Getting ready for April

Plans are getting underway for a busy month of activities.  April includes Poetry Month, National Library Week, Drop Everything And Read day, and spring break activities.  I am getting ready displays, brochures and bookmarks for poetry month, and displays for spring break's science theme. We are planning to expand on the Poem in the Pocket theme and provide a new poem at the desk every day.  Our spring break consists of science activities and I am going to create displays around each days theme and put out books that will generate interest in the topics of ecology for earth day, fun science experiments, moving machines, and growing plants.  The last Saturday activity is creating an avatar using Marvel comics website.
 I just finished weeding the juvenile 500's and have evaluated what we have and compared it to the school collection.  I created a list of suggested books to supplement the collection and submitted it to the director for purchasing.  I am looking forward to beginning the juvenile fiction collection next.
I added up the total hours worked so far this semester and will have completed 180 hours at the end of this week.  I enjoy being at the library and will continue to perform the tasks I have been completing for the last few months.  I enjoy working at the desk assisting patrons, setting up displays for new books or specific topics, and planning activities.  Last week we had a train program, a readers theatre and story hour.  We had attendance at each one and they were all different families.  Families are coming in now asking for a listing of activities going on.  I am making sure we have something at the desk all the time so families who come in looking for activities will know about them in advance and can plan to attend.  Events are advertised in the local weekly papers but I think we need more in library advertising.  I have been printing a poster that I put by the front door for the activities I have planned so patrons begin seeing it several days in advance.  I forgot to get materials for my candy train until Thursday last week so didn't have it displayed until Friday.  Once students came into the library and saw it they asked for information about the program and how they could attend.  Getting the activity information out early makes a difference. I could have had a better attendance with more publicity for that event.
 

Trying to Lead

I had a very big breakthrough yesterday and was extremely excited. In Michael's post,Lead, Follow or get out of the way, he addressed people taking the lead and making choices.   I have been leading the preschool story hour since September last year.  I have been trying to get the HeadStart students who are in the building next door to come since November. They came during October and then stopped.  We continued to go over to let them know we missed them but continued to get no where.  I went back last Friday and talked to them again.  This time I persisted and we discussed why they weren't coming and how we could get them back.  Through my persistence, they will now be coming back beginning in April.  We will now have a separate Story Time for them on Thursday's which is only a half hour and no activity.  I was very excited since they have always been sporadic when coming to the library.  Having the young children coming to the library was important to me and I needed to be persistent in my quest.  I will be going to HeadStart on Tuesday to reintroduce myself to each class and set up a schedule so I know which class is coming each week.  We think with a solid commitment, they may be more invested.
On the other end, today when I was discussing Saturday activities, it was suggested not to plan activities for every Saturday because they don't want patrons to get used to having activities since they don't have staff to do programs every week (this was not the director).  The programs that I create do take time to plan and implement but I was disappointed with the "Don't get them use to it because it won't happen when you're gone" comment.  I am still there another six weeks and was saddened with this statement.  I enjoy being at the library and had planned on continuing volunteering there after my internship was over since I don't have a job yet.  The library is very small and there is no chance for employment when I finish.  I have worked hard to increase the number of children coming to the library for activities other than checking out books and was disheartened by this attitude.  Circulation is up this month since it is PARP month, but I thought programming would keep them coming.
  

Collection Development

This week I began helping with the collection development for juvenile non-fiction. I began at the 599's and started working backwards.  With a listing of books with poor circulation records, I began to look at the books that had not circulated in the past five or more years and publishing dates.  We still had books that were published in 1950's and 60's on the shelves.  As I looked at each book, I began to remember the criteria used for weeding.  I looked at the content, age of information, accuracy and relevancy.  Many older books had black and white photos in them and I pulled them immediately.  Some books had never been taken out but were still current so I have tried to display them to generate some interest.  After weeding the books from the shelves, we look at the catalog to determine if they are the only book in the library system since we don't want to eliminate materials that may still be wanted.  When I weeded and purchased at the school library, I did not have to consider other library holdings before pulling.  We also look for other ways to recycle the materials if they are weeded from the system  We have a Friends group that has an on-going used book sale at the library and also have a company that will take some of our discarded books.  Others that are not reused are recycled through a recycling company.
I am looking forward to the next step of identifying holes in the collection and areas that can compliment our local school's curriculum.  I have subscribed to Booklist and am looking at the last two months to identify suggested materials that could be added.  Animal reports are common for second grade students so I want to make sure we have a good selection of lower reading level but high interest animal books.  Third grade students learn about world wide countries and cultures and also would need access to animal information.
We have a good selection of science project materials and more have been ordered since we have received a Stewart's grant to enhance the science section to help students research for Science Fair projects.  We are also planning a spring break program geared towards science and will hopefully generate more interest in science.  We recently received new non-fiction so I created a display for them in the children's section and several have already been checked out.
I am enjoying learning this process that is so important in serving our patrons.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Today I realized that I am signed up to attend a half day conference on identifying ways that patrons can better interact with the library web site tomorrow afternoon, work a table at the Parents As Reading Partners representing the library tomorrow night and I forgot to pick up the gift certificates they need for the PARP kickoff tomorrow. I am conducting weekly storytelling activities, completing Saturday activities, making bookmarks and creating displays for women's month, March themes and events and assisting with a collection development for juvenile nonfiction.   I was becoming anxious about all of the activities that I was trying to complete.   So, I have decided that I needed to make a decision as to what is more important to address the goals I have made for myself during this internship.  The conference tomorrow does not meet the goals for my internship so I needed to decide not to attend.  I already feel less stressed.
  I am gaining a following at the preschool story hour and by creating book marks for the front desk, we are getting more publicity for the activities planned.  People are asking for a list of activities going on so making a bookmark was an easy fix.  Displays are also helping showcase books on specific topics so I have been focusing on the juvenile collection.  This week after publicity and activities are set I need to refocus my attention on getting my resume ready.

