#Thankful for Books

Back in November, I decided to put some construction paper turkeys on a table and ask students to tell me about a book they were thankful for. It was just a random idea, but the response blew me away. The students were far more willing to participate than I ever could have imagined, and many gave incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. It was really encouraging to read their thoughts.

And what's more, thanks to the good old world wide web, I was able to share these responses with many of the authors themselves through Twitter, and in many cases got responses that I was able to share with the students. It was an incredibly rewarding experience that came at a time of year when it starts to get hard to get yourself out of bed each morning.

This was a simple activity that was extremely easy to set up and cost nothing, because it just used supplies already on hand in the Media Center. Feel free to adapt it and use it in your library. If you'd like to use my graphic (above) feel free to do so, but please provide attribution.

New Books - Still the Biggest Draw of the Library

Every year around this time, all of our new books come in. I always end up taking over a table at the front of the room to process them. The first time, it was because I didn't have room anywhere else. Since then, I have cleaned up other areas that might provide processing space, but I still set up out front, because I have found that new books are their own best promotion, and nothing builds enthusiasm in my students more than a giant pile of books that they'll soon be able to check out. To keep the excitement going and to promote my Remind text blasts, I promise my students that I will send out a text when the books are ready, before I announce them any other way. I made a little sign to help explain:

Holiday Displays and Reading Promotions

Seasonal decorations and displays are a pretty standard part of library life, but at a certain point, it's time to find a new approach. There are only so many holiday books in a library collection, and let's face it, high school kids aren't really into reading up on cultural traditions. I still put out my traditional display, but last year I decided that it was time to add something new as well, because I wanted a holiday display that promoted reading rather than just looking festive. It was such a hit that I decided to make it a new tradition.
I built a tree out of books (a trend that has really caught on it seems -- you can even find tutorials online) and then wrapped library books to put out as presents. The books weren't just for show, though. I actually was adapting a Valentine's Day display idea I'd seen, the "Blind Date with a Book." Each book gets a gift tag with a few cryptic words on it describing the plot, but the student doesn't actually know what they've checked out until they unwrap it. It's a great way to circulate some hidden gems that might not have the most eye-catching covers. This is one of my most popular and effective displays, mostly because of how easy it is for the students to help me promote it -- whenever I have a student check out one of the wrapped books, I ask them to wait until they get to class to open it, and to tell their curious classmates where it came from. Works like a charm.

Mystery Present How-To:
Supplies: Library books, wrapping paper, tape, gift tags (not the sticker kind)
Pick your books, following any theme you want. I usually go for older books that are great but don't get a lot of love. Once you've got your books, make a gift tag for each one. I use die cuts, but store bought would be fine as long as they're not self-adhesive. I write the barcode of the book on the back of the tag so that I don't have to unwrap it to check it out, and on the front, I write 3 or more words or short phrases that describe the book without giving it away to someone who's not already familiar with the book. For example, a gift tag for Harry Potter might say "orphan, boarding school, good vs. evil, magic."

Next, wrap the books and tape the gift tags to the outside. Take special care not to mix up the tags, and make sure you tape them so that you can still flip them up to look at the barcode when you check the books out.
A few extra tips: 1. Make sure your students understand that these books are still being checked out, and need to be returned just like any book they don't unwrap. 2. Have a stack of books ready to wrap when your first batch gets checked out. 3. If you use desensitizing cards with your security system, give the student the card when they check out the book and ask them to put it in the back once they've unwrapped their gift. You may have to deal with the alarm sounding when the student walks out, but it's worth it, because you really can't beat the publicity that comes from students unwrapping library books in front of their peers.

Genre Jars

Genrefication is a buzz word in my world right now. It's the idea of ditching the Dewey Decimal system and organizing your library books by genre, including mixing fiction and nonfiction titles. Now, this may be the way to go for some libraries and librarians, but it's not something that I'm ready to do, and I'm not entirely convinced it would be the best move for my school. For one thing, books don't fit into just one genre, so I think I would find it nearly impossible to actually do the separating in the first place.

However, I do think it's important to be able to help students find books by genre, and it can be a bit challenging when all of your genres are mixed into one fiction section. My solution? Genre Jars.

