Calling All Volunteers

Here it is July 31.  School is fast approaching.  Many parents have mixed emotions about the school year beginning and will deeply miss the summer's opportunity to spend extra time with their kids.  Other parents haven't had the opportunity to be home with their kids this summer and will be grateful to get their kids back into "routine."  All parents want to stay connected with their children, and regardless of work schedule, volunteer opportunities allow parents to be a part of their children's school community.

There are many ways a parent could help in the library.  Here are a few, but I am sure past volunteers could point out many needs that I may overlook:

• Shelving returned materials is the least glamorous and most necessary job in the library.  Just like dirty dishes and laundry, books don't shelve themselves.  I could conceivably use a parent volunteer every morning or afternoon.
• Preparing date due cards is an activity parents could do on weekends or evenings at home.  Each school day requires a new set of cards, so this is needed from the beginning of school until mid-April, when we usually have enough prepared to finish the school year.
• Running the circulation desk.  Parents could check in and check out materials to students while I engage in other tasks- helping students find materials, teaching, cataloging, consulting with administrators or other teachers, breakfast duty, lunch duty, planning.  It would be wonderful if our library could be open from 8:30 to 3:20 each day without closure for any reason.  Volunteers are needed for this to happen.
• Covering new books.  I have been a librarian for 30+ years and still cannot put on a decent book cover.  If you are a precise person who enjoys crafty-type activities, this job could be for you.
• Labeling the picture book and fiction sections for Reading Counts.  Sadly, after at least 5 years of using Reading Counts, the fiction and picture book sections have not been labeled.  
• Creating seasonal or theme-based library displays. Kids always want books about holidays or certain sports.  Displays help the children access books and also create interest.
• Helping on Open Library Nights. This year I would like to bring back open library night and expand its scope to include STEAM activities, book clubs and preschool storytimes.  I cannot do this without help. 
• Volunteering with the Book Fairs.  There are many opportunities to help during the book fair.  We always need help when the kindergarten through second grade students are making their wish lists.  In addition, we need at least three helpers every morning, and usually one or two after school and during open evenings.  Help is needed to prepare for the fair, readying materials to send home to parents.  Setup and tear down help is also needed.
• Being my teacher helper.  I very seldom use "seat work" when teaching skills classes.  Most of the skills lessons involve location or using laptops to find information in the library database and then using that information in some purposeful way.  Extra hands are always nice.  Teacher helpers can prepare materials, too.

I am excited for this school year and am looking forward to seeing you and your children soon.  I hope there will be a volunteer opportunity that is right for you, but regardless, I look forward to working with you to make your child's school year the very best!

To contact me, you can email me at lsmartin@k12.wv.us or call or text me at (304) 873-6452.  I will respond as soon as possible.

What You Probably Don't Know About Me

This blog serves as a forum for some of my communication with parents concerning our library.  For the most part the writings have focused only on our school library, as they should.  Today, however, I want to tell you about me.

I am a militant.
I am a militant about school libraries.

And here is why.

There is a lack of information and understanding about what school libraries can be and what school librarians SHOULD be doing.  Most of us tend to equate school libraries with books and story times, quiet and overdue books.  Most of use think of librarians as the keepers of the books, who are more than a little obsessed with keeping things neat.  These visions are not necessarily untrue, but there is a great deal missing.  

Future Ready Schools, in conjunction with many leading education think tanks, has developed the term Future Ready Librarians.  The idea is that school librarians are poised to lead the digital transformation in schools.  I am very thankful for this national acknowledgement of the roles we can play, because frankly, being a militant is tiring.

The graphic above outlines the capacities that Future Ready School envision the School Librarian as we transition to digital learning.  Frankly, the only thing in this graphic that I have no control over is the infrastructure.  The rest I have been doing for years.

For years.

That's the point.  Any school librarian worth her or his salary has been ahead of this curve for years.  Now, hopefully the rest of the academic world is looking beyond the stereotypes, positive or negative, to see the real, and mostly untapped, value of school librarians.

We have many specialists throughout West Virginia Schools, and I am not saying they are not needed.  School librarians, however, are often prepared to do the jobs of many.  Yet school librarians are the ones whose jobs will be cut if push comes to shove.  Here is a graphic I created that illustrates some of the jobs descriptions and responsibilities of academic coaches, school library media specialists, and technology integration specialists.

