Leah GiarritanoSpring 2012Work JournalLIS591M

Work Journal

Friday, January 13, 2012

Today was my first day on-site at Pleasantdale Middle School in Burr Ridge, IL. My day started with a tour of the school and an introduction to faculty and staff. Afterward, I helped my Cooperating Teacher-Librarian, Jana Stelter, prepare the library for book discussion groups that were to take place later in the morning and early afternoon.

During 4th period, I led my first book discussion of the book Before I Die by Jenny Downham with a group of five 8th grade girls. The experience was both exciting and rewarding. I wasn’t sure if the girls would be eager to participate. I was delightfully surprised to find most of them very passionate about the book and forthright in sharing their opinions. I curiously observed the group dynamics and made note of how some of the shy girls interact versus the more outspoken ones. The girls responded well to having a set of discussion questions. We took turns rolling a dice which indicated a particular question that girl should read to get the conversation started. This was a great way to keep the conversation moving and give each girl some ownership of the discussion. It seemed to bring the quieter girls out of their shell and is definitely a tactic I would use in future book discussions.

Later in the day, I sat in on two additional book

discussions with groups of 6th and 7th graders. The 6th grade children discussed Oogy by Larry Levin and the 7th graders discussed Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce. It was interesting to observe how differently the children from each grade expressed themselves. The confidence, thoughtfulness and succinctness of the children definitely increased by grade level.

After the book discussions, Jana and I straightened up the library, collected cords and microphone stands from the school auditorium, sat and discussed my practicum and some of the things I would like to learn while working at Pleasantdale and then Jana introduced me to a very interesting library information literacy assessment tool called TRAILS (Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) at www.trails-9.org. This is an excellent resource for measuring information literacy and pre and post-tests are provided for 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th graders. The tool is very dynamic, allowing the teacher-librarian to better understand the knowledge gaps of her class and how she might tailor her lesson plans to accommodate their needs. I would like to put this tool to use in the future when I become a teacher-librarian.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Today Jana introduced me to the library cataloging system, including how to check books in and out and renew them, when necessary. She explained that she allows the kids to check their books out themselves and how they go about doing that. She shared that she frequently has trouble with books being overdue or lost and that her school doesn’t allow her to fine the students or hold report cards from them if they have overdue books. Therefore, she has

nothing to hang over them in order to get books back except attendance at the end-of-year picnic. If they have books missing at the end of the year, the children may not attend the picnic, which is a favorite event among the students. Apparently each school has their own philosophy on dealing with overdue books and she encouraged me to try and work that out with the administration when I start my own library position. It seems appropriate to have some consequence for not returning books, otherwise the collection is compromised and other students are penalized when the book they want isn’t available because another student hasn’t returned it to the library.

Jana explained a lot about her process for ordering new library books. She showed me some of the different websites she uses to order books and the pros and cons of each. She also took me through her library budget and explained how she works with the school’s Budget Manager to negotiate and track her expenses. She suggested I pay very careful attention to my budget, when I get one, and to always be sure to check that the numbers properly represent what I have ordered. Apparently, mistakes frequently occur which can go unnoticed if you don’t pay careful attention to your budget. I will definitely remember this bit of advice and apply it to my own future endeavors.

I also had the opportunity to label some of the books and magazines that recently arrived in order to prepare them to be shelved. Jana uses a combination of scanning labels on the book and inserted cards to track the books that are in her catalog. It was interesting to learn about her process for adding new items into her system and to understand some of the pitfalls she faces.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Today I had a great opportunity to observe Jana interacting with the kids. She strikes a great balance between playfulness and authority. The kids like and respect her, yet she has no problem being stern when they are out of line. I enjoy her style of interaction and feel like I would like to incorporate some of that style in my own demeanor as a librarian. I am anxious to continue observing her interactions throughout the practicum so I can learn even more and develop my own hybrid style incorporating aspects of the balance she maintains with the kids.

