Student name: Erin Moyer
Library Media Center site visited: Joppa View Elementary
Library Media Specialist mentor interviewed: Tressa Morris
Date of site visit:2/28/13
Teacher Role
QUESTION / NOTES/RESPONSES / REFLECTION
How do you encourage reluctant readers to come to the library? /
  • Brainpop
  • Tumble books
  • E-books, not very often but occasionally
  • Allow students to checkout more non-fiction because they will have more pictures.
  • Not a lot of time to work one-on-one to help readers develop skills.
  • Try to get as many books in student’s hands as possible.
  • She wishes she had time to more book talks.
/ This is something I have struggled with and have tried numerous strategies including tumble books and trying to get students to checkout more non-fiction books for the same reason as Mrs. Norris. I also have limited time to work with students one-on-one to help develop their reading skills. It seems that she has many of the same issues with reluctant readers that I have but one thing I will take from this portion of our discussion is that I feel like I have some opportunities at my school to conduct book talks with my students and from listening to Mrs. Norris’s desire to have them at her school I feel like it would be wrong of me not to take advantage of that.
In your opinion, what library skills should an elementary school student have before entering a middle school? / Refined Searchers that do not just rely on Google.
Aware of how the Dewey System works. Not experts but at least a working understanding.
Know about the 3 sections of the library
Be aware of the 2 research models Primary and Intermediate / Something I am currently struggling with is getting my students to conduct their research more independently. They do not have the skills they should have learned previous years in the library and that is making it difficult to teach things like the Intermediate research model. Also I have been going through the year thinking my students know the 3 areas of the library and I am starting to realize this is not something they are fully aware of.
Instructional Partner Role
QUESTION / NOTES/RESPONSES / REFLECTION
In what ways do you collaborate with teachers? /
  • Bring library units into each grade level at the beginning of the school year
  • Take a look at the long term goals of each grade level
  • Quick informal meetings
  • No time to go into classrooms and check objectives everyday
  • Makes sure to ask students what they are learning in class while in library. This has been her number 1 source for finding out what is going on in the classroom.
/ When I collaborate I simply stop by classrooms and ask teachers what they are working on and if there is anything I can help with in the library. I have gotten some good feedback on this but I am realizing it is difficult to collaborate or bigger, more meaningful projects using this collaboration strategy. I need to take the time to not only look at every grade levels curriculums but also show grade levels my curriculum so they can see what I am teaching and how we can really work together throughout the year.
Do you work with your technology liaison or computer teacher to ensure that research skills are taught integrated with technical skills? /
  • During planning time she will try to meet with the tech teacher and she always brings a copy of the library curriculum
  • The tech teacher will do anything she asks for.
  • The tech teacher will even review library skills like creating resource lists in Destiny
  • She will use the Promethean Board to engage students in the library and then continue their research with the tech teacher.
  • She would love to co-teach with the tech teacher but no space or time to do this.
/ Since I am the Technology Teacher, Tech Liaison, Tech Integration and librarian I was interested to see how another librarian works with their tech specialists. Mrs. Norris has a great relationship with her tech teacher. They collaborate on a daily basis at times and work seamlessly together to integrate the technology and research aspects of the library curriculum. I have struggled with my students seeing a difference in library class and technology class but after talking with Mrs. Norris I have realized I can introduce the technology as a whole class and then continue during tech class. I am hoping this will make both my technology and library lessons more effective.
Information Specialist Role
QUESTION / NOTES/RESPONSES / REFLECTION
Which databases are most useful to students? To teachers? /
  • Brainpop
  • America the Beautiful
  • World Book Kids for 1st grades animals research project
  • Tumble books for Kindergarten
  • Usually they are introduced to students in library as a whole class using the Promethean Board and then utilized independently by students in technology class (another special area class).
  • The library only has 4 computers which are used only for OPAC access.
/ I agreed with Mrs. Norris that Brainpop was an excellent research tool for students to use but after speaking with her about America the Beautiful, World Book Kids, etc. I need to start branching out more. I am worried that my students will not be able to access the information but I need to find a way to utilize the databases so my students can use them. I know they are great resources and they need to be used but because of my schools population I have shied away from using them. That is my issue not my students and Mrs. Norris helped me realize this.
