Friday, May 21, 2010

Final Reflections



I opened this blog on May 2, 2009 with the following lyrics from the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange it's been". I began my educational journey into library science in 2000 courtesy of Central Carolina Community College's LTA program. It's hard to imagine finally reaching the end of my studies--for now. I fully understand that continuing education is a part of the job. But the formal part ends today. Papers have been signed, FAXs sent, a parting luncheon with my internship supervisors enjoyed. Maddie asked me a lunch was the next phase was. I didn't have a lunchtime chit chat reply.


I tentatively have a position in the new joint library that is emerging from the community college library where I currently work as an LTA and the local public library. But I continue to send out job applications, including to K12 settings, until the county commissioners give my new boss a budget and she knows for sure who she can hire and what she can pay. Where ever I end up, I hope the job will always be about education and trying to make a difference to the people I work with and serve.


I think the headline on the latest NCAE newletter, pictured above, says a lot about the tough times educators and librarians of all stripes face in this current economy, and probably always have faced to a degree. Maddie is a good organizer for NCAE and made sure I signed on before I left here. So I've been getting their newsletters and political action alerts for the past several weeks. And based on what I've seen, both at the community college and here at RMS, I've written a few legislators and congressmen, especially about the growing gap in college readiness we see as K12 educators come under increasing pressure from larger class sizes, resource (including media) cuts, and unreasonable testing demands.


Last summer, Maddie gave me her copy of the state IMPACT guidelines to study for my praxis exam. And we read about the IMPACT study results in my last two classes. Great stuff if we had the resources to do it. We know what our kids need, we just lack the will and the means to provide it for them to the degree we'd like. The president of the local community college--the one my son attends as an early college high school student--wrote an editorial in the local paper about how his college may not make their SACS accreditation because SACS wants them to hire more full time faculty and limit them to 15 hours a week of teaching. His response included that there was no way his college could afford to to that under the current state budget and thought it was highly unlikely they could afford it during better times. Another conflict between the ideal and the real.


In my "spare" time, I parent a couple of teenagers. They are themselves making that painful transition to adulthood where the dreams and ideals of childhood meet harsh responsibilities of survival as an adult. A young woman, a former apprentice, came by the house the other evening to share with me the pain of reconciling the dream of the man she'd fallen in love with against the man she'd discovered him to be. In a lot of ways, this transition away from this educational journey feels much the same. All that we've learned and studied about how to be our best versus what money, time, and circumstance will allow. Sort of like being kicked out of the ivory tower and onto the street.


So today, the long, strange trip takes another turn. Well here goes. I'm as prepared as I can be and a pretty stubborn idealist to boot. Thank you for the vision and for all your help. I'll be in touch . . .

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

AMTR



Apparently, this is the big Kahuna of reports. The state mandated AMTR--Annual Media and Technology Report. Maddie has been laboring over this for days. She showed me the final copy she's getting ready to enter online. Twelve pages of numbers and categories for those numbers. She says the report is fewer pages, but more sophisticated in its questions this year. Several scans of the internet and calls to county tech support to find out exactly which Pentium processors need to be reported where on the sheet. And emails to the warehouse to find out what's on the RMS shelves there. And this after she and Robin have scoured the building to account for all 300+ computers on site.
In reviewing the report I was surprised to find that she has 18 iPods. She can't circulate them to students, but they were purchased with the intent that staff would use them. She hasn't been able to generate interest. When I worked at CCL, we circulated iPods to staff members and couldn't keep them in the library. But we were able to purchase audiobooks related to our leadership/business collection. Staff members listened to them on their daily commute to work and also as they traveled on business. Maddie doesn't have mp3 audiobooks in her budget, tho NCLIVE has just made several hundred available. Maybe once the AMTR is done, we can look at the NCLIVE collection and brainstorm about how to promote them.
But the big point of discussion in our review of her AMTR was her suggestion to ECU faculty that they create a class that focused on the "daily details" of school media that includes record keeping with this type of reporting in mind. As I've listened to Maddie discuss her work over the past couple of years, items like weeding, catalog maintenance, stats, inventory and year end reports have always weighed heavily on my mind. If I do end up in a school setting, my internship has exposed me to them, but I could certainly have used a class detailing best practices for accomplishing them. This is an important gap in my education. As are classroom management and web page design and maintenance. I know ECU can't teach everything, but Maddie's suggestion is spot on. I'm taking an incomplete in this class until my internship is finished as ECU's semester has ended, but I'm so glad to be here at this time to actually see the year-end requirements. Maddie says she's going to tell Dr. Dotson not to graduate me until I come back in August to see how the school year starts. Don't listen to her, Dr. D! (even tho she's probably right . . . )

Water over the dam






Lots has happened since my last blog post. Lots of different things, tying up loose ends and "information gathering" for year-end reports. Robin has been tracking down details of the technology inventory, Maddie has been working on the collection and compiling information into report formats. I've tried to make myself useful where I could.





