On Tuesday, for example, it was the last Preschool Storytime of the year. Mrs. Milner ran it and I participated and acted as helper. The preschoolers weren't allowed to check out books since they wouldn't be coming back to the library so there were extra books read and a extra songs danced to. This was in addition to the two books, four songs, and craft that is usually done. The students had a good time with it and it was a little heartening to see that they were disappointed they wouldn't be checking out books. It's nice to see that programs such as Preschool Storytime do get little kids looking forward to library visits, books, and reading.
Thursday ended up being a bit of a maintenance day. My biggest project ended up being organizing a cabinet in the backroom. This started when a few students came in to check out the iPod dock for their teacher. I went to the back room and was able to find the dock, but even with the boys helping me look I couldn't find the charger to go with it. There were different wires, cords, and adapters lying everywhere on several shelves and it made things difficult to find, or even know what all was available. I ended up having to give the boys batteries to use with the dock. I spent the majority of the day going through the closet and organizing it. I separated the different wires out and put them in boxes and then labeled the shelves and the different items that were in there. It took awhile but it looks a lot better now and Mrs. Milner will be able to find things a lot more easily in the future. Also while going through the cabinets we found some items that could be put to use in the library and be made available for check out such as extra computer mice and a charger for the laptops.
Other highlights this week included weeding out some books. This was the first time that I'd weeded but as I was going through the shelves and putting books back I scanned for ones with covers that basically made it so no students would want to check them out. Winnie wanted these pulled anyways for the graphics students who are going to design new covers for them as a class project. I pulled several books and then once they were pulled I went through them to decide if they were worth a new cover or if they should just be weeded. I based my decision on content of the story (would it resonate with students today) and how long it had been in the library and if in that time it had been checked out. When available I also looked at the recommended age of the book, the younger ones I pulled because this school is for high school juniors and seniors so books for 10-and-up (and to an extent 12-and-up) are a bit on the young side as far as content goes. Looks were also a factor as that is what got the books pulled from the shelf in the first place.
Friday was spent doing some needed clerical work. I created a walk-through for students showing them how to receive emailed documents to the Kindle and to start the text-to-speech option that will read the stories out loud. I also created a list of the weeded books for Mrs. Milner to get her a head start on the paperwork involved with weeding. In addition I made a list of the books that needed new covers, just in case they need re-shelved and saved for the next school year. That way the list can be used as a reference, if needed, to easily find the books again.
Harlem Shake Video
This is the Harlem Shake video that was filmed the week before Spring Break in the Media Center. As you can see we had a lot of fun making it and the students had a great time doing it. This was over two weeks ago now and students still come in to the library asking to see the Harlem Shake video. Doing activities like this is a great way to get students wanting to be involved and wanting to come in to the library. I'm the one in the red shirt and the Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat.
Loved seeing the Harlem Shake movie.
ReplyDeleteOrganizing all the "bits and pieces" that are used by cameras, iPads, projectors etc. can be challenging. It does save time in the end but often it is difficult to find the time to do it in a one person library while keeping our focus on implementing program.
In your final blog for week 12 please summarize your experience and reflect on your most important learnings. What were you surprised by? What areas of librarianship do you feel most confident in? What areas do you feel will be most challenging for you? Please do the post as soon as possible so I can get your grade posted by the deadline. Thanks!