Doing some Furniture Shopping...

I need to spend some money.  As part of the grant, we were each given $1000 to be matched by our school.  In typical Frugal MacDougall fashion, I am having a hard time deciding on how best to spend the money.
As a long term goal, I would love to apply - and receive -  a renovation grant where I could gut the current library.  I would even delight in a minor grant that would mean a fresh coat of paint, moving some shelving units and creating more workspaces and flexible teaching areas.
However, this is in the future,
For the short term, here are my thoughts.

New Magazine Stand

Currently magazines are shelved on the bottom of our fiction shelves.  They are hardly circulated and barely noticeable.

The new stand will showcase magazines for the casual browse as well as entice patrons to check out these and other reading materials

Carr Mclean $675
















Fiction Shelves

At the moment fiction is shelved in two ways. Most books are located on the spinners (see above photo).  The remainder is on a shelf that we call oversized fiction.  As part of our Learning Commons model, the space needs to be more flexible.  Further, I think that having a disjointed fiction collection inhibits patrons from see all that is available to them.  In my time at Fleetwood Park, I have been encouraging students to independently find their own materials using the online catalogue.  It is very discouraging when students try and are unable to find their book because it may be in one of two places, in spite of the subcategories set up in Destiny.  The spinners themselves present a further problem.  While they are roughly shelved alphabetically, they do not really adhere to the system.  Students will often come to me unable to find the book they were excited to read.  I wonder then, how many simply give up and leave the library with nothing in hand.

The above photo is taken from the BroDart catalogue.  For the short term, I envision ordering 2 units to replace the spinners.  Clearly some further weeding will need to be done.  I would like to see the movable units flanking the reading nook, making the fiction books more visually appealing.  In addition, the books could be amalgamated, eliminating the need for two separate fiction categories.

Finally, in the long term, my principal and I are already planning to apply for a renovation grant.  I would like to have the bookshelves run horizontally rather that their current vertical position.  In this way, I could house the remaining fiction so that acts as the back wall of the reading nook.  Thus, all the fiction would be in one location.

Video Killed "The Same Old Boring Project"

Teacher and students rejoice as they explore new ways to tackle old projects.  Check out the iStop Motion project made by a group of grade 8 Science students:

And here is what the students had to say as they finished the project...

Dinosaurs

Weeding is an arduous task. As the first semester winds down, I am taking the opportunity to attack another part of my collection; one that clearly needs some attention. So long VHS and Yabba Dabba Do free space!

Getting Tied Up ... in Indecision...

I understand that there are systems in place.  But I just really want to get things going. 
A confession: I am pregnant.  As a result, I so often feel that I am pressed for time.  First, all I want to do is sleep, so that significantly reduces my number of productive hours in a day.  And secondly, I know that I have only a few short months until I have to leave the library to the capable hands of someone else. 
I have been working to wittle away at my collection, weeding out the unused, unecessary, and the unwanted materials.  Thus, I have freed up some shelving that will have to be removed. This needs a work order.  We have received our new TV which will go on a cart so that I can move it around.  The cart needs to be assembled.  This needs a work order.  There are pictures plastered to the walls, that are hiding chipped drywall, which should also be removed and repainted. Once again, a work order is required.  Further, I am awaiting a new principal's arrival to discuss rennovating the library to better fit the learning commons model.
All of this is to say that I am so fequently feeling on the one hand a push to get things done - and to get it done quickly - and a logical reluctance to make any sweeping moves knowing how quickly things may have to change. 

