They inherited a typical, outdated library collection, and an underutilized tech lab. They turned the program around, weeded the 22,000+ books (avg copyright date=1978) to 11,000, painted the lab, installed blue strip lighting and glow-in-the-dark stars in the lab. Now they have a vibrant program of two librarians running an infolit department with 3 parent volunteers a day, a "Friends of the School Library Club" of 30 students who meet on Friday afterschool.
What they did and recommend:
- Kickstart the collection with your current money
- Weed!!!
- Buy databases
- set up a wish list on amazon
- promote the latest fiction
- clean and rearrange shelving
- ask teachers for their wish lists
- ask students what they want to read and buy it.
- Weed any video that hasn't been used in 5 years
- buy only dvd's for now
- buy several inexpensive digital cameras for student projects
- buy one really good video camera for use in school
- ask students to use their own equipment to produce projects
- the future's channel - free streaming video for teachers
- Bake cookies and work side-by-side with tech support staff
- define your role as a technologist - tech helper (not a technician/repair person)
- nag about software upgrades
- get rid of anything not used in 3 years
- provide instruction to staff about the use of technology equipment
- upgrade all special ed software -talk to the special ed heads: bookshare.org (free online audio books for sped students)
- Every student is a teacher, every teacher is a student
- scrutinize all "rules" and evolve please!
- make the library calendar available to all
- start a FOSL club
- Make sure teachers and parents know what you teach
- Develop a long-range plan with other librarians in the district (check with regional)
- Demonstrate your financial management skills to get more money
- Buy only new items with budget funds
- replace old items with petty cash funds
- write grants, please! (Teen Tech Week)
- Make friends with local merchants
- Inter-library borrow with other schools in your district
- Teach teachers to purchase items for their own departmental budgets
Avoid "quick lessons" from books and online sources
Start with the MA Instructional Tech Frameworks
Their site: www.wmslibrary.net Click the "magic Westie" to see all their curriculum items, handouts, worksheets, etc.
1 comment:
Thanks so much or the story! We were sorry that we ran out of time, but the audience was great. By the way, we left off one piece of news -- our school's MCAS scores were first in reading at the 8th grade level this year! That's a link we've been looking for!
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