Maybe part would be text, part would be video, and part would be student work. My wheels began to turn as I thought about how a vision, mission, and beliefs could really show transliteracy or transmedia in action.

That’s where I’m at right now. I have this draft, which I’m still working on and getting feedback on from as many people as possible, and I’m thinking about how I can show our library and program’s vision, mission, and beliefs in action.

I’m going to continue to give myself permission to not worry about it being perfect, but instead to constantly morph and adapt to the kind of learning that is taking place and the kind of learning that we want to take place in our program. I think having a vision, mission, and beliefs that truly represents the learning that takes place in libraries is important. My hope is that it will also guide the design process as my school undergoes a major renovation next year.

I welcome your feedback and invite you to also think about your own vision, mission, and beliefs.

Andy Plemmons

School Librarian

David C. Barrow Elementary

Athens, GA

http://barrowmediacenter.wordpress.com

http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/webpages/aplemmons

Flexibility In Action!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Jim Randolph

It’s been a busy week and I despaired last night of having anything for my monthly GLMA post. But then this morning happened and I have plenty to say about being flexible!

We had an extra leadership team meeting this morning which ran long, so I barely had time to switch from that to prepping for my morning broadcast. Luckily I have a long term crew that know their jobs. The this morning I was scheduled to be in four places at once. No, really.

Like every morning, I was scheduled to be in a 3rd grade teacher’s classroom for a half hour of focused instruction. This has to do with our Title I status and I spent 9:15-9:45 going over report drafts with students for final copies. I also had a a 4th grade Specials class from 9:50-10:35. But there was some special events going on as well. At 9:00 some folks had scheduled the school Spelling Bee in the media center and a school Geography Bee in another part of the building at the same time. I was scheduled to be in both videotaping the events. All while teaching in two classes.

So I set up cameras with fresh tapes in both places and had them adjusted, focused and ready and told the organizers not to forget to hit the record buttons! I’m also lucky enough to have a great clerk, so she ran the camera for the Spelling Bee, starting and stopping it in the interest of time.

Instead of having the Specials class in the media center (because of the Spelling Bee) I took my laptop and materials down to the classroom. Luckily it was the one lesson I often do that doesn’t require us to actually be in the library. This group wasn’t able to check out at their normal time at the end of class, so I gave them passes to use in small groups throughout the day.

Whew! The rest of the day was your normal everyday crazy. Breaking down the Spelling Bee stuff, requesting custodians for a spill, gathering resources for tomorrow’s Guest Reader Day, emailing teacher movie times for the MLK video, finding a sub for an inservice, and then again rearranging everything in the library for tomorrow’s Guest Readers and the reading bowl contestant morning practice session. Oh, and my walkie-talkie I use to communicate with those on bus duty so I can synch the dismissal slides stopped working, so I had to deal with that real quick.

But I did it all with a smile because I’m flexible!

(Just don’t look at my desk…)

Thanks,

Jim Randolph

Partee Elemetary,

Snellville, GA

Some Notes After COMO 2011

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Jim Randolph

The cool thing about COMO is that you and a colleague could go and could come back to compare notes and you would have had two completely different experiences. There’s that many different breakout sessions on that many different subjects.

My personal COMO journey focused, with no forethought, on pictures books. I just kept ending up in cool little breakout sessions that told me about amazing picture books and ways to use them to teach with that were incredibly fun and interesting with all different grade levels. I still need to sit down and process through it all, but it definitely gets the creative juices flowing. And this is definitely a good time of year to get a renewed kick in the creative pants!

It was a smaller affair than in past years. Not as many districts are sending as many folks. I sincerely hope it doesn’t dry up and go away. The inspiration, information and new ideas you get from conferences and other good professional learning experiences are invaluable for tech and media people like us. I’m not saying you should go to as many conferences as possible every single year. I’m saying do go to at least one professional learning experience, whether a class or at least a local conference every year. You never know what you’ll end up taking away or how it will influence your practice.

It may not even be the main subject of the experience. I got just as much from lunching with colleagues as I did from the sessions themselves. I learned about technology that was new to me just by asking. I’m talking here about tech that was being used by presenters, but not necessarily the point of the presentation. Or I learned new and different ways to do things I was already into.

Probably everyone’s favorite general session was seeing Eric Litwin and James Dean in their Pete the Cat presentation. Yes it was amazingly fun and interactive, but it also taught us how to be better interactive presenters. Many people have commented that they read an author’s books much better after seeing the author(s) present it themselves. I know I learned a ton from seeing Mo Willems in person some time back.

