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Step by step video

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Why barcode placement matters.

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Great examples of end of the year reports in different formats.

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This is the recommended list of links and resources for collection development and school library policies. Although some sites are outdated, it still offers some valuable information.

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Resources for collection development in school libraries including policies, evaluation, weeding, and book repair

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It is always a good idea to review your library polices. This short but informative article is a must read before we begin the new year.

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Let me start off by saying that what I am going to talk about today may be controversial to some people, but it is my belief that we need to start thinking about why these policies are in place and how are they benefiting students. My hope is that this blog post will start to really spur a conversation within the librarian community and hopefully change some people's minds on some of these policies.

The new school year is about to begin and with that comes the opportunity for each librarian to ask, a re the rules and policies currently in my library breaking down barriers and making it easier for my students to access information and materials?

If you have any of the following three policies in place it is time to rethink them:

1. Students can not check out a book without an ID card - If students are required to wear ID cards at all times or if the ID card is used for multiple purposes in the school like for your lunch account etc than I have no problem with an ID Card being used for book checkout. If the ID card is only really only used for book checkout than I believe it is time to rethink this policy. Yes, I know the policy in most schools, especially High Schools is that students are supposed to have IDs on them at all times, but when the policy is not enforced and the ID card's only real purpose is for book check out, how can we really expect our students to have their IDs on them? In circumstances like this making students need an ID card to check out books is impractical and puts up unnecessary barriers for allowing students access to much needed books and materials.

2. Students can not check out books if they have a fine - Why are we denying students a chance to read due to the fact that they have not paid a fine for an overdue book? By enforcing a rule like this you are unintentionally making it so that students who might be economically disadvantaged are the ones who suffer the most. Lack of money and resources should never be a factor in access to information and no child should be turned away for checking out a book because his or her family can not pay a fine! In my over 15 years as a librarian, I have seen way too many students be afraid to take out a book because they did not want to lose it or pay a fine. Things have gotten so much easier for me once I moved to a district where there are no fines. I highly recommend looking into the idea of eliminating overdue fines for your library. Here is a great article in Slate about how some public libraries are eliminating fines. If public libraries can do it surely school libraries can also do so.

3. Students can only read certain level books or "just right books" / labeling books with level stickers - Library books should never be shelved by reading or grade level, by doing this you are unintentionally singling out students and potentially embarrassing them. I also believe that we should never make kids take out books within their "levels". Let students read what they want! When students are forced to read within levels or limit what they can read, the joy of reading soon begins to disappear. I completely agree with AASL's position statement on labeling books especially where it states "Student browsing behaviors can be profoundly altered with the addition of external reading level labels. With reading level labels often closely tied to reward points, student browsing becomes mainly a search for books that must be read and tests completed for individual or classroom point goals and/or grades. School library collections are not merely extensions of classroom book collections or classroom teaching methods, but rather places where children can explore interests safely and without restrictions. A minor's right to access resources freely and without restriction has long been and continues to be the position of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians. Labeling and shelving a book with an assigned grade level on its spine allows other students to observe the reading level of peers, thus threatening the confidentiality of students' reading levels. Only a student, the child's parents or guardian, the teacher, and the school librarian as appropriate should have knowledge of a student's reading capability."

This is by no means a complete list of all the ways that libraries policies can have unintentional consequences. Please feel free to add to the list and I would love to know your comments.
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Are your library policies unintentionally hurting students?

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Let me start off by saying that what I am going to talk about today may be controversial to some people, but it is my belief that we need to start thinking about why these policies are in place and...

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Library Girl can help you keep your collection fresh, current and engaging by following her helpful tips to curating the collection.

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Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a fun group of librarians in the northern part of my state who had some questions about weeding. Specifically, they were concerned about getting rid of old materials when their collections are already small and there's no money to replace the discards with shiny new replacements.

I understand this concern, but when it comes to weeding, I err on the side of less being more. To me, these are the major problems with holding onto old, out of date, musty materials:

Out of date materials can be dangerous. When I eliminated my reference section (which might have been my first year as a school librarian), I found a book that said, "scientists do not believe HIV is transmitted through sexual content." No joke. Now... I ended up giving that book to a science teacher who wanted to use it as a teaching tool when discussing the learning curve associated with contagious diseases. In that situation, that book was an awesome resource. But on a library shelf, it's like a loaded gun. That kind of misinformation can do serious harm. There's no place for out of date materials on our shelves.

