Assignment+5

**Weeding Analysis**

1. What criteria will you use for the weeding category? Age of source Condition of source (appearance) Accuracy Unused sources, (kids not interested) Curriculum or faculty use

2. What are the sources on the shelves you examined that need to be weeded? My First Book of Space, Rosanna Hanson, 1982. Discarded (worn, dusty) Checked biographies and AV collection as well. All the 523 and 629s.

3. Why might these sources still be on the shelves? Collection is small. The very part-time librarian doesn’t have time to weed collection as often as needed. 4. What are good examples of titles in that area on the shelves? One Small Step, Eugene Fowler Mars (the whole Planet series) by Seymour Simon Star Guide, Branley Find The Constellations by H.A. Rey (Curious George author!)

5. What did you learn from this experience? Just because a source (i.e. Sunlink) recommends a book to weed, a librarian needs to consider her cliental. Some of the well used books were worn, but were kept as they are used in the science curriculum and there isn’t money to replace them at this time. A collection and selection policy would have been helpful but this library didn’t have them. I was disheartened to see how old the collection is in general. My previous exposure to school collections have been in affluent districts. Many of these books were old and dusty feeling but can not be replaced. I also got the feeling that weeding is not one of those favorite librarian jobs, as this is a job I keep getting asked to do! " In Byram Hills, our libraries support classroom instruction by providing high quality resources on topics of both curricula and personal interest to students with a diverse range of needs. Through the use of print, technological, digital and visual resources, the library program's goals are to teach students how to conduct research by accessing, evaluating and using information, as well as to guide them in appreciating and thinking critically about fiction and nonfiction texts. The Bryram Hills library program stives to instill a love of reading, a desire for knowledge and the will to pursue lifelong learning in all our students."
 * || || || || **Facility Analysis** ||

The Byram Hills elementary library supports information literacy in a beautiful way. There are 3 Smart Boards to work with, 2 in the tech areas and one in the instructional area. There are 13 computers in the computer room and another 24 in the technology room to facilitate computer learning. The books are in beautiful shape and there is a large assortment of chapter book, easy fiction and non-fiction books for this K-2 school. There are two racks for children’s magazines and one area for educational periodicals. There are videos and DVDs to support the curriculum and a collection of professional books for the teachers. The library is a friendly place with cute displays throughout; stuffed Babars arranged with the Babar books, Madeline dolls around her books. There is a large, “friendly book” that children can lean against to read. Colorful bookmarks are given out and the children use placement markers when searching for books, so the book is placed back in proper order. When class is going on, they sit on stair risers in a private corner and learn from one of the smart boards placed there. When instruction is over, the kids look for their books, one book must be a fiction book and the other must be a non-fiction book, encouraging diverse reading. After books are selected, the children go to their tables and pull a basket out that matches their table number. They are kept busy with the activities in the baskets, puzzles, magazines, work problems, etc, till the rest of the class is ready to leave. These activities also facilitate information literacy. If a child is having difficulty selecting a book by the end of the class period, there is a “Grab and Go” display of books that a quick selection can be made from. This way each child will leave with at least one book.


 * **Field Experience Analysis**

A. What have I learned about one specific media center’s collection management, budgeting and collection/selection policies? At Mount Pleasant Blythedale school, there were no written policies on collection or selection. Ever decision is done at the whim of the librarian’s. When book were donated, it is her decision on what to keep and what to discard.

B. The presence or absence of an automation system, include the name and how this impacts the work of the school library. One of the reasons why the librarian needed a volunteer is because there is no automated system in place and she is trying to get one going. This entails copying the Title Page and the Copyright Page and placing identical barcode numbers on the copy and the book. These will be sent to Opal and they will compile a database of the books for us to work off of in the future. There will now be a formalized system for checking out the books so better track can be kept. The ancient card catalogue system was being used, but most of the books in the catalogue were no longer in use and the new books weren’t in that system. When a class came down and a girl wanted a book on cats, I was at a loss on where to even start looking. As I became more familiar with the collection, I could get a rough idea, but many of the Early Readers I missed. I would pull that book if I came across it, to keep for the students next visit. Not a very efficient way to work. By the end of this year, the papers will be sent off to Opal Now a clear picture of what the library owns and it’s strengths and weaknesses can be determined and goals set for collection development. I can now find all books on cats for that little girl as well! There will also be space for a nice display when the bulky card cataloged can be tossed.

C. The public relations activities carried on in the LMC The librarian has done a tremendous amount of work on a woefully neglected collection. Cleaning up the library and making it a more inviting place has done wonders in the PR department. She also maintains one of the few bulletin boards and puts up changing displays. She has started a website and has helpful sites for teachers on it, recommended reads by the librarian and the monthly recommendation by the principal, as well as the online library sites the school pays for. She regularly emails the teachers on new books that have come in and has done surveys on what resources where being used in the library. She is very part time, so a lot of the work had been done at home and on her own time. This school only pays for 8 hours a week of librarian time.

D. The positive and negative aspects of this experience By far, the worst experience was getting over the shock of working with these children with such severe disabilities. My previous jobs have been in hospitals so I thought I wouldn’t be so affected, but maybe since I am a mother now, that wasn’t the case. It has taken me several weeks to get to know these kids as individuals and not as handicaps. I also didn’t like the fact that the kids change so frequently, not like a regular school. If they got better, they went back to their schools and a new child would be admitted, often on a weekly basis. There were a few “regulars” but I learned I like to develop a relationship with children and see them grow. The collection was heartbreaking dismal as well. I would frequently blow dust off books before copying the yellowed pages. There just isn’t much money. When I couldn’t find any Thanksgiving books, I used my own money to buy some, as well as supplies for bulletin boards and displays. I obviously can’t be doing that on a regular basis! However, since Jodi was so busy and starting to teach English, the library was essentially “mine”. I could order books that I wanted (when allowed!) I could arrange and weed books on my own, bulletin boards and displays were “mine”. Developed relationships with many teachers and children and was seen as “the librarian”, which was fun. Looking into trying my hand at grant money and started a Spanish book section on my own.

E. Your thoughts and reflections on this experience I still love libraries and love to work in them. Teaching classes was not done here at the level we are learning about in school. I would like to do more of that in my future job.

F. Rewards and challenges of a LMS in today’s educational environment I think financial matters are going to be one of the biggest challenge, every dollar has to be fought over now for library resources and creative ways need to be found. With so much on the internet, it is going to be hard to get monies for many of the non-fiction books, especially for older children. I need Abe Lincoln books for elementary school children, but can the older ones do with researching him online? A must for any SMLS is a love of children. I certainly enjoy working with kids and the time can be so rewarding spent with them. I love when I find the little paper book for a girl who can’t hold heavy things and she is thrilled. Likewise, the kids can be challenging as well. If I had a headache and a boy is yelling that he doesn’t like ANY of the books and throwing them down, it makes me take a deep breath! Of course, keeping the library relevant is going to be THE ongoing challenge for a number of years. ||