So keep going to conferences when you can and share what you learn with the rest of us!

Thanks,
Jim Randolph
Partee Elementaree
Snellville, GA

Your School Library Bill of Rights

Posted on May 21, 2011 by bethfriese

At the end of the school year, as my students are finishing their coursework and getting ready to do their student teaching, I ask them to compose vision statements for themselves as teachers.

I think this can be a useful exercise in thinking for many educators. It is easy to get caught up in the everyday activities of our schools and library media centers. The end of the year, when classes are winding down and we reflect on the year we’ve just ended, can be a good time to step back and think about our core values for the school library program. This may be especially important when we are facing losses in funding, staff, and other resources that are essential to a vital school library program.

When I have my students complete this assignment, the vision statement can take many forms. One of the options I give is a “Bill of Rights” of sorts, or a set of essential ideas that form the core of their educational practices.

Of course, we already have a Library Bill of Rights and an interpretation of it that articulates its application to school libraries. I encourage students to try to state their ideas simply, then add explanations if necessary.

I’m going to start my list of essential core values for the school library program. What would you add? Share your core values with us in the comments.

1.) Students have the right to access the instruction and expertise of a full-time credentialed library media specialist(s) as well as adequate support staff to ensure this accessibility and smooth functioning.

2.) Students have the right to resources that reflect their own cultures as well as the diverse world we live in.

3.) Students have the right to pursue topics of personal interest in the library media center using the resources available there (both physical and virtual).

4.) Students have the right to regular information literacy instruction embedded in their broader curricular studies, not separate from it.

5.) Students have the right to participate in creating their school library media program.

….What would you add?

Leadership and the school librarian: Take Control of Your Space

Posted on May 17, 2011 by susangrigsby

When I was in college getting my undergraduate degree – a B.S. in Commercial Music Recording and Production – I took a class through the psychology department simply titled “Leadership.” The professor was a woman who chose to guide the class with The Tao of Leadership by John Heider. If you go to http://www.amazon.com and look up the title you will find this description: “The Tao of Leadership is an invaluable tool for anyone in a position of leadership. This book provides the simplest and clearest advice on how to be the very best kind of leader: be faithful, trust the process, pay attention, and inspire others to become their own leaders. Heider’s book is a blend of practical insight and profound wisdom, offering inspiration and advice. This book is used as a Management/Leadership training text by many Fortune 500 corporations, including IBM, Mitsubishi, and Prudential.” (http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Leadership-Tzus-Ching-Adapted/dp/0893340790/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305638259&sr=1-1; accessed 5/17/2011).

I have owned that book since 1991 and I still refer to it 20 years later. Not because it is a “how to” type of book but because it is timeless in its wisdom. It isn’t about how to run a company and it isn’t about how to take control of a group. It is, however, a guidebook for the personal journey to that place in ourselves that is confident (not arrogant), joyful (not ignorant), and intelligent (not elitist). I think it should be required reading for the school librarian. Why? Because I consistently hear from colleagues who complain that teachers “won’t collaborate,” administrators “don’t get it,” and legislators and lawmakers think “we’re expendable.” All true. But I rarely, if ever, hear those same colleagues talk about where they are making changes within themselves or their programs to address these issues. Rarely do I see that there is an acceptance of some personal responsibility for this state of affairs. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist and I’ll even go out on a limb and say that those who are making the effort to read this blog are not the librarians to whom I am referring. But if you’re reading this blog, you know I am speaking the truth. We are surrounded by those that blame “the other” before ever taking a critical look at their own contribution to the problem.

In the May/June issue of School Library Monthly there is an article titled “Success is an Attitude” by Kara Fribley. This article is part of the magazine’s “Taking the Lead” series and, in my humble opinion, a must read. Ms. Fribley opens her article by saying “School librarians can be leaders who positively impact the tone for the entire school” (p. 34). The article is about how Ms. Fribley looked critically at the physical space of her library and made changes that altered the feel and usability of it. Isolated seating areas were opened up and made more accessible. Individual study carrels were removed and open tables with flexible seating were put in their place to foster collaborative learning. In some areas the changes cost absolutely nothing but a little sweat worked up by moving some furniture around. According to Ms. Fribley, “…it ultimately falls to the librarian to encourage or discourage patron usage of the library” (p. 35). Truer words are rarely spoken. The words spoke to me directly because I am putting thought into action by changing my library space, too. I am taking on the leadership needed to improve my space and it is already paying off.