Out of date materials are often text feature poor. Today's high quality, non-fiction texts are rich with features that not only help kids understand the content, but that also help them understand how language and design can be used to increase understanding. Older texts simply weren't written that way and often no longer serve the needs of today's learners.

Readers DO judge a book by its cover. An important part of our job is to connect readers with materials that make them want to read MORE! Books that are in disrepair or that look like something your grandma would consider an antique, aren't motivating anyone - but especially not to today's young readers.

Books reflect the times in which they were written. Some older texts may contain language or plot lines rooted in stereotypes or prejudices that might have been perfectly acceptable at the time they were written, but that are now recognized as offensive. Not only do we have to make sure that our non-fiction texts reflect equitable and up to date view points, we need to make sure that our fiction collections afford every child in the school the opportunity to see themselves depicted in fair and accurate ways.

An old, irrelevant and out of date collection sends the message that we're all of those things too. Our collections are a reflection of what we value and are about. I'd rather have just a few shelves made of awesome than thousands of titles that send the message that my library is still in the dark ages. Holding onto dinosaurs will only make some folks think you're one too.

I know what you're thinking.
"But Jennifer... if I discard all of my old books, there won't be anything left!?!" Well... I'm pretty sure that's not 100% accurate. But even if it is, here's my answer:
So what?

We are not archivists. We are educators. We are not curators of book museums. We are conduits of information. Our job is to connect our patrons (be they students or teachers or other members of our school community) with the BEST resources available. And, let's face it, we live in a time when there are lots and lots of alternatives to old and outdated. Look, I'm not advocating that we toss out all of our print resources for digital ones, but I am saying that it's time we start thinking of our collections as blended spaces - made up of print, digital, physical and human resources. If we do that, making the choice between a good resource and a bad one becomes a little bit easier.

Anyway, as a part of this work, I stumbled upon this gem of a video in which the CSLA Book Cart Drill Team (a couple of asides: a) why have I never heard of a "book cart drill team" and b) how can I join one?) speaks some truth about weeding in song/dance number set to Michael Jackson's "Beat It." It's brilliant. And the lyrics (which can be found just below the video) are priceless. Which, in turn, inspired me to make this flyer to help those who are struggling with whether or not it's time to get rid of a particular book.

As always, you can find a hi-res version of this flyer here. Once again, I used the app Art Studio for iPad to draw the avatar, but relied on Comic Life to create the flyer itself. And since it (like everything I post here) is licensed as Creative Commons, you should feel free to use and share it as you see fit.

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Keeping Your Library Collection Smelling F.R.E.S.H!

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Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a fun group of librarians in the northern part of my state who had some questions about weeding. Specifically, they were concerned about getting rid of old materials when their collections are already small and there's no money to replace the discards with shiny new replacements.

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Deborah Ford knows a thing or two about weeding a collection.

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To Weed or Not to Weed Criteria to ensure that your nonfiction collection remains up to date  Everyda

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Step-by-Step instructions for exporting the library collection for analysis.

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Analyze collection using Follett Titlewise & Destiny

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Video how-to for Destiny inventory.

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A short tutorial video on how to run an Inventory Report in Follett Destiny OPAC.

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This site offers great webinars that will help to promote the school library, create book lists, and more.

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New!! Free Destiny® Training Webinar Series

Whether you are a new or experienced Destiny user, the topics covered in Follett's free webinar series are selected to address a wide array features, functionality, and helpful tips. These sessions are designed to provide focused information on a specific topic, leaving you with the knowledge and resources available to help you achieve greater use of Destiny.

Description: Your library's circulation desk is a busy place. The students and teachers who need your help usually don't have much time to spare. That's why it's important that you can handle library fines in a simple and organized way. Destiny Library Manager streamlines fine management by letting you automatically calculate overdue and lost fines. In addition, Library Manager alerts you when you check in an overdue book, a book that was marked lost, or when you bring up a patron with an outstanding fine.

