Primary School Borrowing Vs High School Borrowing

Doing RFF work in my primary school this term is proving to be a good learning experience in terms of library programs and how students use school libraries at a school level, and trying to find ways to keep the positive library habits when they do move to high school.

Primary School kids love to borrow especially as my kindy students show. They are just excited to borrow a book each week, take it home and read and I see the smiles on their faces when I go to collect them each week.

And in the upper primary years, they still keep up the enthusiasm as they challenge their minds with something that little bit harder.

In between this, we see students also enjoying browsing the non-fiction shelves to stimulate their minds on something that interests them - whether it is fact books, gaming, sport or books on animals and dinosaurs.

Then I look back at high school experiences - Where a school may not have an active wide reading program, students are less likely to borrow and read. Where there is a wide reading program, there is still interest, but I don't think its as high as a primary school student might have. Some become reluctant to borrow, especially where rules are placed on the types of books to be read e.g. fiction. For some students, fiction won't appeal and hence are less likely to read.

How do I overcome the change in borrowing habits? I think its a challenge, but I need to give it a go.

• I would continue to advocate for wide reading programs that encourage the reading of fiction and non-fiction literature. Some students definitely would be stimulated by reading real stories about the world around them or stimulating or developing a broader interest. 
• Promoting non-fiction literature - I am guilty of promoting fiction literature as part of library displays or content in newsletters. I have been involved in creating displays for units of work or events on the calendar, but what about general topics of interest that students might have e.g. gaming? Perhaps I need to do that.
• Make library visits fun, instead of a chore.
• Promote the recreational side of reading as part of library orientation programs.
• If a student wanders in and sees the library as a social space, have a book or activity related to their interests ready. I know at one school, I had The Daily Telegraph ready for a boy to collect as he entered. One of his friend did love playing games on the games page. At least it kept them out of trouble. Their mates, another story for another day!!!
• Find out what the kids are learning in class. Find some great books on the topic/s to read. 
• Remind students that reading is fun, not a chore. Discuss with them how reading helps them in their everyday lives. 

I was reading today about the shrinking size of non-fiction print collections as students opt for digital resources i.e. websites for their research. It is not easy to get all non-fiction items in eBook form and is expensive for many schools, but if we are going to get them to borrow non-fiction books. I would be pressuring my colleagues to mandate the use of printed items e.g. a minimum of 2-3 books. Also, I would suggest what some teachers or subject departments do - provide them with a list of items that are available in the library to help them. Using a variety of resources in different formats is a key learning skill that they will require for lifelong learning. The internet may provide us with easy access to information, but sadly in an imperfect world, not everything can be published and/or located.

AIS TL Network Meeting - March 3 2017

For the first time since 2015, I was able to attend a meeting of Teacher Librarians from the Association of Independent Schools.

The hosts were The Kings School at North Parramatta. The library team including Di Laycock, Tim Ross (university friend) and Mark Kelly presented two items.

Firstly they shared with the group an ICT program (Operation TechSync) that has been introduced for Year 7 students that introduces them to the school's ICT network including their laptop and essential applications. Digital safety skills are also developed so the students can use technology in a safe and professional manner.

What fascinated me most was how the program is delivered. Using a mixture of real (and virtual) characters, they used software including Camtasia (video editor) and Crazy Talk (avatar creating software) to bring it together.

Mark Kelly spoke about assessment and how teachers were able to monitor progress online.

Then the team spoke about the Makerspace which is a key part of their library and how it relates to learning. I was encouraged by the need for students to be curious, and to explore what is around them (reflects my philosophy as a teacher) but be able to think outside the square. I liked the approach to creation e.g. build a robot as part of the space because one can take real ownership of their learning and can express themselves in a way that reflects them. Some students need to present information through acting; others by building objects.

But what could I do in my practice?

• Provide spaces within the library that allow people to be creative e.g. seminar rooms. Don't let them merely be places for collaborative or quiet study. The rooms are better having some sort of activity rather than nothing. 
• Encourage artistic works. I remember at Marsden High even offering pencils and adult colouring in sheets to bring out people's artistic side yet allow passive recreation.
• Building activities - Lego, robots. Maybe even have a contest to see who can make the most creative robots or lego works.
• Operation TechCode can be integrated into a broader high school library program. Many schools I have worked at sadly don't provide the technology that many AIS schools do, so I may have to improvise and keep it simple with the technology that is available within the school. The booklet though is fantastic and that can be easily done. Bigger challenge is with BYOD schools. How do I keep a program that can be adapted to any device.

Dealing with Overdue and Lost Library Books in schools

A big part of our work as Teacher Librarians, librarians or assistants is following up on overdue library loans.

I was motivated to do this post after a Teacher Librarian wanted some guidance in how to address the issue in their school.

The idea of a book bond had been suggested, but I really think this idea wouldn't work and I have not come across a school yet to do it. 

In how I would approach the issue, this is how I would do it and I'll share what I mentioned with them but I do elaborate a little further on the content here:

1. Print the overdue notices as students from my experience have actually taken more notice if its on paper and someone reminds them. The emailed notices from experience tend to be ignored but don't scrap it altogether. Sometimes a student may simply forget that they have borrowed the book in the first place i.e. placed in locker. 

2. Pick a day of the week to run them off. It can be weekly or fortnightly.

3. Distribute them either via roll call classes or as I have done in one school, in their fortnightly year meetings. Year advisors/house masters/tutors etc will support you and keeps them in the loop too.

4. If overdues are a big problem within the school (one school I filled in at had 40% of students with overdue items), don't be afraid to draft up a letter (template can be requested via contacting me) for the student to take home to their parents. Can be used for the end of the year when finalising the return of all items.

If a student has an overdue item, standard practice has been to not permit any loans until the items are returned. This would push students to return the book/s. In public libraries, if your book is overdue, you will not be allowed to borrow or renew the items until all items are returned. Part of our role is preparing kids for the real world, and instilling these habits will help them when dealing with public libraries

Item Lost or Missing?

When a student loses the item, charge the student for a replacement. As part of the cataloguing process on systems like OLIVER for a new item, the purchase price of the item is entered into the system. In some schools, the student can go and purchase the replacement and hand it over to the library. In OLIVER for instance, you would report the lost item as missing.

And if a student is signing out, do not sign them off until they have either returned the item or paid the cost/s of replacing the item/s.

I forgot to mention this in my communication with the Teacher Librarian concerned, but is useful.

If a book is lost or missing, treat it as if it were overdue and suspend their borrowing privileges until the fee is paid.

Sometimes a student who loses an item might eventually find the item say six months later. If found, I would suggest providing a refund to the student as the item has been found and can be added back into the circulation system. However this would be more complex should the missing item have been weeded from the circulation as missing items might be automatically weeded after a set period. 

I have heard murmurs that one school here in Sydney will also charge an administration fee for processing lost items? I think that takes things a little too far as I feel just the replacement cost for the book is enough.  

Will need to research it a little further.