For starters, I painted a rainbow of colors on the cinderblock columns that surround the collection space. Suddenly, the beige and cream color scheme (if you can really call beige and cream a color scheme) was brightened up and brought a little joy to the library. What did it cost? About $60 for paint, brushes, and painter’s tape and a couple of my days during the summer. Then I looked at the entrance – more beige and cream, nothing inviting students in, nothing that said I welcomed them. So, I came up with a quote and stenciled it on the walls of the entry way in the same rainbow colors I used on the columns. As you walk in you see the first part of the quote “Enter with Curiosity…” and as you leave you see the second part, “Exit with Knowledge.” It looks professional but was beyond easy and anyone who wants to know how I did it can send me an email and I’ll explain. I am a creative problem-solver, not an artist!

Next, I tackled my Reference collection. Surrounded by overstuffed shelves and no teaching space I had to think critically about how to rearrange that area. I did some very necessary weeding and opened up some of the shelving. I had the county come in and remove the tall shelves that took up one entire wall – those were distributed to grateful teachers for classroom use. I then did some serious negotiating with our county warehouse and found a dry-erase board sitting unused that they were willing to install on that wide open wall. Now my reference collection is updated and the area is more like a small classroom. How much did it cost? Nothing (although I did offer our warehouse manager a plate of brownies for his help – he declined).

Finally, I looked at the flow of traffic in my media center and did not like what I saw. This school is only 10 years old and there are still many “opening items” here that had to go. I had rows of shelves that had never held any books and, quite frankly, it did not make sense to just fill them up because they were there. I began looking at the emptiness and began thinking in terms of efficiency. My clerk, my intern, and I began rearranging the collection. No shelf is stuffed but the Dewey categories are now closer together. By tweaking the shelving arrangement I ended up with 16 double-sided bookshelves that were completely empty right in the center of the collection. I asked the county to come and pick them up (they did), I asked teachers to let me know if they wanted any of them (they did), and asked the rest to be taken to the county warehouse for storage (done). Now I have this open area with a couch and 2 chairs, 4 beanbag chairs, and a round table with 4 chairs where those empty shelves used to be. And you know what? That area is full of students every morning and has been since the shelves were removed. I didn’t advertise, I didn’t make a big deal about it – but they came and they sat together and they read books and worked on projects together. And they seemed happy! I have a lot more transformative projects up my sleeve and I will let you know when (notice I did not say “if”) they happen. You can click on the pictures below to get a better view of what I’ve done.

The Tao of Leadership tells us that the great leader knows when to listen and when to speak. It tells us that the great leader understands that s/he becomes empowered by empowering his/her team. It tells us that leadership is sometimes quiet and evolutionary rather than vocal and demanding. It is an ebb and flow of action and assistance. It tells us that if we want to make a change we must begin with ourselves because clarity of thought and action draws others to us more powerfully than anything else. So… start rearranging!

BOOKS TO RECOMMEND

Posted on March 26, 2011 by libraryladybug

It’s always difficult trying to anticipate what books with be popular with your students. Sometimes I think I have hit on a no-fail series, just to watch the books gather dust on the shelves. It seems like lately nothing can compare with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series—all those books just fly off the shelves. I think, though, I might have found some series that rival Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Recently I bought the entire Katie Woo series, and the students love them. One of my second graders last week told me: “I am going to read every one of the Katie books. I really like them.” Music to a librarian’s hears!!! Who doesn’t want to hear a second grader say her goal is to read the entire series?!??!?!

There are about 30 books in the Katie Woo series, written by Fran Manushkin and Tammie Lyon. The AR level range is between 2.0-3.0. Even though the plot of the books are universal, meaning the subject matter is appropriate for boys and girls, the girls will gravitate toward the books—I haven’t had one boy check out a Katie Woo book. The main character is a girl, and some of the covers are purple or pink—not exactly colors elementary school boys want to tote around. But that’s okay—I am thrilled the books are flying off the shelf and the girls are excited to read! It’s also a great series for 4^th and 5^th graders who read below grade level— the series has chapters, the series is not a graphic novel, and when the older girls earn a good AR score they feel successful.

Bone is another series that brags good circulation statistics. This is a graphic novel series by Jeff Smith that appeals to both girls and boys. Initially I ordered just the first three books, and recently ordered the other volumes—there are about 10 books to date in this series. Although younger readers who read above their grade level check out these books, it seems more popular with my 4^th and 5^th graders.

