Forward thinking in school librarianship...

*This post was written by Meg Brooke, Supervisor of School Librarians for Jefferson County. 

Twenty three years ago I interviewed for a library position in the system where I was moving my family. In preparing for the interview, I got my interview outfit ready (Ok…hate to say it, but this was my first thought!). I knew that I needed to get my mind and interview skills ready, and so I prepped by doing lots of reading on what was new in library theory as well as  in technology, and I talked to several practicing librarian friends. The CD-ROM was just starting to be used, and I memorized what the letters stood for and learned about information that was available on the CD-ROMS. I had a MacIntosh computer that I could use at home, and I felt prepared. But, whoa, Nellie! 

Dr. Robert Mitchell, superintendent of the system at the time, interviewed me, and I was amazed!!! This was 1990, and Dr. Mitchell was envisioning students being able to access our school library from their homes. Wow!  My finite mind could never have dreamed that big…everyone having a computer at home and being able to retrieve information from our school library…. but I’m thankful that others have minds to be able to see what possibilities lie ahead. 

Remember: computers were just appearing in schools around that time, and the library where I was hired to work had no computers….ZERO.  It took a few decades to get there, but his vision did become reality. (a side note…..Dr. Mitchell was a hero to me in several ways, but I’d love to add that he left the system a year after I was there and started the first daycare in the area that had cameras so that parents could log in and see what their children were doing whenever they had a chance to do that. A real forward thinker!)

Dreams of what our libraries will become must move from the ideas that many were taught and have practiced, too, if we are to move toward the vision of the library that our students will need.  In Harland’s The Learning Commons: Seven Simple Steps to Transform Your Library, we are given some questions to ask ourselves as we think about the future of our particular library. 

Ponder these:

• ·         Does your school need a library when most information can be accessed in the classroom using the Internet? (This is a question that we need to be able to answer!!!)
• ·         What is it that your library offers to your users in addition to accessing information?
• ·         Are you doing it well?  Could you do it better?
• ·         How can you increase and improve services?
• ·         Could you make a shift in your service?

We’ve heard the term libraries without walls, and we’re there. Dr. Mitchell got it right!  Our students can access Atriuum, Nettrekker, the AVL, and many ebooks outside of the school library. One leadership session at the upcoming AASL conference and one that was recently presented in a webinar entitled A Library in your Pocket is a reality NOW!  

High schools are without walls, providing online courses for students via ACCESS now. Our buildings are seeing changes as methods of teaching are moving toward more technology, and our library spaces will need to follow suit as well.  No longer are we just protecting what we have…our books, our AV, our equipment, but we are morphing into being the promoters of how to use what we have so that our students and teachers can easily access and use that information. 

This is just a smidgen of food for thought that you’ll find in The Learning Commons by Pamela Harland.  I hope you’ll check it out if you’re interested in moving your library forward into one that will meet your students’ needs.  

Be the “Dr. Mitchell” in the lives around you!

Labels, Labels, Labels

Do you label your books with Accelerated Reader information? I do. This is common practice in many elementary libraries, and for several good reasons:

• when used with STAR reading ranges, sticker labels help guide students to the books that are "just right" for them
• they provide a clear visual to the amount of books your collection has on each grade level; a quick walk through your shelves will show if you need more books of a certain range
• they help students find books with which they will experience success, and quickly (classroom time is precious indeed, and the more efficient we can make book browsing for students, the better all around)

These are good reasons for labeling books. After all, our goal is to make library use as easy as possible for students. Right? 

Right.  

HOWEVER...

The American Association of School Librarians feels otherwise. Take a look at AASL's policy on labeling books: http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/labeling

Granted, some of AASL's concerns stem from the fact that lots of libraries are not only using labels but are organizing their shelving by labels (not adhering to standards of the profession), and that is most definitely a valid concern. We should be teaching students how libraries work, not just how OUR library works. If they understand that the Fiction books are in ABC order everywhere, then we have given them the key which unlocks every school, public, and eventually academic library they will ever use. This is a pretty big deal. 

Another of AASL's points about labels is that it violates the privacy of our students. Think about that. Do you have a 4th grader reading on a 1st grade level? I do. Whose business is it that he is not reading on grade level? His, his teachers', his parents', and mine. Certainly not other students, but they will be able to see that if he is carrying around books with 1st grade stickers on the spine. 