There has been more proctoring. There was another day of EOGs when I got back from NCLOR training. There has been makeup testing for the students that missed. There was a horrible glitch in the scoring software that left children in tears over low scores that really weren't. Students with low scores are currently in "remediation". Students with good scores are currently in "enrichment". Low scorers will be retested next week. Lots of substitutes in the building while teachers are pulled for remediation. Lots of boxed sets leaving the library and groups doing reports while teachers organize post-EOG enrichment activities. Maddie says when she was in the classroom, she lived for this post-EOG time when she was finally free to do the units she loved that didn't relate specifially to state testing. This year she says teachers have been so stressed with demands throughout the year (I'm presuming because of state shortfalls for materials and staff) that she doesn't see a lot of the "enrichment" she would wish for. Lots more videos scheduled than she'd prefer.




Part of what I have been able to help with is organizing in the collection. Lots of shelf reading and relocating materials. Maddie is moving biography to make room for a "popular" series collection on prime real estate near the library entrance. Lufkin Road, where I interned last, did much the same thing. It helped promote reading by encouraging the popular series books, and once it got readers hooked, helped keep students on track with where they were in the series. She also has a professional development section for teachers, in the back room near the copier. She'd never really had the time to organize it. So after I finished moving and cleaning up the biogrpahy section, this second picture is my version of how the professional development materials work best. The post-its indicate where topic labels need to be made. I do think it will help teachers locate materials for themselves easier. And we found a spare displace unit she's putting right next to the copier to display and promote different resources to pique teacher interest.



Then there was more fun with the bar code reader. I spent much of yesterday on the 6th grade hall during 6th grade prep time trying to locate library materials in empty classrooms--AV materials, library books, maps, and LOTS of dictionaries. Robin says the dictionary buying binge happened the summer her now 24 year old daughter took driver's ed. Someone wanted a hardbound dictionary for each student in the school. Robin spent that summer cataloging and barcoding them. And there's still a stash in each classroom, and several hundred still in the library. I inventoried what I could before planning period was over and students returned to their classrooms. Then the job was walking the halls with a cart asking teachers if their students had library books to return. Maddie says she loses about $2000 worth of library books a year. I felt bad interrupting class to ask for stray books, but only one very tired looking teacher seemed miffed by the request. And I got a lot of books back.

I asked Maddie if she felt I was accomplishing the intent of my internship. Her reply was, "You been immersed into the functioning of the school. This is it." This is it.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

NCLOR
























I only spent two hours at RMS today, escorting children to the bathroom during the morning test-taking. At 10A I was at Randolph Community College for a day of NCLOR training. My training was offered by my community college, but NCLOR is largely at K12 resource so I was tickled that my training opportunity was during my scheduled internship time--I would not have been able to get off work and attend otherwise.


NCLOR, like NCLIVE and NC-NET, is another wonderful state-sponsored resource for educators. LOR stands for "Learning Object Repository". It is an online archive of lesson plans and multimedia classroom supplements that can be used in the classroom or imported directly into Blackboard or Moodle. Guests may view content that has been created free of charge, but NC educators can (free to them) request a username and password and access purchased content as well. It is hoped that educators across the state will be inspired to add their own creations to share with their colleagues. To this end, there are collaborative functions within the software that will allow teachers in remote locations to co-create new lessons and aids.


The instructor was from the company that created the software, and while he'd worked with the folks in NC who were actually implementing this project, it was evident he was not familiar with NCLIVE and NC-NET. It appears that both these resources may end up linked to NCLOR as well. I hope so. As harried as our faculty seem these days, one stop-shopping could be a real help to them.