At the Half Way Mark!!

This week ended with a scavenger hunt addressing their PARP theme Trains.  This is the first scavenger hunt I have developed at the library and it was very successful.  We had eleven children (that's good for us) take part in the hunt during the three hours we are open on Saturday.  One of the areas that we had the children looking in was the historical room where they could see pictures of the trains that use to run through the area in the early 1900's.  I had only assisted in the room once but knew the resource I was looking for, I wasn't sure how to find specific resources in the room so I learned their color coded method of locating information for patrons.  The children enjoyed looking at the pictures of the trains in our community.
At the end of this week I added the hours I have completed so far and found I am over 100 hours completed already.  I know I will be spending more than the required 180 that we need since I plan to stay with the library as a volunteer after my internship is over.  I want to help with the Summer Reading Program and continue with my character education story hour.  I will continue these activities on a volunteer basis just like my preschool story hour.  The children have a spring break and we are planning to provide science based fun for that week.  I also am planning activities for every Saturday, encouraging families to include the library in their Saturday plans.
I looked over my goals and objectives for this semester and was pleased to see that I have addressed half of my goals.  One of my leadership goals was to develop resources that I could use for collaboration with teachers in a school library setting, and I have acquired and organized many resource in a PortaPortal format.
I also wanted to build resources to advocate to administrators the value of having a library media center fully staffed and equipped.  While I have a few resources collected, it is difficult to advocate for resources with the current economic situation.  I have collected information addressing the ways a library media specialist can address standards through collaboration with the core teachers.  One general skill that I have developed rather strongly is technology.  I have learned how to create a movie maker video, save photos and videos to Facebook and You Tube, create an avatar and participate in a Skype conference call.  I have learned much of the operating system, Polaris,  used at the library and can assist patrons in most functions.  I have not tried processing a new card but can perform most other requests assisting the staff when it gets busy.  Lastly, I have been actively partnering with the school assisting with their Parents as Reading Partners program implemented in March.  I have been working with a team to collect donations and support from community businesses in support of their Read to Feed program utilizing the Heifer International program.  I am also supporting their Character Education program with a story hour and activities along with a resource listing of books addressing the character value of the month.
I am pleased to see how much I have learned during the last month and a half.  I also am eager to continue working towards addressing the rest of the goals set forth at the beginning of this program.                                

Summer Reading conference

Presentation of the You Are Here Teen Theme for the Summer Reading Program Conference at the Schenectady Library in March.

Summer Reading Program Conference

Wednesday we  spent the day having fun, identifying ways to present this years Summer Reading Program Theme One World, Many Stories.  The day began with presentations of activities that other libraries could incorporate in their summer programs by adapting them to fit their program at low or no cost.  I was one of the presenters, showing my display board for the theme You Are Here using google Earth which is free.  The display presented local attractions for our area, Schoharie County. Teens could adapt the theme to demonstrate their interpretation of You Are Here using their local library or local area or books from around the world.   There were five other presentations for ideas, scattered throughout the day along with presenters of crafts we could make easily with each age group.  We also saw eight different local performers who have science, music and art programs they can bring to our summer programs.  Other presenters shared information about various aspects having a successful summer reading program such as prizes, getting started and do's and don'ts.   The conference was a great way to see and hear the many different ideas and activities that make a great summer reading program.  We even shared food samples from around the world. 

Advocacy Day

Today I spent the day at the state capitol lobbying for library funds.  The biggest point we wanted to address was that library funds were disproportionately cut compared to municipal funds and school budgets.  Library funds have been cut five times in the last three years bringing library aid down to pre1994 levels.  With the state budget cuts, over $3 million in federal LSTA funds will also be lost.  Library usage is increasing faster than population isncreased in the last five years.  Many patrons are using library resources to find and apply for jobs and keep current with technology, acquiring computer skills that will assist with job placement.   The two senators and five asemblymen that we talked to were sympathetic to our points and assured us they would plead our case to the best of their ability but many cuts would have to be made and everyone wants their funding to stay the same or increase. 

When we weren't talking with state senators and assemblymen, we were discussing our libraries.  I explained how I was frustrated by our strange turnout at winter break events last week and was assured that it was normal.  Maybe families were gone the beginning of the week, or gaming choices were more appealing to the children.  Story Hour need to build up a following and that takes time also.   Since my previous experience has been in school libraries, I am still learning the different ways they both operate.  When I prepared lessons, I knew specifically who would be coming and what I was teaching.  At the library, planned activities could have two children or twenty attend.  Book displays are changed much more frequently in the public library since we are addressing a wider population.  In the children's section, I will be creating a display for Dr. Seuss, Women's History Month, trains, Perseverance, Spring, and Mardi Gras.   Women's History month will be displayed throughout the library with displays by the biographies, on the windowsills and also a poster by the front desk.  I do miss making bulletin boards since we do not have any area big enough to create a display on.