Ouch. 

Personally, I have never, not once, in 10 years of serving in this profession, ever heard of a student being bullied or made fun of because of his or her reading level. But I also know that there is a lot that goes on behind the social scenes of kids that not even the most perceptive, Eagle Eye teacher can catch. I don't want to contribute to making any child in my school a target. 

My plan is to compromise between AASL's standards and what my teachers want in keeping AR labels (and encouraging students to choose books within their range) but placing them in a more discreet location. This will take some time, but I plan to eventually remove all spine labels and begin to teach students to look inside the cover of their book for AR reading level information. This will take require more browsing time for the students, and it will take away my ability to sweep my eyes across the collection and notice deficiencies, but remember that 4th grade kid on a 1st grade level? 

He's worth it.  

First Friday Recap: Alabama Virtual Library

Last week I and several others from our district attended January First Friday session, sponsored by the State Department of Education. The presenter was Deloris Carlito, and her topic was the Alabama Virtual Library.

The AVL is a resource cherished by every one of us, and we have several blog posts written here about ways to maximize the databases in our schools. Though we may have extensive experience using this great storehouse of information, there is always room for us to grow and add to our knowledge about the various databases.

One of Mrs. Carlito's points of emphasis that resonated with me were the three cornerstones of the Alabama Virtual Library:

• Equity
• Economy
• Excellence

There remains enormous variety in the social, economic, and ethnic diversity of our schools, both in the district and around the state. The AVL levels the playing field by providing 24 hour, free access to high quality information resources. It is obviously to our economic advantage to support use of the AVL, as we are not charged any fees as schools or individual users whatsoever to gain access. The resources included are top quality, highly recommended sources of information; over and again they prove their worth as solid, reliable, multifaceted sources to use with and recommend to our students and their families.

Suggestions she made for school librarians for promoting the AVL include:

1. Set the AVL as your library/computer lab home page. 
2. Create guides for teacher and student use.
3. Provide teacher PD on the Alabama Virtual Library.
4. Encourage teachers not to accept assignments unless the references list includes databases from the AVL. 

We must remember that we have to USE the AVL or we LOSE the AVL. Any opportunity we can take to thank our legislators for their continued support of the Alabama Virtual Library (or let our students share their thanks as well) will go a long way in securing this resource for our students.

Another point of interest Mrs. Carlito mentioned was the Helpdesk on the AVL site. If a user has any issues whatsoever accessing the resources or if a librarian needs training materials, use the Helpdesk to request materials (mouse pads, bookmarks, etc.) or assistance.

One of my most valued take-aways from this First Friday session was learning how to sort topic/keyword searches by Lexile level to ensure all students are reading the same topic on their individual grade level. For example, if you are working with a 5th grade class and they are researching American presidents, tailor each child's advanced search to their Lexile level, and boom! Everyone is reading material on their independent level yet also meeting their needs. Not too hard, not too easy, but "Juuust right!" (Elementary folks who do the Goldisocks lesson will totally get this.)

Okay, so maybe you're like me and have no frame of reference for Lexile levels. After all, many schools utilize the Renaissance Learning products to assess student's individual reading levels. Here is a link that can provide more information about Lexile levels and their grade level equivalent. It's not all inclusive, but it's a good start.

http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/grade-equivalent/grade-equivalent-chart/

Who else attended the session? What were your take-aways from this presentation?

Living in a mobile world

Recently I read this piece about the sudden prevalence of mobile technology, and it certainly affirms changing aspects of my own learning community.

This is changing everything we know about how we work with students and their families!

Alabama Virtual Library: Britannica Elementary

My favorite AVL resource for elementary students is by far the Britannica Elementary database. The interface is very user-friendly, and it promotes authentic information searches rather than sheer visual browsing. There is always a fresh "Activity of the Day" and every single time I open the database there are current headlines in the "Student News Net."

Personally, I have always found Britannica Elementary to be most dependable when guiding young kiddos in information searches. This is a fun database that does have learning games and high quality visuals to engage their attention, but also 

Some of my favorite Britannica Elementary features:

• There is a timeline creator that can be really helpful for research activities about historical figures. 

• On the home page there is a "Discover America" link that students can use to discover facts about each state (with visuals of state flowers, flags, birds, etc.) as well as the states' geography. This is a solid tool for supporting the curriculum of those grade levels who teach U.S. states and geography. (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th)

• Also on the home page there is an "Animal of the Day" section. The animal articles always include vibrant visuals and links to nurture the children's curiosity about information beyond the article. 