So does anyone have a series they could recommend? What’s popular in your library? Would love and appreciate any sage words!

Thanks so much-

Anja Tigges, Ed.S.

Scott Elementary School Librarian

1752 Hollywood Road

Atlanta, GA 30318

404-802-7000

atigges@atlanta.k12.ga.us

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Posted on January 31, 2011 by susangrigsby

Pogo said it well, didn’t he? But what did he really mean? Allow me to muse on this since it’s been on my mind as I look at the continuing dismal picture that is Georgia’s K-12 public education.
It is this writer’s humble opinion that Pogo was commenting on the fact that we are all personally responsible for the polluted waters in which we live. It reminds me of a concept in Zen Buddhism that says (and I’m paraphrasing) if you meet an obstacle in your path that does not yield in spite of your every effort to overcome, then you need to understand that you put it there yourself.
Every single day I see emails and hear stories from teacher-librarians about how things don’t work in their schools. The culprits range from uncaring administrators to micro-managing central offices to incompetent clerks to not enough money to… You get the picture. Yet in nearly every one I yearn to hear the suggestion of a solution. Take a look around this state at the teacher-librarians that are making their programs work and are making a difference in their schools and the one thing you will NOT find is an absence of any problems like those mentioned above. They work in spite of those things, folks. So what makes the difference in programs/teacher-librarians that work and those that don’t? I belive it is a kind of divergent thinking exhibited by those who are successful.
Do you have an uncaring administrator? Okay…maybe you’ve talked until you’re blue in the face but nothing has changed. Have you thought of a different approach? Maybe that administrator needs to be shown what you do, not asked if you can do it. Maybe that’s a person who will be impressed with results and turned off by complaints. Maybe you should take a moment and re-examine how you’ve dealt with this person in the past and get suggestions from your successful colleagues about how they’ve overcome this issue. It IS possible but the possibilities begin with YOU.
Do you have a micro-managing central office? How have you approached your building level staff for ideas and suggestions on implementing successful programs? Is there a colleague at your school that is able to get innovative lessons/ideas into practice that you could collaborate with? Sometimes approaching successful staff members with an attitude that includes admiration, respect, and “how can I help you make it even better” will go a long way to changing the status quo.
Do you have a clerk that has no training or experience in a media center? First and foremost, ask yourself what you have really done to bring that person up to speed. Maybe you’re working with someone who needs their duties spelled out in a list format prioritized by daily, weekly, or monthly tasks. Is it extra work? Yes, but isn’t it better than simply complaining that the assistant isn’t assisting? Working with someone who carries a bad attitude with them is probably the most difficult thing in the world and will bring you down quicker than almost anything else. Does that mean you throw up your hands and give up? Well, you could but how does that make YOU look? Find a spot in your school or your media center where you can go and center yourself. Take some deep breaths and repeat “I can handle this. I can rise above this. I can smile and do my job.” I’m not a Pollyanna, folks. I’ve been there. It’s hard. It’ll make you question if you’re really doing what you were meant to do and it’ll make you question whether you even want to get out of your bed and show up every day. But keep one thing in mind – you serve a purpose that is more global and far-reaching than just about anyone else in the building. Allowing one person with a bad attitude to subvert that purpose is ultimately on you. And, who knows, if you can find a way to shift your focus from problems to solutions you may find an administrator willing to entertain suggestions on solving the issue. Show that administrator how your program works, how it affects every single stakeholder in your school community, and how appropriate personnel makes a difference and you just might get some relief from an untenable situation.
These are difficult times made more trying by the economy and a social climate that places public education and public school teachers somewhere in the spectrum of used car salesmen. What are WE doing to change that? Look critically at your situation and determine where your realm of influence ends – then work backwards. Change your world and change the world of a student. That’s why we’re here, after all, isn’t it? To improve student achievement? To help them navigate the tangled overload of information thrown at them every day? To help them think critically about what they see or hear or read? Yes, there are problems – deep problems – but look at them in terms of solutions and you will soon find your focus in a different place. You do indeed have the power to move the obstacles, my friends. Don’t wait for someone else to do it for you and don’t be afraid to tackle it head-on. You make a difference when you choose to do so. What will you do differently today?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by bvrmiller

Is Your Library Program Remarkable?