Most of us in attendance were community college faculty. I may have been the only librarian. My login sets me up to view most of the collection, with emphasis on community college resources, but I do have access to lots of K12 resources and could request a K12 login at some point in order to see all of them. There was also a lot of professional development stuff, including tutorials for a wide array of Web 2.0 technologies. Maddie wants to brush up on her Web 2.0 stuff over the summer. I've already introduced her to NC-NET. I think she needs this trick in her bag as well.


Last day of EOGs tomorrow. If she's not too pooped at the end of it, we'll sit down and have a look-see. http://www.explorethelor.org/

E O G


While most Protestant churches and some modern Catholics have abandoned the idea of Purgatory, apparently it is still alive and well in the public schools where it exists in under the name E O G. End of Grade testing. A purifying state of limbo one endures for three days in order to pass through the year end gates to summer. While Purgatory was traditionally thought of as not Hell, considerable prayer was still directed towards shortening its duration. This tradition continues during EOG. Particularly on the part of the test administrators and their proctors.
I returned to Randleman Middle School on Tuesday, May 11, just in time for the first day of EOG. I was given a run-through of proctor training and a booklet to read which further explained what I'd just been told. Then I was hustled down the hall to proctor for the 8th grade science teacher administering the 8th grade reading comprehension exam. Clearly she had done this many times before, and with precision and emphasis, delivered the materials and instructions to students and set them to their task. All classrooms had been stripped of their posters and decorations for the occasion and the television monitors in each room ominously reported the time in large numbers. The entire building was in a state of hushed concentration. For 140 minutes (146 counting the two 3 minute breaks), the world stood still while students tested and their testers and proctors tiptoed the aisles looking for misalignment or worse.
I found it nerve-wracking to be so still for so long with nothing to read and nothing to do but watch others concentrate. The test administrator appeared to find it wearing as well, as she looked for ways to stretch and move that were not distracting to the students. And as if this all weren't hard enough, at the end of the testing period, students who had not finished their exam were escorted to the library where they signed in, still in hushed silence, and continued to work under the watchful eyes of Maddie and Robin. Maddie was overwhelmed. In a school of about 850 students, Maddie had well over 50 of them wrapping up in the library. The exams started shortly after 8a. The time on the monitor indicates when the last student finally left.
While we were eating a late lunch in the workroom, the principal came down for a de-briefing. Everyone was surprised at the number of students needing extended time. He expressed the hope that it meant they were all taking the exams seriously and the end result would be better scores. Everyone agreed that accountability was important, but there was much discussion about better ways to achieve it at substantially lower cost (the savings directed towards hiring more staff and improving the education the tests were supposed to evaluate). Apparently, nobody likes the EOGs but the politicians that mandate them and the testing companies that get paid for the tests.
Despite all this, there are two more days to go. As with purgation, we'll hope there's a little redemption at the end.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Board of Education

On April 19, I attended my first Board of Education meeting. Maddie met me there after school. It was a very odd mix of old meets new. With minor changes in dress, it could have been a scene from the 1950's--a moment of silence, a student leading the Pledge of Allegiance, recognition of principals and vice principals, another student singing a popular inspirational song and Amazing Grace, lots of awards certificates punctuated with photos for the local press. The meeting was as much pomp and circumstance as it was business. Only the topics of discussion connected the meeting to the 21st Century.

And sadly, most of those connections were about the current fiscal crisis. On a happier note, year's National Board Certified Teachers were recognized along with the county's winning Battle of the Books team. But then the hard business began. A PTO president rose to speak about staff shortages in his school and the local county NCAE rep urged the county to sign on to a resolution urging the legislature to "Fund Schools First". Lots of Roberts Rules of Order.

I wasn't sitting in a good position to either hear or see. The Board was clearly visible, but guest speakers had their backs to the audience and some of the discussion was too technical and specific for the casual observer. Clearly, reading the newspaper report the next day would have been more informative and we left about half way through the meeting. I did not get a feel for how much the board responded to its visitors--if their concerns were really considered, or just politely listened to. On the surface, the emphasis was on tradition, patriotism, and decorum. What happens beneath that surface, I could not tell from this one visit. Food for discussion when I see Maddie next.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Encouragement

I attend Quaker meeting. The tradition includes sitting in watchful silence until somone is led to speak. This past meeting, it was, among others, me. My favorite Easter story is the last chapter of John--Jesus's final appearance to his disciples. They have fished all night with nothing to show for it. They don't recognize Jesus on the shore but he is waiting for them with a hot breakfast. He encourages them to cast their nets one more time. Which they do, and the story records that their nets were bursting with "great fishes"--enough to have destroyed their nets. But the nets hold and they bring them to shore. With this, they recognize Jesus. As Peter greets him, three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Three times Peter replies to Jesus that he does. And three times Jesus responds, "then feed my sheep"--Jesus's last words on earth to his followers.