Monday, January 23, 2012

I got a little more exposure to the library software system, Sagebrush, used at Pleasantdale. Jana walked me through all of the different capabilities of the system and taught me how to use some of the different features. In addition to all of the benefits, she explained some of the nuances and pitfalls of the system. This exposure afforded me a better understanding of the versatility of a library software system, but also what to be wary of when selecting/using my own system in the future. She is required to do a lot of manual overriding to certain aspects of the system which can make things challenging. This insight, gained from utilization of Sagebrush, will allow me to be better prepared and know what to expect from my own system in the future.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Today I had the opportunity to work in the computer lab with the 6th grade students while they put together their bibliographies for an upcoming research project. This was my first opportunity to provide one-on-one help and instruction and I enjoyed the interaction. At Pleasantdale, it seems that the opportunities to provide instruction are few and far between because the teacher’s don’t want to give up control of their classrooms and allow the librarian to come in and teach. Therefore, I was quite excited about this opportunity. It definitely seems to be an uphill battle to develop a good working relationship with the teachers. I imagine that I will spend a good amount of time marketing my skills and the library itself to the teachers at the school where I work. I will need to guide them on how to integrate their curriculum with the skills I have to offer as an information specialist.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

We have an author book talk next week and I was able to sit down with Jana and brainstorm some ideas on how to market the upcoming visit with the parents, staff and students. It was helpful to have this practical example that I will likely face as a librarian to work through with Jana. I got a lot of great ideas that I will be able to use in the future and got to learn about some of the different things she must take into consideration when she is planning an author visit. Some of the ideas we came up with include: a streaming PowerPoint presentation on the TV screen near the entry of the school with the book’s cover, the author’s

photo, key words describing the book that will create intrigue and suspense about the author and the visit, Jana will arrange to visit each classroom to talk about the book and possibly read the first chapter to the students, there will be signed copies of the books for sale which Jana will send about information about to the parents via email, and we will make posters and brochures to hang and distribute in advance of the visit.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Today I presented my practicum project, Peer Readers Advisory, to nine separate classrooms of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. I introduced the idea behind the project and handed out worksheets for each of them to complete with the title of their favorite book as well as three descriptive sentences regarding why they would recommend the book/what made it their favorite book. I enjoyed being in front of the children and talking to them about this project. When I explained that I would be using their recommendations to develop tools for them to use in selecting books when they come to the library, they became very enthusiastic. I am excited about this project and know how important peer relationships are at this stage in their life. Tying peer book recommendations into the library is a great way to tap into their developmental stage. Assuming the output of this project is productive, I will definitely implement this type of project in my own library. Just from the initial enthusiasm and interest I received from the kids, I can tell that book recommendations from their friends are very important!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Today I spent my time in the library preparing for an author visit for the 5th and 6th grade students. A.J. Hartley, author of Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact, is scheduled to visit Pleasantdale on Thursday, February 16, 2012. I helped Jana create PowerPoint slides to run on the monitor in the entranceway of the school as a way to get the kids excited about the visit. I distributed order forms to the classrooms so the children would have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book and have A.J. Hartley sign it for them. I also helped organize the books that had already been signed to make it easier for the author to know how to dedicate the book. I enjoyed my involvement in preparation for the author’s visit. It was fun to see the excitement in the kids’ eyes, knowing an author was coming to visit their school. As a librarian, I will be sure to schedule regular author visits as they certainly create a lot of buzz about the library and reading. I learned that Anderson’s Books, a local bookstore, coordinates a lot of these author visits so I will plan to develop a relationship with them and express my interest in scheduling author visits for the school I end up working for. Thursday, February 16, 2012

 Today A.J. Hartley came to Pleasantdale to speak to the 5th and 6th grade students. There was excitement in the air prior to his arrival as students eagerly awaiting the announcement that it was time to gather together to hear him talk. The PowerPoint presentation was playing in the entranceway and children were excited clutching their books. A.J. Hartley was a great speaker and provided wonderful advice to the children about his experience as an author, how he gets his ideas, what it feels like to have a

book rejected and how you have to just keep on writing despite the rejection. He allowed plenty of time for questions and, much to my surprise, the children were full of interesting and engaging questions. The room was like a sea of hands waving back and forth to be called upon. The questions were thoughtful and proved to me how important it is to have author’s come and visit children at the school. They were very interested to better understand his writing process and I could imagine them keeping his advice in mind as they write their own papers and stories. This experience further reinforced my commitment to make a regular practice of scheduling author visits when I become a librarian.