• Every article has three features that are VERY important to our role as school librarians today. One is the ability to translate the article into Spanish, which benefits our English Learners. The second is the ability to click a button to have the article read aloud (in chunks) for the students who struggle with reading. The third is the ability to easily generate a citation for the resource. This promotes ethical use of information. 

Alabama Virtual Library: Kids InfoBits

Kids InfoBits is one of the AVL's best resources for elementary level students. VERY visual, it's one of the best picks for younger students. They can browse each category according to their unique interests OR they can use the search feature to locate information about a specific topic. 

One of the neatest categories is "Stories & Literature." When students access this category, they can then choose from a variety of literature-related sub-categories. 

*We have recently been told that the new ARMT+ standardized test will  measure higher, more rigorous standards in regard to literacy. Poetry is one item that we can hone in on, and this section of the Kids InfoBits database can help with that! Please be sure to share this database with the classroom teachers in your building who will be focusing on poetry this year. 

If you choose the sub-category of "Reading, Writing, & Language," you can see that there is an abundance of resources available to support literacy, and the instruction of English Learners. 

Kids InfoBits is also really useful as a safe, ad-free dictionary tool! 

Alabama Virtual Library: Enciclopedia Juvenil

Another vital database in our state's collection of resources on the Alabama Virtual Library is the Enciclopedia Juvenil. Created as a service for students whose primary language is Spanish, Enciclopedia Juvenil eases the barrier to information access for English Learners by providing a quality search resource they can use in Spanish.

Users can search the database for information they can then translate to English if necessary. This database also has the text to voice recognition feature, meaning 

This site even has games and videos created to match course of study content, created in the Spanish language to aide those students who are struggling with English language acquisition. These can also be used to create background knowledge which will help the students make stronger, clearer connections to their classroom content. 

One unintended but also potentially relevant use for this database might be using it to demonstrate to teachers how English Learners feel as they are attempting to utilize learning resources on an every day basis that is in a language so different from their primary language. 

Alabama Virtual Library

Alabama's education budgets have suffered considerably in recent years, but thankfully we still have access to the Alabama Virtual Library. This incredibly powerful tool provides equitable access for all Alabamians to quality resources and information. 

Remember the days when you were assigned those little blue AVL cards with the crazy user names and passwords? Thank goodness, those days are behind us! Now we have the benefit of geo-caching, which authenticates that a computer is in the state of Alabama and therefore grants access to the databases without requiring signing in. 

Now, if you still have some of those blue AVL cards, don't throw them away!!! Repurpose them as bookmarks or bulletin board decorations. 

If you need AVL bookmarks or mouse pads, simply ask and you shall receive! Contact the AVL helpdesk from the AVL's home page, and let them know how many you need. 

*We should all keep in mind that the Alabama Virtual Library's resources have already been cut many times. Usage statistics (broken down by district and sometimes even by school) are major players when the committee has to have the hard discussions over what to cut, so remember that the most important way we can preserve the AVL is to USE it! :)

There are database-specific posts with usage tips on the way. 

Screen Recording Tools

Pinterest is one of the newest places to find creative ideas for lessons, teaching strategies, and classroom organization. I have a post in the works about Pinterest, coming to a browser near you very soon! 

Pinterest is also a place to find a bit of humor here and there. I  present to you, Exhibit A:

Like many of you, I have had this very conversation not only with my mother, but also with some of the tech-aphobic teachers with whom I've worked over the years. Advocating for technology integration is every bit as much about coaching and mentoring as it is providing exposure to new tools and resources. My standard phrase with teachers who are terrified of their computers is: You know way more than you think you do.

For those who really need that extra push to becoming confident using technology with their students, you may want to consider using a screen recording tool to provide them with short tech-support snippets or tutorials. Once you select a screen recording tool, you download the program to your computer and follow the simple instructions for capturing either images on your screen or recording a video of you manipulating and navigating content on your computer screen. You can even activate audio so that you can verbally coach users through the process. These pre-recorded "screencasts" can serve as a living anchor chart to which teachers can refer back later for assistance with computer-based activities.

Screen recording tools are incredibly powerful for visual learners. After all, telling someone how to do something is one thing, but showing them how is another!

