Management Plan for the
REACH! Partnership School Library Media Center
2016-2017
Quick Start Guide for 2016-2017
The library has two locations:
- D104—College and Career Library
- Next to the auditorium (main library)
- Students may use the school library media center after school with prior arrangements (email or face-to-face) with the librarian.
- Teachers of all grades are strongly encouraged to pre-plan and schedule class visits with the librarian (via email or face-to-face) for activities which support and extend the classroom curriculum and for students’ selection of recreational reading materials.
- All teachers of English I should confer with the librarian immediately to schedule their students for a monthly, year-long orientation to research skills, independent reading, and technology procedures.
Mr. Zuke, our librarian, sometimes provides his services outside the four walls of the school library media center.
If you arrive at the school library media center and cannot gain entrance, please call
443-564-0472
and the librarian will speak to you and arrange immediate access. Please do not leave a message, as messages for this number are not checked. If you need to leave a message for the librarian, please email him at
.
OTHER INFORMATION:
- HOURS 8 A.M. until 3:30 p.m. daily—check calendar on door of D104 for librarian location.
II.Mission
Baltimore City Public Schools:
The mission of the Baltimore City Public Schools, in concert with students, families, and the broader community, is to prepare all students to be responsible citizens and afford them the opportunity to acquire the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to make informed decisions that lead to meaningful and productive lives.
Information Literacy Program:
Today’s student lives and learns in a world that has been radically altered by the ready availability of vast stores of information in a variety of formats. The learning process and the information search process mirror each other: students actively seek to construct meaning from sources they encounter and to create products that shape and communicate that meaning effectively. Developing expertise in accessing, evaluating, and using information is in fact the authentic learning that modern education seeks to promote. The City Schools will produce students who possess information literacy skills. A student who is information literate is exhibited as follows:
A. The student who is information literate can access information efficiently and effectively, evaluate information accessed, and use information effectively and creatively.
B. The student who is an independent learner pursues information related to personal interests, appreciates and enjoys literature, and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.
C. The student who contributes positively to the learning community recognizes the importance of information, practices ethical behavior, and participates in groups to pursue and generate information.
School Library Media Center Mission:
The mission of theSchool Library Media Center is to support the curriculum of the Baltimore City Public Schools, and to promote a personal, lifelong use of libraries, print media, and electronic media. It is further the mission of the information resource center to familiarize its patrons with the arrangement of materials, basic research strategies, and the effective use of information technology. This mission will be carried out in an atmosphere of co-teaching, interdisciplinary instruction, caring and professionalism, where creative and critical thinking are stressed, and the work ethic is rigorously promoted.
III.Objectives
The objectives of the Baltimore City Public Schools Information Literacy Program are:
To provide intellectual and physical access to information outside the information resource center and within the school building through systematic learning and a diverse media collection;
To provide direct learning experiences which encourage users to become discriminating consumers and skilled creators of media and information;
To provide resources and activities which contribute to lifelong learning, training in the latest information technologies, and reading guidance;
To provide a partnership with the classroom teacher for the full integration of the information literacy program with classroom teaching through instructional design and curriculum development;
To provide experiences which support the concept of intellectual and free access to information as prerequisites to effective and responsible citizenship in a democracy.
The objectives of the information resource center are:
1.to enable students to interact effectively with various types of text
2.to equip students to conduct efficient electronic searches
3.to foster critical thinking skills in students
4.to create an environment of cooperation and community among students and staff
5.to offer and conduct learning activities which support an increase in student achievement
IV. Program of Services
The information resource center serves the students and faculty in the following ways:
Students:
1.Circulation of books and nonprint materials
2.Walk-in service during instructional time, with prior arrangements from teacher (email or face-to-face; no library passes, please)
3.After-hours access to the information resource center on a daily basis.
4.Formal instruction, in collaboration with subject-area teachers
5.Resources on which support the high school curriculum
6.Card catalog availability over the internet at
7.Internet accessibility
8.Photocopying
9.Printing of student-generated word processing documents
10. Use of audiovisual production equipment
11. Individualized instruction as requested
12. Book talks, as requested, by librarians from the Pratt library
13. Opportunities to earn service learning hours for graduation
Faculty:
1.Planning, scheduling, and implementing interactive instruction related to Common Core objectives in a co-teaching setting.