Dictionary.com defines remarkable as “worthy of notice or attention”. In a 2003 TED video of Seth Godin (“Seth Godin on Standing Out”), he describes remarkable as “worth making a remark about”. Is your library program defined, is it worth making a remark about? Have you been spreading your word, your programs, and your ideas; or do you feel stymied by management and teachers?

In this time of educational flux, library media specialists need to use marketing techniques to promote our efforts. In the same TED video, Seth Godin talks about “idea diffusion” and I took this to mean, in library speak, “collaboration”. It’s taking one good idea and spreading it so people will buy into the idea and want to purchase more. As a media specialist, I have used collaborative successes to effectively market my programs to my principal and teachers.

Marketing Starts with Self Promotion

At the 2010 GLMA Summer Institute, colleague Martha Powell and I gave a presentation titled “Turn Your Desk Around”. This title is descriptive about our media programs; if we are open, friendly, and visually show that we are willing to help (hence the outward desk) we have begun the first step in marketing ourselves. We need to become self marketers and promote our programs and accomplishments to our patrons. Furthermore, I’d suggest that we need to review and update our library programs regularly so we have new things to promote.

Change Perceptions - One Idea, One Program at a Time

As teachers we know the foundations of our lessons are based on a student’s prior knowledge of the subject. Prior knowledge can also be the source of how our library programs are perceived by teachers, principals and our parent community. Patrons who have been exposed to exemplary media programs are more likely to support our current endeavors. Likewise, if their prior experiences of a library program were not positive, you may need to market your media programs in order to change their perceptions.

One way to self promote yourself and your program is through teaching. Find a teacher or a team who you can share ideas (“collaborate”) with about a lesson that incorporates state standards. Offer to teach the research skills of the lesson plan so you become an integral part of the class. Market the collaborative process and the class success to other teachers. Don’t be shy, ask the teacher(s) to give you positive recommendations. Let your principal know about your accomplishments and add them to your newsletters. Use these achievements as springboards for other collaborative lessons.

Other ideas for self promotion are to keep candy on your desk, observe and listen for ideas to help the staff and students in leadership meetings, and attend team/curriculum meetings. I have an M&M dispenser (the Statue of Liberty) and a bowl of Life Savers always available in my office. Many of my lessons and library programs have begun from an idea that was garnered from a brief discussion as a teacher was picking up a Life Saver!

In addition to teaching lessons, I started another new concept for teachers this year. After my media paraprofessional commented that staff morale was low (due to various reasons) we decided to see if we could modify the school atmosphere. With the backing of my principal, we coordinated a monthly café with Publix donating sweets, the school providing the coffee and tea, and the media center staff hosting and providing the location. Teachers smile as they walk through the media center looking for their cup of Joe and we have subtly marketed our library as being a sanctuary for their minds and body!

More ways of marketing your expertise include teaching a workshop on Web 2.0 topics (Prezi.com, Animoto, Movie Maker, etc), sponsoring a Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team, and volunteering to help in various capacities. Media specialists may also want to review and revise reading programs each year. Each time you put forth positive ideas and changes that demonstrate a willingness to support your patrons you are marketing yourself and your library program. Once you get a few accomplishments promote them to your principal and ask their help in marketing your program to the teachers and community.

Let’s Be “Remarkable”

Let’s not let library programs become stagnant. Continual revision of lesson plans, adding new displays to our libraries, partnering with new teachers for ideas, welcoming students to the media center, and being a leader in our schools are all ways to positively promote media programs. Let’s be remarkable in our personal positions and for the overall promotion of our profession!

Beth Miller, Library Media Specialist

Crabapple Middle School

bvrm@bellsouth.net

My Top 4 Thought-Provoking Readings for January

Posted on January 7, 2011 by glmaguest

My Top 4 Thought-Provoking Readings for January, 2011

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to complete my GLMA Blog post in a timely manner. I have many websites and articles that I would like to share, but I have culled it down to my top 4 (plus that gives me another couple of blog posts so I can keep the resolution going for several months.)

1. Tony Vincent presented at the Dalton ETC Media Consortium and shared the following: http://engagetech.pbworks.com . Several schools in Northwest Georgia are using the Working on the Work framework by Phillip Schlechty. Tony’s presentation was based on the WOW framework, but he has excellent ideas for integrating instructional technology for all levels and subjects. Explore this website for creative ideas to share.