Some interpret this as Jesus's command to the church to preach the gospel. Others, of which I am one, believe that he meant exactly what he said--that we are to provide materially for each other as well as spiritually. Jesus spent too much time and energy providing food and healing along with his words for us to think we are not called to do the same.

But for some reason this Sunday morning, the word "encouragement" would not leave me. I lost my older sister a couple of weeks ago. Over these past few years we have been reconnecting after a long absence. And then suddenly she was gone. I've been trying to put into words the space she has left. And it finally came to me, the thing I miss most is her encouragement. We neither one of us got much parental approval growing up. I think she realized, by its absence, what a precious gift it is. So she gave it generously. To me, to my kids, to her children, to her co-workers. In a recent conversation, her husband told me how stunned he was at her memorial to hear people he'd never met talk about what gifts she'd given them, mostly through her encouragement.

For over 25 years, I've taught adults the craft of weaving. But I haven't worked much teaching children and I've never been responsible for disciplining any but my own. So I've been studying Maddie's interactions with them in the library. She can be pretty stern, but even when she is setting limits or correcting them, she offers instruction and encouragement on behaving the right way. And her positive interactions are always about encouraging their interests, asking them to share with her, letting them know by her interest that they matter to her. I am amazed at her attention to this. She has an assistant who works mostly in the back room. Maddie is pretty much the face of the library, and she offers her attention to all 850 children along with all the paperwork, faculty support and technology stuff her job requires. It is likely that her principal will evaluate her based on these last items, but the real power behind her effectiveness as a librarian lies in the little words of interest and enthusiam that she shares with each child. With them she is feeding her sheep.

I don't know how a library program can teach this. Clearly Jesus struggled to convey to Peter the importance of this kind of caring. Now that I am at the end of my library program, with nearly four years of work experience under my belt, I'm certain that I have the professional and technology skills to hold up the technical end of the job. But I'm beginning to understand that everything we've learned in school is not the job--it's only a tool to be used in doing the real job--caring for, encouraging, supporting each other and our community--feeding our sheep.

I've already turned in my portfolio for my degree. It includes, as required, my personal philosophy of library science. But were I to post it now, I think I'd use this quotation I recently came across. It is credited to Bryant S. Hinckley:

"To give encouragement, to impart sympathy, to show interest, to banish fear, to build self-confidence, and awaken hope in the hearts of others, in short--to love them and to show it--is to render the most precious service."

Finding Fossils!



What better way to end the week than to let the kids play in the dirt. Six million year old dirt. With fossils.
At the eastern most tip of Beaufort County lies the tiny town of Aurora, home to a massive phosphate mine. While largely unknown to the rest of the state, researchers from around the globe visit this tiny town to see what the phosphate folks are digging up. Teachers come too, along with the occasional fossil afficionado tourist. For their pleasure and reward, each week the mine owners dump a load of fossil-laden mine tailings (quaintly referred to as "reject") in a pile across the street from the Aurora Fossil Museum, the town's sole attraction. Maddie makes a pilgrimage to Aurora once a year to fill these three plastic buckets for a day of learning and fun with the 8th grade science class. This is her favorite lesson to teach, and despite spending weeks in a foot cast after twisting her ankle on this last trek, she sounded ready to head back for next year's stash.
This past year she brought her elderly mother along who had so much fun dirt-digging she refused to leave until she'd filled the pockets of her housecoat. (Apparently Maddie comes by this love honestly. ) The kids felt this way, too. As soon as she'd dumped a large coffee mug of reject before each student they were into it. And almost immediately you could hear the oohs and aahs of discovery. Twice she'd have students stand up and switch piles with someone else. And with each switch, there were new discoveries.