2.Scheduling of groups and individuals into the information resource center
3.Book binding
4.Digital still photography
5.Channel One programming
6.Cable TV programming
7.Closed circuit television
8.School web page, app, Office 365, and email
9.Circulation of audiovisual equipment
10.Generation of custom bibliographies as requested
11.Assembly of collections for use in the classrooms.
12.Inservice training for technology skills
13.All services which are available to students
V. Characteristics of users to be served.
Students in grades 9 to 12 attend the schools at this school.
VI.Circulation policy
A. Circulation
1. The information resource center circulates all books, except reference and reserve books, for two weeks with the privilege of one renewal
2. Overnight – The information resource center limits circulation of materials that are in demand for assignments to overnight borrowing.
3. Classroom Collections
Collections of materials are loaned to teachers for classroom use for varying lengths of time according to the size and needs of the class. When teachers borrow collections to supplement curricular needs in the classroom, the loan period accommodates class needs. These loans are made for one period, for one day, for several days, or a week, provided the class does not monopolize the use of materials that are in great demand for other students and teachers. When the information resource center is available, it invites classes to the center to use the materials that are in great demand.
B. Explaining rules
All students and teachers are informed about loan privileges, procedures, and responsibilities by publishing the rules at the beginning of each school year, and by conducting orientation lessons in September. Neatly printed graphics are placed strategically around the information resource center to remind students and staff of the various procedural and social expectations expected of patrons.
C. Overdue Materials
Students will receive notification about overdue materials via an email message sent to one of their teachers.
The charge for lost or damaged books is the cost of the book as determined by current catalog prices from Follett Title Wave . Books more than a year old are billed at a flat rate of $20 per book. This money is paid to the student’s main office, and a receipt for monies paid is presented to the librarian so that obligation records can be cleared.Money for damaged books is requested as soon as the loss or damage is discovered and the necessity for replacement determined. Money for lost books is requested after a reasonable time to allow the book to be located. If a lost book is found and returned, the money is refunded.
VII.Ordering Resources
Periodic additions to the collection keep it vital and alive by supplying fresh selections from the best of new publications, by providing up-to-date information on new developments in science, world affairs, and all other areas of the instructional program, as well as fulfilling the needs of changing enrollments and new curricula.
(City Schools selection and evaluation tools can be located at
The principal of the school is legally responsible for the selection of resources for the school. All materials ordered or accepted as a donation are reviewed according to City Schools selection and evaluation procedures.
All orders are placed according the guidelines established by the Procurement Office.
All materials are ordered pre-processed.
VIII.Size of the collection.
See the most recent copy of the MSDE annual library report.
IX.Systematic review of each category of materials.
All information resource centers are weeded following a three-year schedule. Weeding is completed using the guidelines published by MSDE and the CREW Method.
CREW is an acronym for Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding. The CREW Method considers weeding to be a necessary part in the flow of the collection building process. This process is described as a continuous one, going from selection and acquisition, to cataloging and processing, to circulation and reference, to CREW and back to selection in a never ending circle with each stage smoothly succeeding into the next. CREW identifies six benefits of weeding - save space, save time, make the information resource center more appealing, enhance the reputation of the collection, provide a continuous check, and provide continuous feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the collection. The CREW Method emphasizes that weeding needs to be included in the regular yearly work schedule.
MUSTY is an easily remembered acronym for five negative factors that frequently ruin a book's usefulness and mark it for weeding.
M = Misleading (and/or factually inaccurate)
U = Ugly (worn and beyond mending or rebinding)
S = Superseded (by a truly new edition or by a much better book on the subject)
T = Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit.)
Y = Your collection has no use for this book (irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community.)
A complete weeding and inventory of the collection was completed in June, 2014.
In preparation for the new library facility scheduled to open in 2017, the collection will be further weeded according to the following schedule:
2016-2017 800, 900, Reference
2017-2018 000, 300, 500, 600, Fiction
2018-2019100, 200, 400, 700, Audiovisual