What staff development are you providing for your teachers? (For example, how do you encourage their use of the databases provided by BCPS?) /
  • Destiny for the staff at the beginning of the year to show them what materials exist in their school library.
  • Database training at the beginning of the year to showcase how the databases can be used in the classroom and how they are used in the library.
  • Database training is done with each grade level separately after she has taken a look at their curriculum and found ways to integrate the databases more productively.
  • Edline training
  • She says she has an “awesome staff that is willing to learn, but there is not enough time to work with everyone and show them everything they could use from the library.”
  • Wiki Training.
/ At the beginning of the year I tried to showcase some of the technologies in our library including Destiny and the BCPS Databases like Mrs. Norris and was very surprised at how many people had never heard of these resources. I had teachers who had purchased their own brain pop accounts. I too have a staff that is willing to try new things with technology and work with me but I just need to find a more organized way to do this. Informal professional develops do not work for more than one or two lessons. I am going to use her strategy of going to each grade level and showcasing how the databases could be used in each grade levels curriculum.
Administrator Role
Question / Notes/Responses / Reflection
How much time did you have for the planning process? / 1, 45 minutes period a day
4 hours every Sunday
30 minutes before school
30 minutes after school every day.
Would love more time but not possible at her school because there is a class in the library all day long.
They even had to hire a resource teacher to teach 1 5th grade class everyday so she can have her planning period
So even during her planning period there are people in the library working all day every day. / I have 1 planning period a day as well but I teach both library and technology. I also come in early every day but try to come in 1 hr early so I do not have to stay 30 minutes after school. The main difference between our planning times is the 4 hours on Sundays. This is something I have always struggled with. When I first started teaching I said I would do everything I could to not bring work home and I have realized when you teach every grade, like in the library, this is not possible to do if you want your lessons to ALWAYS be affective. After meeting with Mrs. Norris I have decided to start taking more time outside of school to plan.
What are some ways you manage all of your responsibilities? / Huge school!!!
1 planning period a day to get books for teachers, plan lessons, find lost books, get library files caught up, etc.
Also she has to come in early and stay late everyday to help keep up.
She communicates with her principal throughout the day to keep him informed on how the library is going.
She has 20 student helpers that come in at the end of the day to help with re-shelving books.
Communicating with school staff is almost always done informally because there is no time for formal meetings. / I have never considered myself an organized person however I have started to change that this year in the library. It is impossible to do everything it takes to be a librarian if you are not organized. I have created a schedule for myself everyday and started communicating with my principal and teachers more effectively. Also I am realizing I cannot do everything by myself so I think I will take Mrs. Norris’s idea to have student helpers come in and help re-shelve books.
SUMMARY REFLECTION: What major insights did you gain from this field experience?
Every day I come into my library and try to figure out what is my style as a librarian. The problem with that is that is I did not realize everything that goes into running a library. It is easy to say I am going to be a teacher, technology specialist, and administrator and information specialist but to actually do all of them is very tasking. After talking with Mrs. Norris I have come to realize that this is not because I am a first year library media specialist. This is because I am a library media specialist.Every library media specialist struggles with all of these roles. What I have also come to realize is how helpful sitting down and talking with another library media specialist can be. Listening to how they teach their lessons or deliver professional develops can help to show me what I am doing that works other places and gives me ideas for things I can do in my library. I am going to try to make it my goal to meet with at least 2 different library media specialists a year and interview/meet with them every year. Of course I want to do this more often but I will be realistic for now and go with 2 meetings a year. I do not have to do this alone. There are great library media specialists out there that can help me whenever I need them.
How might you use these insights in your own current or future practice?
Like I said in my previous answer I am going to try and meet with other library media specialists so I can see how others are running their libraries. Also I have realized, after talking with Mrs. Norris, that I need to start getting more organized but realize that this is still my first year and next year will be better because I am already starting to plan out ideas for next school year. I have to continue to keep moving forward and find what works for me, my school and most importantly my students. I really enjoyed this project and can honestly say I have gotten more out of this project than any other project I have ever done in my professional career. I wish I could have met with more librarians to get more ideas but as we all know there is only so much time available when you are in charge of a school library.