This lesson is part of a collaborative project with one of the 8th grade science teachers. Each student received a pictoral guide, a zip lock bag, a mug of dirt, and lots of encouragement. Even the teacher couldn't keep her fingers away from the stuff. Maddie began the lesson with a map of NC counties and a quick geography lesson to orient students to the reject's source. She also had a dataprojector set up to explore the fossil museum web page. She used audio/visual aids, textual information, and tactile engagement to anchor the lesson and address multiple learning styles. Switching tables gave the students a chance to stretch and move with a purpose. They were encouraged to speak softly with one another to collaborate on identifying their "finds". And their science teacher assessed them on their participation and deportment. Sure seemed like an A+ lesson plan to me!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Obi-Wan Follette



Who has seen a Star Wars movie and not wanted to be a Jedi Knight or play with a light saber? Well, I came close to it today.


Maddie's library operates on a split schedule--three days fixed and two days flexible. It just so happened that today, there were no scheduled classes in the library. A rare opportunity to catch up on paperwork. She's been explaining to me the year end forms she needs to complete, both for the county and for NCDPI. The big deal now is getting an inventory done and reconciling differences between the shelf list and the catalog.


My job today was to play with the Follette Bar Code Reader. You can see in the picture how she's positioned barcodes on the back of her books. With the flip of a finger, the barcode label is exposed, the Jedi throws back his cape, grasps his weapon. Light erupts from his saber as he wields it with aplomb towards his intended target . . . Oops. I meant, you can aim the targeted red light of the barcode reader at the barcode label, and in a literal flash, have a record of the selected item for inventory.


Maddie's collection contains about 19,000 items, all of which have to be inventoried by the end of the year. I did her entire fiction section today--I'm guessing between 3 and 4000 books. It was fun. (I'm sure it wouldn't be if it were my responsibility for the whole job every year!) After reading several hundred barcodes, I'd take the reader to her computer. She'd download the results into Destiny and any discrepancies would come out in report form. I'd go back and bring her the books in question and she'd set the records straight. What an amazing tool!


Besides having fun, I did learn a few things. At our new library, we'll have a different vendor, but we are supposed to get a similar barcode reader. Placement of the labels is everything. Maddie uses duplicates--one inside the front cover and one strategically placed on the back. Previous librarians have labelled some books in other places. And books that are heavily used often have the back label obscured or torn. Having to use the inside label really slows the process. And labels placed too close to ISBN barcodes can cause misreadings. So we'll talk about this when I get back to my real job.

Another thing I learned today was a whole new meaning for the term "boxed sets". While I played Jedi, Maddie was hard at work cataloging "boxed sets". Certain titles are purchased in sets of 30 or more for classroom use. They are kept in lidded plastic tubs for easy transport to the classroom. But they still have to be barcoded, inventoried and cataloged like everything else. Between new purchases, and correcting a previous staff member's mistakes, there was considerable muttering from behind her desk. I tried not to make like I was having too much fun, but . . . Oh, and did I mention I had a chair on wheels for doing the job? Yippee!!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Home again, home again, jiggedy jog!










Back again with Maddie for the final phase of my certification gauntlet! It is a real pleasure to be back at Randleman Middle School. I'm only into my third day here and already I've cataloged in Destiny, processed new books (and learned, finally, to put on book jacket covers--one of those previously unrevealed library mysteries . . .) and attended a grade level meeting of 6th grade teachers.




I've had a thorough introduction to the telecommunications center. In the mornings, Maddie creates a powerpoint type presentation of school news that scrolls on classroom televisions throughout the day. She promotes athletic events, school spirit activities, the lunch menu, and has a "shout out" page recognizing student achievement. In the evenings, the assistant, Robin, loads it up with the videos instructors want shown the following day. Robin gave me a detailed explanation of its capabilities (or what it can do once they finish repairing it), which include the ability of administrators to broadcast emergency information throughout the school, the ability of the entire school to watch televised historical events, and the ability of individual classroom instructors to schedule and run selections from the media center video collection. At one point, there was also a broadcast studio for a school wide student show, but that had fallen into disuse as the person trained to use it had left.




The last time I was here, there was a cross-categorical class that regularly came to the back room of the media center to use the laptop cart and do research. Such demands have been placed on the school's computer labs that an additional lab was needed. So Maddie took funds from her budget and had a "computer bar" installed. The cart's laptops are now wirelessly connected to the network and printer on the library's west wall for teachers to reserve as needed. As it is right next to the reference section, it is a great place for research, and far enough from the fiction and magazine section to be reasonably quiet. Apparently the cart was difficult to use as a portable computer lab elsewhere in the building and space in the back room is limited. This new set up allows regular classrooms enough computers and space to do what they need.











