Day 5-Library Practicum

• How many students do you usually see in the library each day?

I see between 25-125 on average.  Some students come in the library for their regular classes and use Classworks.

• Are there any particular companies you use to purchase book repair materials?  What sort of materials do you usually purchase?

DEMCO.  I usually purchase book tape, glue, covers for book covers, mylar, hard plastic covers for paperback books, letra tags for call numbers and AR barcodes, date due slips, ink, stamps, office supplies, etc.

• What resources do you recommend that are helpful for a middle school librarian (websites, books, etc.)?

GoodReads, Amazon-reader reviews, Follett-can't look inside the books, Pintrest, my own ideas, YouTube, Lesson Planet, SlideShare (PP), and Teachers-pay-Teachers

Today was a good day.  Wearing jeans and tennis shoes for casual Friday made working on inventory in the library a lot easier.  There were still a lot of fines to be paid and several books reappeared that many students thought they had lost.  The best part of the day was completing putting all of the nonfiction books in order, cleaning all their shelves, and scanning for inventory.  It felt good to have half the library inventory conquered already!  The most difficult part of the day was cleaning all the bookshelves and not knowing exactly how to clean the really old books that held so much dust and dirt.  If there is a specific way to clean books, I would love to learn about it asap!

Day 4-Library Practicum

• How do you determine which books to use for Battle of the Books?

I usually choose at least one book from each genre and choose books they will probably like.  I also read a lot throughout the year and make up questions for the books as I read.

• Do you have book fairs for middle school students?

We have two Scholastic book fairs a year, one in fall and one in spring.  In fall we never sell enough to get a cash profit, only free books from the fair.  In spring there is no profit for the library.

• How do you decide which books to weed out of the collection?

I look at how many times they are checked out and if they are in bad shape.  There is also a book requirement of 10 books per student.  The weeded books are given to teachers if they want them and then the remaining are given to students.

Today was a bit slower since there were no longer any AR tests being taken, although that did not stop students from trying to take more AR tests after the final deadline.  All fines were supposed to be paid last Friday as well, but there were still several students who did not pay and were paying today.  Some students were upset about the fines they owed and the cost of lost books, but hopefully next year they will learn to be more responsible with the books and the time frame for returning and renewing the books.  I taught my second lesson today and it went well overall.  I brought in boxes of crayons and markers, pages from books, magazines, and newspapers for Blackout Poetry.  I also had printed pictures of book spines and cut them into strips for students to create spine poetry.  The lesson was both the best part of the day and the most difficult.  The best part was witnessing the students who thoroughly enjoyed the lesson and spent a lot of time being creative and silly with their poems.  The most difficult part was seeing the students who were circling the words they recognized and then attempting to give up on the assignments altogether.  It was at this point I realized they were struggling more than the others when it came to reading and that because they could not read or read well they just wanted the assignment to be done with and they didn't care how they did.  They gave up before they even started really.  I spent a lot of time helping these students and pointing out words to them to try and assist them, but it was still sad to me that they had given up so easily.  

Day 3-Practicum Library

• How do you use the inventory scanner/what exactly does it do?

Once it's charged you simply click the scan button and begin scanning the book barcodes, sort of like you would to check out a book.  It will fill up a few times, then you download the information to the computer and the Follett Destiny system and it tells you what items are missing.

• If some fines and books are never paid or returned, do you ever get the money back from the central office or other funds, or is that money just lost?

It is all just lost.

• When you have to teach lessons for your observations, is it difficult to find a teacher who is willing to let you borrow their students?  Do you ever work with that teacher to create your lesson plans?

Yes.  Students are usually taken from related arts classes.  The teachers will ask for lesson materials.  There are some classes for Booktalks that relate to what ever the kids are learning in their classes, if there is time for their teacher to allow a visit.

Today began with several students paying fines and taking AR tests.  Today was the last day to take AR tests.  The library assistant was not here today, so I had to perform all the tasks without any assistance.  I remembered all the steps for everything and things went well.  There were, however, less students taking AR tests throughout the day than expected.  I began putting all the books in order today and, although it wasn't really difficult, it took a lot of time and sometimes I felt my eyes would go cross trying to read all the Dewey numbers.  Even so, I am glad I had the opportunity to learn about this task and become more familiar with the process and the books in the collection.  Today I also taught my first lesson.  This was the best part of the day because I was able to teach and see most of the students enjoying the book and the activity.  They smiled and laughed a lot, and even though some of them did not appear to be very pleased with me taking their time (they were originally watching a movie in class), they were very well behaved.  I even had majority of the students want to take their writing assignment home to make it more creative!

Day 2-Library Practicum

• What do you do about late fees and lost books?

Students pay for these things throughout the school year, but they are all due by the time books are due (usually the second week of May).  If fines are not payed then students cannot participate in end of school activities like PBS Rewards Day and Woodaroo.  Also, the office holds their report cards.

• Do you give any grades for students?

The teachers set their own goals and give their own grades, but I run the reports for AR.

• How does AR work?

Every 9 weeks the students have a goal to reach and they get a grade based on that goal.  We administer STAR at the beginning of every year to determine students' reading level.  AR gives the amount of points for each reading level.

Today started out a bit hectic again as students came in to pay for more library fines.  There were also students from a teacher's class working on Classworks on the library computers.  It was the students who discovered that the air conditioner was leaking on the computers.  We turned the air conditioner off and dried off all the computers then went back to helping students with fines, AR tests, etc.  Little did we know that just because we turned the air conditioner off did not mean that it had quit leaking.  The next group of students came in to take AR tests and this time two of the computers were in a puddle!  We cleaned up again, called maintenance, and spent the rest of the day without air conditioning.  The most difficult part of the day was moving books from the shelves time and again to make room for more books...without any air conditioning.  The best part of the day was talking to students and learning about some of their reading interests.  I made a list of a few new books to read so that I really know what they are about and can share them with future students/patrons.

Day 1-Library Practicum

• What is the most rewarding part about being a middle school librarian?

Having students that love to read, ask for recommendations, share books they've read, love and respect the library.

• What is the most difficult part?

Teachers resenting/looking for equality in the librarian's job and the classroom teacher's job.  All of the jobs/tasks that others cannot do or do not want to do take time from the librarian and take away the library aide.

• How do you usually motivate middle school students/encourage them to read?

AR, Booktalks, recommending books, helping students find books by asking about their interests.  Also, Battle of the Books-read every day on lunch break and make questions for the students.

I learned a great deal on my first day at the middle school library.  The day started with students in the library standing for the pledge and the moment of silence.  There were several students who needed to pay fines so that they could participate in their rewards day activities for positive behavior, and also the equivalent of a field day for middle school students.  Figuring out the steps to take fines, write down the information for each student, and erase the fines was pretty simple, although it did get a little hectic at times when there were so many students at once.  I learned the check-in/check-out process for the school quickly, but was concerned about the lack of students in the library even though it was about time for the end of the school year.  The best part of the day was working with middle school age kids again.  Their personalities are always so unique and I love that they all have such a good sense of humor.  My least favorite experience of the day was having to continuously move books because there wasn't enough room for all the books that were being returned to the library.