2. The following article gives an interesting perspective for future educational technology Top 10 Predictions for 2011 (with proof!)
Source: techlearning.com

3. The next article addresses the importance of reading for pleasure. Only my grandmother reads books– Each semester, assistant elementary-education professor Heather Rogers Haverback poses a question to her students: “What was the last book you read for pleasure?” In a recent ASCD Express article, Haverback shares that nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. aren’t reading for pleasure at all, a point reinforced by the lack of answers she’s been getting from her students. Haverback discusses the importance of reading and offers six strategies for helping students get into the practice. Read on.

4. Joyce Valenza’s Manifesto for 21st Century School Librarians is a must read for us all. The following SLJ Blog post is an updated Manifesto from December 2010. A Revised Manifesto posted by joycevalenza on December 3rd, 2010.

Send me your suggestions for thought-provoking articles and websites for the New Year so I can share, plus it will keep me on track towards fulfilling my 2011 resolutions.

Cawood Cornelius, Ed.D

Library Media Specialist, NBCT

Sonoraville High School

Cawood.Cornelius@gmail.com

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened.”

–Alexander Graham Bell,
American inventor

Leader Librarians: Students as Part of the Budgeting Process Part 2

Posted on December 17, 2010 by plemmonsa

Last year, I blogged about a project I did with 3rd-5th graders who were reading below grade level called Student Voice, Student Choice. These students had individual budgets to buy books for the media center that they were interested in reading. My hope was for these students to begin finding what they enjoyed in our media center and hopefully inspire other students to find things they enjoyed in the media center, too.

This year, I continued my plan of having students as part of the budgeting process, but I focused my attention in a new direction. Our school began school-wide enrichment clusters this year. Every Wednesday from 9-10AM every student in the school goes to a self-selected cross-grade cluster. The cluster topics are chosen by teachers, but the students make the decisions about what happens within those clusters. At the end of 8 weeks, students must have a product, performance, or service to showcase.

This structure gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a new way of involving students in the budgeting process. Once again I wrote a grant for $1,000 and matched that grant with $1,000 from our book fair profits. Twelve students in grades 3-5 selected my cluster, leader librarians, as their choice. It was interesting that 10 of the 12 students were male and 3 of the students were participants in last year’s student voice project. To begin our time, I told them our budget and that it was for books for the media center. From there, the students started brainstorming how to spend the money. I shared with them my thought process of how I set goals and assign percentages to each goal. I shared the challenges I face in limited funding and making tough decisions about what to buy and not buy.

In the end, their plan was to buy books that could be for anyone in the school instead of only buying books that they wanted to read themselves. They set out with clipboards and paper and began asking students at every grade level PreK-5 what they like to read. Next, we took this data and looked for patterns and themes. Eventually, we came up with the following categories: scary stories, mysteries, superheroes, comics, sports, nonfiction animals, pop stars, and Star Wars. Students divided into pairs and assigned themselves categories to focus on. The budget was divided equally between categories. The students were interested in what last year’s group did with Capstone Press and sales representative Jim Boon, so we invited him back. We also invited Frieda Julian from Children’s Plus, Inc. Both individuals brought book samples and catalogs for students to look at and helped students create lists of books to use in the final selection. Frieda Julian even took the students’ paper lists and made list on the Children’s Plus website. Before the order was placed, students sat down with calculators and narrowed their lists down until they spent as close to their budget allotment as possible.

As students waited for the books to arrive, they worked on an Animoto video of the process and eventually made an Animoto video of the books to use on our morning broadcast. When the books arrived, students made two assembly lines: one Capstone and one Children’s Plus. In each line, one student unpacked, one highlighted the packing slip, one checked for damage, one stamped the books, and others displayed books for photographs. Finally, we all grabbed some books, sat down, and began reading.

This month, we held an enrichment fair where the students showcased their 108 books to students, parents, and community members. They showed their Animoto videos and talked about the process. Some students were even interviewed by the local newspaper. The next day the books went into circulation and only 24 books remained by the end of the day. The next day the rest of the 108 books were checked out.

The projects over the past two years have been so much more than just asking students what I should buy for the media center. They have given students control in the decision making process in the media center. Students have faced the same dilemmas that I face as a media specialist and they wrestled with the best way to spend the money they had. Most of all, when students buy the books and materials in the media center, they create a buzz of excitement among the student population because they have a real connection to what students like. Whether I write more grants or not, I am committed to preserving a part of my budget for student decisions, especially profits from book fair. After all, it’s the students and their families that shop at our book fair, so why not allow them to make decisions about how the profits are spent? I look forward to continuing this work and seeing how this process grows over the years.