When I asked Maddie about a school-wide staff meeting to

attend, she said they seldom had those, but regularly held grade level meetings. I attended the 6th grade meeting this morning and got to sit in on some leadership training offered by the vice principal. Not only was she reviewing state standards, she was also explaining the new teacher evaluation process being implemented next year. In addition to a training opportunity, this was obviously an important forum for teachers and administrators to talk about day to day concerns.







That back room in the library I just mentioned is now so full of new equipment, no class could meet there. The principal has purchased several hundred new graphing calculators that Robin is adding to the catalog. And there are a number of smart boards and their accompanying equipment that make parts of the room nearly impassable. Another technology treat Maddie arranged for me was to visit one of the language arts teachers (who she felt was particularly adept with one) and see the smart board in use. He was using powerpoint slides, photos and videos to teach about inference and preparing students for EOG questions about inferences in literature. He could use the smartboard screen as a touch screen, write on it like a white board, and move seamlessly between media types to keep students engaged and enrich the instruction. I was quite impressed (as in I'm trying to figure out why I need one when I'm talking to Santa come fall).


But I am ashamed to confess that the biggest hit with me so far has been learning to put on the clear protective covers that protect new book jackets. I process and copy catalog books for the college in the Sirsi Dynix system. Destiny is much easier and more fun to use, but the process is pretty much the same. Spine labels, identification stamps, and barcodes are not much different, either. But one of the disadvantages of distance education is that there is just not much opportunity for hands-on learning, and even though I've been working in libraries for nearly four years, there are a couple of hands-on experiences I need to have before I feel like a real librarian. I got to have one yesterday. Robin gave me a lesson in book jacket covers. Iwas in heaven. Lovely new books, neatly printed spine labels, carefully aligned barcodes. And now, lovely protective book jacket covers. My first library pulled the book jackets universally and saved them for displays. My current library cuts holes in them for spine labels and tries to tape them up when they get torn. I've always envied libraries that protected their book jackets and kept their book covers brightly colored and attractive (yes, you DO judge a book by it's cover--it's instinctive, I don't care WHAT they say . . .). Now I have a successfully covered stack of lovely new and shelf-ready books before me. I feel like a real librarian now.

New Library

It's actually happening, the new joint library is being built! My two new bosses and I got to don hard hats and take a tour. Tara, the new library director for the community college, and Teresa, the branch manager for the public library, gave me the tour. This and the new classroom building are both LEED certified. The new library sits under enormous, sweeping wooden trusses. The footprint is 25,000 square feet, cavernous compared to our present digs. The south wall is entirely glass. The roof is a rainwater collection system for the land lab, and our nearest neighbor on campus is the new Natural Chef program (looking forward to much better lunches than the vending machines offer!).There will be a very large meeting room, and a computer lab that is nearly as large. There will be two fireplaces and lots of comfortable seating. It's all hard to imagine while it is still mostly concrete and steel, but it was very easy to get excited.
This last image is of the study rooms at the west end, something we have not had before. Up in the air still is how the library will be staffed. The economic turndown has affected governments just like it has companies and individuals. The college and the county are pooling money for staff, but neither organization has much to spare. I am hoping for one of the new reference spots and have been recommended for one. So I'm particularly anxious for this issue to be resolved. Of course, as they say, life happens. Just a few hours after we were in here dreaming, a construction worker soldering gutters at the old courthouse not four blocks away, set the 1881 Chatham County Courthouse on fire. All five floors were gutted to the bricks. How this will affect the library, we do not know. It is a tragedy at many levels. Fortunately, the building was evacuated safely and no one was hurt, but until the county fully understands what they have lost and what it will cost to replace/rebuild, our uncertainties will continue. The poet Rilke urged his protoge to "live the questions now". Guess I'll get to a little bit longer.



Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Staff Development



One of my successes this year has been introducing the Adult High School and GED students to Learning Express Library Database, one of the many outstanding databases in NC LIVE. The instructors had no idea this resource was available. Once I showed them, they have brought each new group of students down to the library for a quick orientation. As they add new students during the semester, they send each one for a library card and set of passwords, and I give the orientation individually.

Students love the flexibility of this resource. They can do the tutorials or practice exams in the classroom or at home. They can work at their own pace. Tutorials start at grade level 4 and move up, so in the privacy of their homes, they can go back and pick up whatever principles they missed. The teachers appreciate having another tool at their disposal, especially one the students seem eager to use. It has been especially helpful to our international students who may not be fully comfortable with their English and math skill preparation for college level work in the US. In any event, at this end of the hall (AHS and GED are my neighbors), it's been a big hit.

