My First Year

As a brand new teacher, I knew what to expect in some respects, but in others I did not. I knew that as a Media Specialist I would be called upon for technology support, but I never realized how hard fixing minor problems could be when you don't have the administrative rights to download a simple update. I also did not know what to expect when going into a position split between two buildings. I didn't realize how two administrations could have totally different management styles. This has been the most difficult thing for me, trying to fit into two different schools with completely different atmospheres. I also didn't realize how little the teachers would come to me to collaborate on research projects. This is something I really want to do. I want to share my knowledge of resources and technology to help the students create a really cool end project where they learned a number of skills, and a large amount of information along the way. I am slowly starting to settle in, and some things are going better than others, but overall, I love my job and I adore my students. Are you split between multiple schools? How do you deal with the differences, and how do you prioritize to give the best you can in all schools?

Circulation Systems: Pros and Cons

I recently had an interview in which I was asked which circulation systems I was familiar with. Sadly, I could only reply that I had extensive knowledge of how to use Follett's Destiny system. The school had another system called Alexandria.(Despite my lack of knowledge of this system, I was offered and accepted the job.) From discussions on LM_Net, I had heard of this system, and I knew of other schools that used it, but I knew very little about how it worked. After this interview, I stopped at a local coffee shop and hopped on my laptop computer. I visited Alexandria's website, and found a tutorial video that gave me some information on how it works. I see that like Destiny you can run different reports, whether they are for overdue books or circulation statistics. I also saw that it had a similar search structure to Destiny, and perhaps one that was even easier to use. It seemed to have an easy cataloging procedure like that of Destiny's.The site showed that I could type in a title and find existing catalog entries, rather than having to create my own. I began to think that Alexandria wouldn't be too big of a challenge for me to handle. When I went to tour the facility after my job offer however,the current librarian told me that the newest version of Alexandria is not very user friendly at all. I hope I will not have too much trouble with this system, but I am young and fairly tech savvy so I am confident. What circulation system do you use in your school? Do you like it? What would you change about it if you had the chance?

Book Leveling Labels

There has been a lot of talk lately on LM-Net listserv about leveling books, and how to label the books with their level. Many of the libraries that I have been in label these books using dots on the side. I do not like this method. Using Destiny at the high school, I added Lexile level as a search category, but added nothing to the books. This allows the student or the teacher to look for a book with the appropriate level using the online catalog. This means that the student or teacher has time to practice their search skill, and the pretty spines of our books are not covered with stickers. We already have the call number on our spines. I think it is unnecessary to cover the spines any further. I also think that labeling the spines of books will limit what students choose to read. Students will immediately search out a book at a certain level rather than browsing and finding a book they might enjoy. One solution that a fellow listserv member pointed out is that we place level and AR quiz information on the inside cover or first page of the book. I think this is a much better solution than filling the spines with stickers. In my future library, I believe that I will have the levels as searchable fields in the library catalog, and include this information on the inside cover of the book. How do you handle leveling in your library? What do you think about the solution I have chosen?