Friday, February 17, 2012

There was a teacher in-service today that I had an opportunity to participate in. One of the topics I found most interesting and useful for application to my own career was use of the Promethium boards. We received demonstrations on the various functionalities of the boards and suggestions for various uses with the students. They are very powerful and dynamic tools and I think it would be a great educational tool for use in the library. I am hopeful that if one doesn’t already exist in the library I end up working at, I will be able to persuade the administration to consider its value as a significant learning tool.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Today I had the opportunity to observe the administration

of Illinois State Testing. The library was used to test kids with special needs. It was interesting to observe the process for kids requiring both extra time and the individual reading of directions. I didn’t realize how strict procedures are during testing. It is obvious that testing is taken very seriously and is a huge priority at the school. It made me think about how schools are measured by the outcome of these tests and funding is often determined by the test results.

Today was the first day of Pleasantdale’s Spring Book fair. They use Anderson’s Books as their vendor. I enjoyed being a part of the book fair and observing how things are run. Recently in class (School Library Media Center) we had overviews of two other vendors: Scholastic and Blue Ribbon. That made this experience even more memorable. I was able to ask Jana questions specifically related to the book fair process with Anderson’s and compare that to what I learned about Scholastic and Blue Ribbon.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Today I got practical experience learning how to cover books. While it wasn’t the most exciting job, I enjoyed being a part of this process. It is possible to pay vendors, like Follett, to do this type of cover before shipping the books to the library. However, that service comes with a high price tag. With the budget cuts school libraries are facing, librarians needs to get creative and cut down on costs in new and innovative ways. Covering her own books is one of those ways that Jana ensures that her budget goes toward buying new books and resources for the students.

She does whatever she can on her own to cut expenses so that her budget is used to its fullest possible benefit.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Jana was in an all-day curriculum meeting today so I had the opportunity to manage the library on my own. It was a great experience for me. There were a number of English classes spending their period in the library so I had the chance to help them search the catalog and find resources. In a couple cases I was able to make recommendations on fiction titles. A teacher came in asking me to administer tests to a couple of their students. Jana had me working on cataloging and organizing books for the upcoming spring book club program. During any pauses in the day, I took the opportunity to check books in and re-shelve. My busy and active day drove home the importance of a librarian’s need to be flexible. I had to shift gears throughout the day as the periods changed and new groups of students with different needs came through the library. I enjoyed the pace and the diversity of managing such a variety of needs.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Today was a great day of leading book group discussions. I led the 6th graders in a group discussion about Fallen by Lauren Kate. The conversation was lively and the kids were very engaged. I provided them with a list of read-alike books which they really seemed to appreciate so that is something I will plan to incorporate into my future book group discussions. One of the students told me she loved having me as her leader because I asked a lot of good

questions, cared about their responses and didn’t rush through the discussion as some of her previous leaders had done. It was great for me to get this feedback from a student and I will keep it in mind as I continue leading these group discussions. I led a group of five 7th grade girls in a discussion about the book, Footloose, based on the new screenplay. Like the earlier discussion, these girls were very enthusiastic about the book and sharing their ideas. I had a little more trouble keeping these girls on topic as they would start talking about clothes and friends, etc. I found myself having to steer the conversation back to the book. However, they were receptive and it all went well.

Monday, April 16, 2012

After lots of behind the scenes work, I finally began to “install” my practicum project in the library. It was exciting to see the fruits of my labor come to life and think about the students utilizing the tools I created. I think that this project will gain a lot of interest and momentum in the school and, while very labor intensive, I would definitely consider doing another similar project in the future at my own school.

Monday, April 1, 2012

Today was my last day at Pleasantdale. It was sad to finish my practicum as I loved working at the school with the kids and Jana. It was exciting to see my practicum project fully installed. The PowerPoint presentation was running in the front entranceway and the kids were very excited to

see all of the book recommendations from their friends. Both the principal and assistant principal commented on how fantastic it was. Within the library, the shelves, by grade, are all set up, with customized bookmarks with recommendations by grade, a posted list of all the students, by grade, with the books they recommended as well as the recommended books displayed by grades with multiple copies for the kids to view and check out. All in all, the project, as well as my time at Pleasantdale, was a great success. It was a rewarding way to end my time there with the implementation of a successful project that is sure to be used long after I am gone and that is getting the kids so exciting about new books to check out based on their friends’ reviews.