Here is a very short example of a VERY basic screencast I've taken using Jing.

Screen recorders aren't just for tech support, either! You can also use them to record ways to access a database, or steps to take to retrieve citation information for a source. Because the screencasts generate a URL, you can post them anywhere from your OPAC to your wiki.

Teachers can utilize screencasting for students who are absent, or for unique tutorials to support English Learners. What other ways can you use/have you used screen recorders in the library?

Here are a few screen recorder tools...happy screencasting!

Community Clips

Jing

SnagIt

Just one more funny from Pinterest...

Going Mobile

It's no secret that mobile technology is revolutionizing society. Through apps and simple encoding updates, companies are taking mainstream web content and converting it to mobile-friendly format.

Why?

There are many schools of thought on this issue. The technology is less expensive and growing in prominence. Think about it. How many people do you know personally who had an iPhone/Droid/Blackberry or other "smart" device a few years ago? How many more have those devices today?

As librarians we really need to embrace this mobile technology revolution. Even in the most impoverished communities, many parents still have access to iPhones or other smart devices because they are available at an affordable cost. The reality for many of my students is that though they may not have a personal computer at home, they do have access to the internet through mobile devices.

One of the most important ways we can bridge the Digital Divide today is to make sure that all of our web-based library resources are enabled for mobile access. 


Is your OPAC mobile-friendly? If not, submit a request to the software company to include mobile capability in their next update. For some companies, this may mean devising an application to be downloaded through the respective app markets for mobile devices. For others, this may simply mean updating the encoding to detect mobile access (yes, they can detect everything from what operating system you are on to what web browser you are using) and adjusting sizing to fit the mobile screen.

Recently our very own Alabama Virtual Library updated its encoding for mobile-friendly use. This is a prime example of making every effort to enable equitable access to materials. My prediction is that the AVL's usage statistics for the mobile operating system will skyrocket!

Using the Overdrive iPhone app, Jefferson County Library Cooperative users can download audiobooks from the system's collection. JCLC patrons can also check out books for their Kindle or other mobile reading device.

How much more likely are you to use a web resource on your phone if everything fits the screen nicely and is easy to use, or if it's one where you have to scroll back and forth and up and down and you mistype because the data entry screens are too small (then too large, then too small...ugh!).

QR (quick response) codes are one of the fastest growing tools utilizing mobile technology.

Here are other resources on mobile technology in school libraries:

Library in Your Pocket

Mobile Libraries

Are our school libraries mobile?

Mobile technology is changing the relationship between libraries and their users...


So, what do you say? How is your library MOBILE?

Supporting English Learners

English Learners (nationally, the terminology has moved from ESL to ELL to now just EL) are continuing to become a very specialized group of patrons in our libraries. Our district has recently moved from the pull-out model to the coaching model for EL support and instruction, and the EL department at our central office has done a fantastic job of communicating effective ways to best assist English Learners in our schools.


Although the inclusion of bilingual literature in a collection is an essential way to meet the needs of EL students, I have noticed personally that many EL students prefer English-only books. This may be a cultural issue, the desire to conform, or it may simply be that there are more options in English-only. However, we should support our EL students with selections of bilingual literature in every genre of our collections.


-With their permission to share, here are some helpful links provided by our EL department regarding bilingual literature in school libraries:


http://www.bilingualbooks.com/


http://www.wida.us/standards/elp.aspx


*Scholastic Book Wizard can help with this as well. Here is an example of a search for "bilingual."


These are specific tips offered by the EL department for all educators in supporting the needs of English Learners:
1. Establish a classroom community that values and celebrates all languages and dialects. 
[Implications for librarians: include literature with a variety of dialects!]


2. Encourage parents to develop and maintain primary language at home. 
[Implications for librarians: provide translations of library documents and communication in native languages. There is a procedure in place for securing authentic translations from professionals at the central office level. For more info, see your EL Handbook!]


3. Offer primary language support through bilingual parent and community volunteers, peers, cross-age tutors, and extended day programs.


4. Learn and use some second language yourself with students. You don't have to be fluent. Just learn a few phrases and key vocabulary! 


5. Understand the differences between supporting and developing the primary language.
[Implications for librarians: celebrate a variety of cultures through creative programming!]


What are some ways you have provided language support for English Learners? Please share!

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