Many changes have occurred to both the library and the librarian in the past twenty years. For starters,while certified to teach elementary library, most of my experience was secondary and public. Really, I knew very little about elementary school students or curriculum, but I did know that I could learn just about everything I needed to know by watching the fantastic teachers at this school. I can honestly say that I still learn something every day from Sherri Pisegna, Christy Lillard, and others who have been with me throughout this journey.
The library was only two years old when I started in 1996, but actually it had been used less than a year. Mr. Collins, the principal, gave Mrs. Goodin ample time to set up the library. She did a meticulous job, and I came along and changed everything. I have probably made a dozen changes to the physical layout of the library before I settled on its current configuration. One of the best things I did early on was to identify "easy readers" and to create a separate Easy Reader section. This section was specifically geared to the needs of the second grade teachers, who were and continue to be focused on their students reading developmentally appropriate books. This quickly became the most used section of the library.
In 1996 the Follett Library Management System was just on step above DOS --black screen with white characters. The library workstations were running Windows 3.1, and teachers had a very archaic bulletin board-style email. Not that many people used email. The five people who did use email became the school tech leaders. The school lab was equipped with a learning management system that booted from floppy disks. By the year 2000, all of this had changed, upgraded to new machines running Windows 2000. We were making progress, ready to implement "21st Century Skills."
Mr. Collins was a completely supportive principal. He allowed me to develop and implement my vision for the library, and he gave me the money to back it up. With his help we initiated Accelerated Reader in 1998. Any extra money he had in any of his accounts were funneled into the library, largely into the Accelerated Reader program. The collection expanded greatly under Mr. Collins's watch.
Mr. Collins also allowed me to change the scheduling from fixed to flexible. He cautioned me that he did not want to hear from teachers that I was sitting in the library reading magazines. I assured him that if used correctly, I would be busier than ever. Sure, there might be times (and there were) when no students were there, but there would also be times when there were 50 (and there were). The idea is that the library would be available when the students needed it. Within a year the library circulation jumped from around 12,000 to 20,000+. Accelerated Reader data verified that students were reading more. These were gratifying statistics to me.
Mr. Collins retired in 2005 and was replaced by Mrs. Patty Benedum, a woman who was largely responsible for the formation of elementary libraries in Monongalia County. This should have been the perfect scenario for a school librarian, but other factors limited this potential. Patty came to our school with her own vision of how things should be run; our faculty was reeling over the loss of Mr. Collins. Her vision collided with our grief, and things did not work out as well as the might have under better circumstances. Patty left in December for a coordinator's position in the county office. Davene Burks replaced her until the end of the year, when Joe Newcome became our principal.
I simply loved Joe. He supported my vision for the library completely. Under Joe's direction, I implemented Open Library Night and Writers Club. We bought new library furniture that provided great warmth to the library. Under Joe's watch I received my Technology Integration Specialist endorsement and worked on National Board Certification. These were very important years for me in terms of professional growth.
Davene Burks became principal when Joe retired in 2009. Her support has allowed the library to complete the furniture acquisition started by Joe and included the rearrangement of the library to make room for a comfy reading area. When Davene told me about the proposed new school, I quickly began to make drawings of the new library. At last my vision for an integrated, hands-on library collection would come to fruition!
The picture at left is a rendering of my vision
for the new library: three distinct areas that
could potentially accommodate three classes
at one time.
Mrs. Burks facilitated the meeting with the
architects, who took my rendering and greatly
improved upon it. The final product flipped my
vision and added features of an aesthetic nature
that the kids would love. I am greatly looking
forward to working my final year before
retirement in this new library.
The collection has changed greatly since 1996. Now, a wide range of digital media expands the library
beyond the school walls. Students can access many of our resources at home. With the addition of
Chromebooks for every student in grades three to five next year, students will be even better equipt
to use our digital resources. Information literacy instruction will be much easier to achieve when each
child has a Chromebook.
The future of our library is exciting! I want to thank everyone who had a hand in getting the program
to where it is and those who will help carry it into the future.
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