First Semester Reflections

Since starting a new job as the teacher librarian at Bethel Middle School in Bryant, Arkansas as of August 2019, I have a lot to celebrate. When starting a new job, one never knows what to expect. There are new people to meet and learn about. There are new administrators, different students, new processes, and so much more to consider in a transition.

This semester I focused on continuing what the previous librarian had started. She had done an excellent job of creating a welcoming environment, establishing a makerspace, and developing the library collection.  I also had a goal of meeting the learning community and getting to know as many of them as possible. Whenever I have switched schools or jobs during my career, I never try to change much the first year. I use the initial transition period to learn about the community I'm serving. After I've learned how things work, I gradually introduce a few new programs. This year I had the goal of introducing book clubs, library collaboration activities, Mystery Skype, and Skype a Scientist. I thought these four things might be attainable by the end of the school year. It turns out, they happened in one semester due to the forward-thinking educators that I work with! I'll write reflections about these events as time permits! Stay tuned...

I have always kept up with library statistics so I can give an accurate account of various uses and activities in the library. Our statistics from 8/1/2019 to 12/13/2019 revealed a great deal of activity:

• Total book circulations 12206
• Class reservations 488
• Library collaborations 4
• Classes participating in collaborations 46
• Book clubs 1
• Students participating in book clubs 18
• Posters printed 248

I am greatly encouraged that our library circulations are this high. It requires a lot of work re-shelving books and doing continuous repair maintenance on them. This work is worth it if students are growing their interest in literacy whether it is chapter books, graphic novels, etc. I'm also proud of our library collaborations. These consisted of our library orientations, our collaboration based on Out of the Dust, a lesson about the characteristics of the science fiction genre I team-taught with an ELA teacher, one Mystery Skype, and one Skype with a Scientist.

I'm already talking to ELA teachers about trying a book tasting for our 6th and 7th-grade students when we return from the district's two-week winter vacation in January 2020. In addition, two of the science teachers have indicated they want to connect with another scientist during the spring semester. I'm excited to see what a new semester will bring!

Other links that may interest you:

How We Were Able To Skype With Four Scientists

Our Outsiders Library Collaboration

Our Book Pickup Service

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Email: stony12270@gmail.com

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New Year, New School, New Job

It is nearly August, and I'm wondering where the summer has gone! You may have noticed that I've been struggling to get out blog articles and newsletters in 2019. I decided to re-enlist into the Arkansas Army National Guard back in February. From 2002 to 2014 I served as a saxophonist in the 106th Army Band. My 12-month high school library job had become so time-consuming by 2014, I decided to not stay in the military unit when my enlistment ended that year. After investing that much time in the Army, I wanted to return to the unit to complete my career. In addition, one of my parents has become very ill this past school year. In the spring, I had an opportunity to take a new library job at Bethel Middle School in Bryant, Arkansas. This new position gives me my summers off so I can focus on my Army career and assist my parents as needed during the summer months. I am excited to have a new challenge at this job. With this change brings opportunities to serve new students and teachers in different ways. I haven't taught 6th and 7th grades for several years. I look forward to re-connecting to this age group with literacy and technology.

Change

Change is intimidating. When we transition to something new, there is so much to learn that it can be overwhelming. Change takes us away from what is comfortable and helps us grow. Every time I have experienced a change in my career, it has helped me be a stronger leader and educator. When we improve, those we serve get a better experience. Everyone wins when we keep that mindset, especially students. In this blog article, I want to describe my process of transitioning as I prepare for a new school year at Bethel Middle School!

Survey of the Facility

The first thing I've done this summer is to survey the facility. It is a beautiful and modern library space that is located in the heart of the building. The library is right across from the main entrance to the building. There are comfortable spaces for students, multiple instructional areas, a makerspace, and endless potential for the future. I took my teacher-librarian wife, Cindy, each time I visited this summer. We are already brainstorming a theme to get the students excited about the library (more on this later).

There is a projector and screen on this wall. Perfect for instruction!

The circulation desk area and entrances.

I love the high ceilings in this facility.