WebEx registration URL:
https://follettsoftwaretraining.webex.com/follettsoftwaretraining/k2/j.php?MTID=t7e7da44895312297ff47d6afa2213791
Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Creating and Using Resource Lists

FEBRUARY 15 | 60 minutes

Description: It can be time-consuming for students to manually create a bibliography for a school project. Teachers sometimes need a way to create a list of resources available in the library to share with their students. Destiny Library Manager's Resource Lists features make it easy for users to create and publish groups of titles. Depending on their assigned access level permissions, patrons and library staff can create public lists to share with other users or private lists for personal use. In addition, they can quickly create citation lists and bibliographies from a Resource List. In this lesson, you will explore Resource Lists in Library Manager.

Check back soon for recording of this training session

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Promoting Access to Library Materials

JANUARY 11 | 45 minutes

Description: Showcasing your library collection is easier than ever. Destiny Discover gives you many options to promote direct access to library resources from the places students and teachers go every day, like your school website or learning management system (LMS). Do you want to let students know about a new, popular eBook you just got in? Why not get creative and hang posters in the cafeteria with a Quick Response (QR) code that lets them use their phone and go right to its Title Details in Destiny? In this session, you'll explore new and creative ways to promote access to library resources with Destiny Discover, as well as see options for taking it a step further with single sign-on access.

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Customizing Your Home Page

DECEMBER 15 | 30 minutes

Description: Your library's Home page gives a first impression of its services to patrons who log in to Destiny. It's easy to customize the Home page to highlight school information, post pictures of school or library events, and provide links to helpful resources.

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Defining Roles and Establishing Access Levels in Destiny

NOVEMBER 15 | 60 minutes

Description: Your school has sensitive data, from demographic information to the cost of library materials, textbooks, and other assets, and everything in between. Ensuring users have access to the software features they need, without access to sensitive information, is important. Understanding Destiny's user hierarchy will help you match users/roles with particular access levels, and determine which users should have user names and passwords.

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Destiny Discover

OCTOBER 27 | 60 minutes

Description: Information, information, information...it's EVERYWHERE! How can we help students and teachers find viable, curated content efficiently? The features in Destiny Discover make it easy for teachers and students to search their resources. Destiny Discover provides educators new and exciting ways to engage learners by putting them in the driver's seat while supporting the increased demands and expectations placed on teaching and learning. But the tools alone aren't enough. When implemented with fidelity and purpose, they can lead to transformation in teaching and learning.

Audience for this webinar is a current Destiny user who is would like to learn more about the robust search functionality of Destiny Discover.

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: Titlewave Collection Development

OCTOBER 12 | 60 minutes

Description: How do you decide which books to buy with a limited budget? How do you use data to support your budget requests to your administration? Destiny Library Manager's integration with Follett's Titlewave means that the most comprehensive online collection analysis tool is just a few clicks away. TitleWise analysis, in conjunction with Destiny's robust statistics reports, helps you develop your collection-from analyzing resource usage and effectiveness, to weeding outdated materials to deciding which titles to build your collection with.

Audience for this webinar is a current, experienced Destiny user who is would like to learn more about collection development focusing on use of Follett Titlewave and Titlewise analysis reports.

Destiny Library Manager Webinar: One Search

SEPTEMBER 20 | 60 minutes

Description: Your teachers and students can take advantage of your school's subscription databases all in one place through Destiny One Search. One Search saves staff and patrons time and effort by letting them search the catalog and multiple free and subscription databases all at one time with a single search request. In addition, patrons do not need to remember the URLs, usernames, and passwords for multiple databases. During this 60 minute webinar we will discuss how to set up One Search in Destiny Library Manager, use One Search, and locate available resources to answer your One Search questions.

Audience for this webinar is any current user of Destiny who is unfamiliar with One Search or simply wants to learn more about One Search.
Topics to be added monthly. Check back often!
Originally posted September 3, 2016 / Updated February 20, 2017

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New!! Free Destiny® Training Webinar Series Whether you are a new or experienced Destiny user, the topics covered in Follett's free webinar series are selected to address a wide array features, functionality, and helpful tips. These sessions are designed to provide focused information on a specific topic, leaving you with the knowledge and resources available to help you achieve greater use of Destiny.

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Shannon Mcclintock Miller's Tips and Tricks

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Shannon Mcclintock Miller's Tips and Tricks

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This is the mother lode of hacks for Destiny.