There is so much available in this database, including career test preparation, it seemed like a good thing to share with the rest of the faculty. And the easiest way to do that was to create a short Camtasia video and show it in monthly staff meeting. Blogger doesn't give the best rendering of videos, but you get the idea. And if you have access to NC LIVE, it is definitely worth the time to explore.

Art in the Library



Collaboration time again. The college hired local muralist, Stacey Leanza, to create a fabulous mural for the student center depicting the various programs offered here. She turned it into a community project, inviting students and other local artists to participate. Once completed, the college planned a promotional party and invited the public to view the new work.

But the college also has a wonderful sculpture and pottery program that needs promoting, too. I have a number of student pieces in the library already, adding interest and showing off the students' accomplishments. So it seemed only natural that at the same time as the mural open house, the library should ask for more art work and show it off, too.

Besides adding to the atmosphere in the library, such collaborations support student achievement and build relationships with other departments within the college. Right now, my library is so small, my primary display space for art is on top of the book shelves. I do have a small kiosk, a bulletin board in the hall, and some wall space above the computers. I try to have new displays each month or so, tho the weeding project has put me behind on developing new displays.

But the NEW hybrid library will be huge. And I plan to stake out display space for the college programs the day they move in my desk.

Weeding

When I was a kid, the fellow across the street from us had a HUGE yard--he'd kept horses on it for awhile, unusual for the suburbs, so it really was a small pasture. Once the horses were gone, he decided to keep a more suburban landscape, using his tractor to pull gangs of mowers and an herbicide sprayer in his endless war with the dandelions. He's used so much spray over the years, the dandelions had actually become resistant and deformed--many of them with multiple heads on stems as broad as a thumb. And, of course, to the irritation of suburban neighbors, the seeds drifted into the yards all around him. As kids, it was our job, in the mid-summer heat, to dig, pull, dowse, chop--whatever it took to remove these telltale signs of what was considered an "inferior" yard from our lot. This was a generation or two before "green landscapes" had come into fashion. I now live in the country. I can't see my neighbors. I'm not entirely sure what grows in my yard, tho I do mow to keep the ticks and chiggers down. And based on my childhood experience with them, I've decided to make peace with the humble and hardy dandelion by honoring it as a native wild flower.

That said, weeds don't belong in the library. Particularly a library that is getting ready to move. This fall, my small branch community college library will merge with the small town library and move into a positively cavernous new (and LEED certified green!) building. The new library, which I can now see through windows across the hall, has a 25,000 square foot footprint. With LOTS of shelves. But the problem is, not only do we have to pay to move all the books, we also have to pay to migrate each catalog entry into the new system. And with the state budget the way it's been for the last while, there's a lot of deadwood here we don't need to pay to move anyway. I am sad to report that while we do have a lot of lovely new resources that directly support the curriculum, the average age of the collection is 1978. I expect a full third of the current collection to be out on the sales cart or donated to individual departments before it's over.

So in between my visits with Maddie, the job here will be weeding. Lots of weeding. The good news is, I'll be doing it in air conditioning with a barcode reader.

Back in the saddle . . .

Howdy, Pardner, it's that time again. Internship time. The final roundup.

I'll continue with my work at the community college and also spend three weeks back at Randleman Middle School with my friend and mentor, Maddie. I've worked in libraries nearly four years now, and have taught adults for nearly 30. Time now to circle the wagons and put it all together in a K12 setting, tho I have to say, all of my K12 training is finding very good use here at the community college. The principles of presenting information in alignment with the needs of the audience, promoting library resources, collaborating with faculty, learning and applying new technologies ALL have a place in any educational setting.

As I've mentioned before, I do work with high school students from the Huskins program, but the students I work most closely with are the Adult High School and GED students. Their classrooms are just up the hall. The library is a convenient testing center for the AHS and GED instructors. And these instructors seem to be especially appreciative of library support. It may be because of the challenging nature of what they do--create individual learning programs tailored to the needs of students who have dropped out or dropped behind for a wide variety of reasons. In any event, it's been a great venue for trying out a lot of what I've learned, and the positive response from both students and staff has made it very worthwhile.

So off we go on the final leg of this cattle drive . . . Giddyap!