As you can see, there is a great deal of overlap.  The School Librarian covers most of the ground in each job description, although I admit it is not all inclusive.  I welcome suggestions for edits!

I was a Technology Integration Specialist before the term was invented.  I have chosen to stay ahead of the curve in technology, because I firmly believe "It is all technology."  Formats differ, but functions are what is important.

I may not consider myself an Academic Coach, per se, but I have been suggesting strategies to my colleagues for years.  And I am the only teacher in a school of phenomenal teachers, that is National Board Certified.

But most people, -parents, students, administrators, and coworkers - may not know that.  Hopefully now more do.

But about my militancy.  You don't know the things I do on a state and national level to advance the role of the school library and school library media specialist.  I:

• Founded and run a national group to help other school library media specialists achieve National Board Teacher Certification;
• Created and moderate Facebook and Yammer groups for state school library media specialists to share best practices and stay abreast of national initiatives;
• Served as chair of the School Library Division of the West Virginia Library Association;
• Write in other forums for teachers, administrators, and educational thought leaders;
• Lobby the West Virginia Legislature to ensure every child in West Virginia has access to a school library and a certified, knowledgeable school librarian.
• Provide professional development to anyone who will listen.

You didn't know this about me, because it has nothing to do with our relationship.  I am telling you this now not for my own self-aggrandizement, but because I truly believe that school libraries and school librarians are important to the whole education of your child.  I want to see us thrive, grow, and evolve to meet your children's and your grandchildren's needs.

Now that you now these things about me, I hope you will be an advocate for all that school libraries can be for your children.  Next time someone mentions school libraries and the need for school librarians, you can refer them to my graphic below. I am very proud of what I do, and it is a pleasure serving you.

A Behind the Scenes Look

Don't think I am complaining, because I really love this stuff.  I just want to give you a little snapshot of some of the "behind the scenes" activities that occur or need to occur to keep the library running efficiently.  A lot of these activities need to wait until summer, simply because I don't have time or won't take time to do them during the school day.

What I have done so far.

The picture to the right represents books that I have relabeled or recataloged so far this summer.  Labels fall off or are picked off, and often need to be replaced.  While the process is not hard, it is time consuming. It involves these steps:

1. Verify the proper call number;
2. Find a preprinted call number that matches the book ( I usually have a folder of these preprinted, just in case, or
3. Add the copy to a print list in Destiny and printing the needed labels..
4. Apply the label.
5. Apply the color-code label atop the call label (i,e., green for easy reading; purple for picture books.)
6. Tape everything down well.
7. Reshelve.

Recataloging requires an extra step or two and is sometimes necessary when the original cataloging is incorrect or no longer meets the needs of the children who are using the books.  An example of this might be a series of books written by different authors, like Scooby-Doo or Batman.  Rather than shelve these books by the author's last name, the books will be shelved under the series name.  It just makes more sense than sending a kid all over the library to look for more in the series at this particular age.  Maybe for all ages.  We should be convenient.

Deciding to recatalog is a decision that only I will make for our library, although I certainly accept input if someone, adult or child, thinks something is wrong.  Once I make the decision to recatalog, I can train volunteers to do the actual data entry to make the reclass happen.  Once books are reclassified, volunteers can follow the steps above to correctly label the book and get it ready for the kids.

Most of the books that are purchased for the library are pre-cataloged.  This means that the computer record (bibliographic MARC record) for the book is provided by the vendor, and that the information for the specific book is attached.  The books come with barcode labels and call labels in place.  In this case, my steps include downloading the MARC records and importing it into the Destiny database;
correcting any incorrect cataloging; stamping the new books; and applying a card pocket and Reading Counts label, if applicable.

The most time-consuming scenario involves books that are purchased from the book fairs or from donations.  Sometimes I am able to find records for these books;  sometimes other records can be tweaked to work, but sometimes original cataloging is needed.  This is an involved process, if done properly.  It means completely as much of a MARC record, as shone at right, as possible.  Once the record is complete and the copy is added, labels can be printed. Complete processing includes checking for Reading Counts quizzes, added card pockets, stamping new books, applying section labels, and putting protective Mylar covers on the books.  When it is all said and done, processing one new book can take as long as 40 minutes.

So that is the long and short of maintaining a collection.  I am super-picky now as we are preparing to move into a new library in another year.  Taking time to fix these issues now will make for a smoother transition when the time come.