To-Do List

I'm notorious for making to-do lists so I can keep up with things that need to happen. Since I'm new to the school, there is so much I don't know about the learning community. I plan to proceed carefully during this first year. I want to learn more about what great practices and programs the last teacher-librarian had. The students and teachers will want to keep many of these activities and services, so I need to find out what they are and continue them! I've already started a list of questions to ask administrators, teachers, and students. Some of these are:

• How did teachers reserve the library?
• What did students love to do in the library? (Makerspace, book club, book fair, browsing, etc.)
• Who are the teachers that will be most likely to try a new collaboration in the library?
• Which teachers would want to Skype to a distant place with their students if I support them?
• Which students might lead a book club discussion with me?
• What books have been popular? (The previous teacher-librarian left me a report from Follett Destiny!)

Goals for the Year

My short term goals are to get things in order after the summer cleaning in the building. Everything smells so clean after this happened during the recent weeks. Open house will be my first chance to make connections with students and parents. In addition, this will be my chance to make a good first impression to the learning community! I'm working on a theme that will make students both interested and welcome in the space. After getting things ready for open house and the beginning of school, the next goals will be to find and keep those programs that are loved by the learning community. Finally, I would like to introduce a few things I love to do in the library to students and teachers:

• Student book clubs
• Immersive collaborations to bring books to life (starting with ELA classes that read class novels)
• Skype in the Classroom (Mystery Skype and Virtual Field Trips)

I'm super excited to see what happens when school starts. I have a lot of work to do and much to learn about the new people I serve. It's going to be a good year, and I look forward to sharing the stories from the library media center of Bethel Middle School in the coming months! If you have a new job, be sure to share how you are starting off in the comments below.

Other links that may interest you:

How We Were Able To Skype With Four Scientists

Our Outsiders Library Collaboration

Our Book Pickup Service

Contact Me/ Follow Me

Email: stony12270@gmail.com

Are you on Twitter?

Follow me : @stony12270

Our Annual Report For 2018-2019

For the past several years, we have used Microsoft Sway for our platform to share library annual reports. Previous to this, I essentially shared a one-sheet text document that contained our statistics. It was a rather boring way to share the report, but it worked for many years. I like how Sway allows us to share important photos, videos, and text with library stakeholders!

View our 2018-2019 annual report here.

While there are many things that library programs do throughout the year, somehow we have to give our stakeholders a snapshot of the year in our reports. We want them to end the year thinking about how the library program made a difference in the learning community. Most importantly, we want to give them a return on their investment in the facilities, resources, and our own salaries! 

What I Share

Some years I've shared more information while for some I've cut back on how much I include in the report. At a minimum, I try to share our library statistics, library collaborations for the year, and reservations made in the library. It is good to be mindful that stakeholders are busy (especially administrators), and they probably will not look through a really long report. However, some administrators might expect a detailed annual report. You will have to use your best judgment as you put your report together. No one knows your school better than you!

I always try to pick the best time to share my report. If I were to share it the last day of school, administrators would be bogged down with so many tasks they wouldn't get to look at it. I generally try to share it during June and/ or July when all administrators are back from their vacations.

Final Thoughts

Over the past 11 years, I've worked for two school districts as a secondary teacher-librarian. Both superintendents I've worked for have been impacted by the sharing of a library annual report. I can recall both of them made comments about our library statistics after I had shared the report. My most recent superintendent still makes comments about our annual report statistics. I think it is important to note that a district superintendent is like a CEO of a company. They are interested in seeing evidence of efficient use of funding and personnel. Gone are the days when we are guaranteed a job as a school librarian. Don't be afraid to share the work you do. It is not bragging. It is showing value and relevance. Be sure to share your annual report in the comments below! 

Other links that may interest you:

How We Were Able To Skype With Four Scientists

Our Outsiders Library Collaboration

Our Book Pickup Service

Contact Me/ Follow Me

Email: stony12270@gmail.com

Are you on Twitter?

