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!!

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.

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!