VUHS Library End of Year Report
Lots of changes have been happening. See what you've missed!
Overview of Year:
This year I was also able to hold the first ever Scholastic Book Fair in the library. It was held for 1 week and open twice in the evening for students and their families. Even though I didn't give myself a lot of time to plan or promote the fair it was still successful and many of the students enjoyed visiting.
In reference to the collection I was greeted with many surprised throughout the school year. First, was the realization that while assisting the Humanities students find resources that the non-fiction collection was severely dated and did not sufficiently support the curriculum. Second, was the specifics of some of the online catalog; many items were/are cataloged incorrectly which effects the reliability of reports. Third, was the amount of items that are lost, missing, overdue or unaccounted for in the collection. There were many items that were still in the catalog but were no longer a part of the physical collection.
I am still working on fixing some of these issues but I have made a lot of progress on many of them. Overall I am proud of the changes that have been made this year and am looking forward to making even more changes and getting the library to be as dynamic and useful of a place as I envision it being.
Book Fair Hall Bulletin Board
National Poetry Month Library Bulletin Board
National Poetry Month Hall Bulletin Board
Accomplishments:
- Initial weeding of Fiction & Non-Fiction sections.
- Got rid of oversized book collection. Discarded some, ones that were kept were added to non-fiction collection.
- Pulled graphic novels out of non-fiction and gave them their own space.
- Shifted entire collection to make more room for books.
- Decreased the amount of magazine subscriptions the library subscribes to.
- Raised $375.83 (after pulling books from fair) from a Scholastic Book Fair.
- Completed inventory of whole library.
- Made databases and e-books offered through VOL easier to access via library website.
- Added e-books to collection.
- Added ability for students to review books in collection through ILS system.
- Attended the 2015 Dynamic Landscapes conference in Burlington.
Scholastic Book Fair
Scholastic Book Fair
Scholastic Book Fair
Issues:
Scheduling this year has been frustrating. Many time throughout the year things would be scheduled in the library without my knowledge or consent. More often than not I would find out about the event when everyone else did in a mass email. Not only did I feel that this was disrespectful for me since it is my space, but I would also be expected to help set up the space or technology before the event. Usually I would have to be the one to check in an ask if there was anything that needed set up. The times that I did not ask the person putting on the event would come to me last minute and ask me to set things up. My time is valuable just like everyone else's and though I am happy to help it is frustrating when I am constantly being pulled away from something I am working on just because someone else did not take the time and consideration to talk to me beforehand.
In addition to those frustrations many times teachers would bring their classes down to the library to work on projects or research. Rarely did I receive a copy of the assignment so that I could prepare resources to help them. Ideally, I would either provide instruction on good search practices or tips or just have resources available to direct the students toward.
Next year my goal is to come up with a system where teachers are required to check in with me in some fashion before they can schedule the library. Right now I am thinking of limiting the library calendar so that only I can schedule things on it and having teachers fill out a google form when they want to schedule time in the library. Not only will this enable me to collect data on how the space is used, but it will enable me to assist teachers and students when they are doing research and using the collection. By having a better understanding of what projects and papers teachers are assigning that will also help me do better collection development.
Thoughts for future:
- Change library layout
- Spray paint book carts
- Create library policies and procedures
- Collaborate more with high school teachers (**Having a high school lunch would help make this easier!**)
- Send out a quarterly newsletter to staff and students highlighting new resources etc. (using this format potentially)
- Get Green Mountain Award books into an English curriculum - or at least get English teachers to promote them
- Use library TVs as digital "bulletin boards" by creating slideshows and having them run on repeat throughout the school day
- Creating a low tech maker space (way in future)