A Time to Play

When I think back to my own school experiences, the ones that stand out are those times where as students we were given the freedom to play.  I can disticntly recall collecting dandilions in grade three.  The purpose: to sqeeze the liquid from the stem to make our own rubber balls.  Now, the fact that I can so vividly remem  ber running around the school grounds for a week in the spring picking weeds nearly 30 years ago says something about the power of play.  I had to think really hard to remember anything about the product at the end of the project.  Finally it hit me:  the project itself was a collosal failure.  We didn't end up with bouncy rubber balls made from dandilions - it simply didn't work. Upon relfection, it does't seem to matter though that we didn't have our own dandilion rubber balls.  The fact that I learned about the process of collecting samples, extracting the fluid and about the components that made rubber was the important part.
This week a colleague asked me to break the rules of the library.  She wanted her class to come to the library to play Bananagrams.  It seems that her Grade 12 English class had just completed the difficult novel 1984 and she wanted to reward them with some time to play the Scrabble-like game. She also wanted to bring hot chocolate and sweet treats as part of a reward for the hard work they had just completed.  I was eagar to oblige.  For the first part of the block, the kids did what they were asked and played the game as it was intended to be played.  However, what happened next was the more interesting part of the lesson.  Although the game was supposed to be vocabulary building lesson, many of the kids started to create their own games.  They were effectively adapting the game to suit their interests.  Some began using the tiles to engineer structures, others created a geometric design game, while another group simply used an iPhone timer to make as many words as they could in a minute.  It is wonderful what to see what kids can do when you give them the freedom and the time to play.  It also reminds me of my last post.  Trusting that your students will do the right thing can lead to some pretty great learning.

Students adapting Bananagrams for FUN!

French students working to create iMovies

I have also been working hard to promote the iPads in both the classrooms and in the Learning Commons.  Classes have been permitted to take the cart to their room to word (mostly so that other classes can continue to book the space) and then they return to the Learning Commons to present their work.  This is working to create quite the buzz.  I often pop in and visit the classroom to see how their projects are shaping up.  Invariably, when I enter the room, a hush falls over the class; they seem uncomfortable with my arrival and immediatly stop the noisy, playful work they were (until recently) so engrossed in.  Now, I am not a scary person, but somehow the students seem to think that I will be angry that they are having fun with the devices. Thus, I think it is importnat that I continue to pop in.  I want to reinforce the relationship between the iPads and the Learning Commons. I also want the students to recall the fun they have had while making a French movie trailer, or playing a word game in the Learning Commons. 

Creating a Culture of Trust

I am happy to report that the glorious iPads have arrived!  There has been great excitement among both students and staff.  While the students seem anxious to get their hands on the devices, the teachers, it seems are very interested in how I plan to police the use of the ipads.  Will students be able to sign them out?  Are they allowed to take pictures? Surf the Internet? Use the iPads at lunch or after school? Can they take them out of the library?  It seemed to me that for many the question was not "What CAN students do with the new tools?" but rather "how will you ensure that they CANNOT."  Pamela Colburn Harland pleads for librarians to TRUST YOUR USERS.  As she notes in her book The Learning Commons: Seven Simple Steps to Transform Your Library, "you purchase the materials for your users, so give up a little more control and trust them with access" (55).  I believe that it is our primary goal to provide access to a wide range of materials and services housed in our communal spaces.  Those resources may be in text form, but in our ever-more digitized age, we must make accessible a wide variety of resources and this includes the technological ones.  Of couse when the first few classes came to the Learning Commons to use the iPads, I took care to ensure that the devices would not be abused.  I have put in place certain restrictions to avoid giving myself the policing job while students explore the possibilities that this new learning tool can offer.  I also imparted upon them the hard work I have put into shifting towards the new library model.

Our first lesson was using the app iPoe with a Grade 11 English class.  It animates some of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous poetry.

Students were asked to remain in the Learning Commons, but were able to find a cozy spot to read their chosen poem.  As there were some accompanying questions, many opted to use the tables and chairs. 

I also wanted some feedback from the students on their experience using the devices.  Part of establishing the culture of trust, is also trusting your patron's opinions.  I wanted to hear from the students what they like and what they found lacking in the experience.  In this way, my hope is that the students will have greater ownership over not only the iPads, but over the space itself. 

Here is what the grade 11s had to say:  For many, they found that the app itself did not really offer anything new to their reading.  Many complained that they would have preferred to simply read from a book.  However, they did report that they enjoying having the opportunity to use the iPads and felt pretty honoured to be the first in the school to try them out.

Student Feedback:

Anticipation

This week has been a series of teases.  First, I was told that there were several boxes delivered to the office marked 'Library.'  I was certain that the iPads had arrived.  I was close... it was the cases.  Then my administrators came bearing a large, wheeled cart... it was empty.  I have been working to amp up the excitement among staff and students.  Many teachers have already approached me with lesson ideas and we can't wait to see them put into action!