Follow me : @stony12270

How We Were Able to Skype With 4 Scientists

Sometimes cool things can happen when you simply ask. This year, one of our science teachers wanted me to help her arrange Skype sessions with a geneticist. When I met her for our preliminary meeting, I had no idea she would ask for so many connections in one day. I had offered to record a Skype session with one scientist so she could show her other classes, but the teacher requested that we find four scientists to connect with live for all of her classes if possible. In the past, after I discovered the Skype a Scientist program, I had only requested to connect with one scientist at a time. You can read about our first ever connection with a scientist through the program here.

After considering her request, I told the teacher we would fill out four forms and see what would happen. I knew this could be a great opportunity for her students to learn from experts in the field of genetics. I didn't know if the Skype a Scientist program would be able to fill our request. Days went by, and I wondered what the outcome might be.

The email came from Skype a Scientist a few days later informing me that they had found four scientists for us to connect with! The teacher and I were both super excited. After a few weeks, I had received emails from the individuals, and we began planning our Skype session for each of the four classes. We also had practice connection sessions via Skype when possible to ensure everything was working well.

Science Teacher, Mrs. Akin, connects with a scientist via Skype

The teacher began communicating with the four scientists and sharing what content she wanted her students to cover during the sessions. Some scientists sent ancillary materials for the students to review before they met so they could get an idea of what type of work they did. On the day of the sessions, all the connections were successful, and the students were very engaged. They asked good questions and made excellent use of the opportunity.




I'd like to thank Skype in the Classroom, the Skype a Scientist program, Dr. James Priest, Dr. Sarah Prescott, Ms. Syndell Parks, and Ms. Niranjana Krishnan for making these connections possible!

From an advocacy standpoint, I have reflected on how great Skype a Scientist has been for our high school library program. As a secondary teacher librarian, I have a flexible schedule. I think it is extremely valuable when I can use this flexible time to help teachers connect with professionals outside of our school walls! This is important because many teachers simply struggle to have time to make arrangements for connections in the classroom. I've also found that many teachers do not feel comfortable using webcams in the classroom. They tend to appreciate the support we can give in the library media center. I like to do shout outs to the teachers on social media after they step out of their comfort zones for sessions like these. It is beneficial for our learning community to see this via my social media since other teachers, administrators, and parents see the library being used this way. Have you helped teachers connect their students to professionals in distant places? Be sure to share your connection stories in the comments below. Keep connecting!

Other links that may interest you:

Our Outsiders Library Collaboration

Our Book Pickup Service

Contact Me/ Follow Me

Email: stony12270@gmail.com

Are you on Twitter?

Follow me : @stony12270

Academic Library Internship Reflections

This semester I will be completing my practicum requirement at Ouachita Baptist University's Riley-Hickingbotham Library. I am completing an ALA-accredited information science degree so I can work in an academic library much later in my professional life. Having been a graduate student several times over the past two decades, I've used academic libraries frequently.

I want to share a few of my experiences about this on the blog. I especially want to share tools and methods I learned about that could be used in school libraries. After spending the last four months at Ouachita Baptist University, I've learned so much about the organization and layout of an academic library. Each person in the library has a specific area for which they are responsible. In addition, they collaborate and assist each other when needed.

WorldCat and Interlibrary Loan

Some of the most interesting items I've learned about so far have been Interlibrary Loan procedures and the basics of how an archive works. I've always wondered how libraries go about exchanging materials between their institutions. I was reminded that OCLC has a great resource called WorldCat that reveals resources at nearby libraries to users. How many times have you had a student or teacher ask for a book you don't have in stock? Next time, you can help them use WorldCat to execute a search to see if a nearby library might have the item. I wonder how many of you might have Interlibrary Loan procedures at your school library? If so, please tell me how that works in the comments below.

LibGuides

Have you ever used a LibGuide? I was introduced to them this semester during practicum. I was able to assist the periodicals librarian in building a LibGuide for the theatre department. After using the tool to assemble links to databases, articles, books, citation tools, and more, I was convinced it is a worthwhile site. You can search the LibGuides Community to see plenty of examples from colleges, high schools, and elementary schools. Some libraries even use LibGuides to create their online presence like this one.

