HMS Library Quarterly Report
January-March 2013
Life in the Library...
The middle school library continues to have regular visitors, even during a busy quarter of the year. Read on to learn about some of the activities and highlights in the library these last couple of months.
Students Read...
The chart below illustrates circulations as they relate to circulations the previous two quarters of this year as well as third quarter last year. Although circulations were down again this quarter from first quarter this year, they are still up quite a bit from third quarter last year. It's good to see data that shows students are continuing to check out lots of books! An exciting observation, to me at least, is how much more nonfiction was checked out this quarter than any other quarter on the chart. Mr. Loucks and Mrs. Pennington both made a conscious effort to ask students to read nonfiction this quarter, and that focus made a difference! I know fourth quarter is a very busy time for students, both during the school day and outside of school, but I hope to get total circulation closer to where it was at the beginning of the year.
To continue working towards matching the right book with the right reader, 27 titles were purchased this quarter. Some of the books are pictured below.
Teachers collaborate...
This quarter several teachers brought their students to the library because they wanted the students to check out particular types of text. Mr. Loucks and Mrs. Pennington both brought their 6th grade students to hear about where nonfiction books are located in the library, how they are organized on the shelves, and how features of the books might be different from nonfiction. Mrs. Krehbiel also brought her students during their World War II/Anne Frank unit to hear about other titles about various aspects of World War II.
What's next?
From now to the end of the year, I hope to be able to continue weeding the collection, both to make room for more current and relevant titles, but also in preparation for the possibility of moving some shelves around. I am hopeful we will be able to add some technology to the library by next year to make it a more useable space for student and staff presentations. As always, I am on the look out for ways to work with teachers, helping to teach information literacy skills to students.