Personalized Search Strategies Template

One of the most useful things I learned as a school librarian was from the periodicals librarian. She showed me in detail how she gives reference interviews with college students. She prepares a personalized research resource for each student that schedules a time with her. The resource looks like the following:

Search Strategies for Honors Thesis Paper

Prepared for (enter student name here)

Librarian's name

• Topic

               (enter name of topic)

• Research Questions

               1. List 3-4 inquiry-based questions about the topic here.

• Resources and Search Terms

                ProQuest (List a Database or other online search tool here)

                Search Terms > Give a Boolean search string here- or a simple list of search terms for                                                    younger students

I love this personalized method of assisting students with research! This could work at any level when time permitted. I'm going to consider using this template in my future research lessons with classes. While it won't always be feasible, I can surely work this in to assist some classes. If nothing else, I could create the template and share a digital copy with students that come in and need assistance on an individual basis. There are so many possibilities! Do you use something similar to this when you teach research? Please, share it in the comments below! 

There are more reflections to share about my practicum semester. I'll try to get in at least one more article before summer. I have learned so many things, it will be hard to narrow it down to just a few to talk about on the blog. When we are lifelong learners, we benefit as professionals, but, most importantly, those we serve benefit as a result of our continued growth!

Other links that may interest you:

Our Outsiders Library Collaboration

Our Book Pickup Service

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Contact Me/ Follow Me

Email: stony12270@gmail.com

Are you on Twitter?

Follow me : @stony12270

The Outsiders Library Collaboration

One of my favorite things to do as a school librarian is to use our spaces and resources to bring literature to life. Recently, we have started a collaboration based on S.E. Hinton's, The Outsiders. 
After meeting with our 8th grade ELA teachers, we decided to have several learning stations set up in the library to help students understand the period and culture. The event took place over two days and consisted of these learning stations:



Station 1: Windrixville Church

Students were asked to name items that Johnny & Pony had at the church in Windrixville. There were also other discussion prompts for students to create responses.

Station 2: Drive-in Movie

We set up an area that resembled a drive-in movie and showed movie clips from the 1950s and 1960s. Students had to discuss how movies were different from the present time.









Station 3: Drag Racing

We used informative websites about the Chevrolet Corvair and the Ford Mustang. Students were asked to discuss why the characters in The Outsiders preferred these cars. After this, we had a hot wheels track set up in the library and students could "drag race" cars they selected.






Station 4: Gangs


We found YouTube videos explaining how gangs were organized in the time period of The Outsiders. Gangs were also discussed from the present in a separate video. Students were asked to respond to questions about gangs from both periods.





Station 5: The Movie & Museum

Students used https://www.theoutsidershouse.com to answer questions about the movie and the Outsiders House.

Station 6: American Bandstand

Students learned about popular dances from the 1950s and 1960s.










Station 7: 1960s Slang

Students had to match slang from the period with correct definitions.

Station 8: Smoking & Fashion, That was The, This is Now

Students viewed smoking advertisements from the period and were asked to compare them to now.

Station 9: Food

We had a menu of barbeque sandwiches, nachos, chocolate cake, and strawberry lemonade (these were mentioned in the book). Students got to watch portions of an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950s while they ate.

Student Feedback

In a Google Form, students indicated that they liked the drive-in movie station the best. Their 2nd place favorite experience was the drag racing station. One student said, "Things back then are a lot different than they are now." Another stated, "I learned how back then they wanted people to smoke and it was the big thing and the cool thing to do." Several students made connections to the vaping epidemic of our current time to teenage smoking in the 1950s and 1960s.

Final Thoughts

This has been one of my favorite library collaboration programs to put on in recent years. I wish we could have done something similar when I was a student in school reading The Outsiders for the first time!  Such experiences help learners understand different time periods and culture. It also provides an experience they will never forget. If you have lessons related to The Outsiders, be sure to share them in the comments below!

Other links that may interest you:

Our 2017-2018 Annual Report

An Easy Way to Share Stats!

Contact Me/ Follow Me

Email: stony12270@gmail.com

Are you on Twitter?

Follow me : @stony12270