I labeled a set of mason jars with several different genres and had my student aides search the catalog by genre and write the titles and authors of books on popsicle sticks, which we then put into the jar for the appropriate genre. The beauty of this system is that a book can be in more than one jar, because, just like people, books are way too complex to fit into only one category. When students come in asking for a recommendation for a certain genre, they can pull a suggestion out of the jar. This really helps me out, because I can't always come up with the best recommendation on the spot, and sometimes students who won't use the online catalog will take the time to try out the jars, because I have them positioned right next to the fiction shelves.

It's not a completely perfect plan, because the recommendations stay in the jar even when the books are checked out. This usually isn't a big deal, and I either put the book on hold for the student, or they try another suggestion.

It has been interesting for me to see how the students are interacting with the genre jars. A few of them have used the jars at my recommendation, but most of them have found them on their own, and most of the students that have used them have ended up checking something out.

FAME 2014: Connecting and Collaborating

FAME 2014 was an amazing experience. I got to present this year with a friend who is an elementary school librarian in Gainesville. We planned and created the entire presentation using Google apps, including hangouts and slides. I can't begin to express how much I love Google's collaboration tools. I'd be lost without them. We presented on creating programming to fill that niche where your interests meet those of your students. Check out our slides below.

Finding Your Niche: Creating Compelling Programming FAME 2014 from bevycoe

I was a very busy girl at this conference. Luckily, my presentation was during the first breakout session, so it was soon behind me (it went very well), and I could move on to the rest of the conference experience. I had several obligations this year -- between attending presentations and a meeting as a member of the Florida Teens Read committee and serving as a hostess for one of the authors, I was constantly on the go! 

It was a rewarding experience, however. This was the first year that I didn't feel like a newbie anymore. I felt like I was really part of the conversation, giving advice and receiving it, and sharing ideas back and forth with other great librarians from around the state. 

The conference also really encouraged interaction on Twitter this year, so I was able to connect with lots of new librarian friends this year, and I'm looking forward to connecting with my digital PLN and seeing where it takes me! I'm hoping to get involved in twitter chatting a bit more in the near future, because I met some really great people who are a part of chats like #tlchat on Monday nights.

For an author fangirl like myself, having four of the Florida Teens Read nominees present at FAME this year was a real treat. Of course, I made sure to get pictures with as many of them as I could. Jody Casella, author of Thin Space, was the author that I hosted, and I had a great time helping her out and chatting with her. I found out that she had done National Novel Writing Month four times, and since I am planning on doing NaNoWriMo along with a group of students, I picked her brain for advice. She even recorded a short video message for my kids, which was really cool!

Rick Yancey

Jody Casella

Matt de la Peña

DIY Shelf Signage: recycled magazine holders and repurposed shelf dividers

My media center has been in dire need of better shelf signage ever since I got the job. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to fixing such a simple yet vital thing. I guess I had been hesitant to spend a lot of money, and didn't really know what to do otherwise. While investigating my options, I came across a site showing shelf signs that sat on the shelves next to the books, rather than on the edge of the shelf. I realized then that I finally had a use for all of those old magazine holders that used to house the periodical collection. 

 

For my fiction section,
I measured the front of the holders, and created a page in Microsoft Publisher that was the right dimension. I used our school mascot and colors, and created the fiction genres world cloud at the top using Tagxedo, which gives a lot more customization options than Wordle.


I had one of my student assistants go around and place pieces of scrap paper in between the letters so I could see how far apart they were and judge which letters were best to combine. I'm pretty pleased with the end result here, and I feel like it makes the section much more user-friendly.

The nonfiction section is still not quite done. I've been working on it in phases. First, I used taller magazine holders to create divisions for the hundreds in much the same way I created the signs for fiction. I also wanted to create subdivisions of the tens so that I could put more specific headings on them, but I struggled for a while to find something smaller than the hundreds dividers until I stumbled across these old shelf markers in the back room. Instead of using the yellowed plastic signs that came with them, I headed to Publisher again to whip up some signs. I hit a bit of a snag when I realized that I couldn't but the dividers on the bottom shelves because of the clip on the bottom. I went ahead and made the dividers that would fit on the shelf, and the others are now sitting in my car waiting to have the clip cut off so that they will fit on my bottom shelves.

All told, the signage project took around a week to complete, the bottom shelf dividers notwithstanding. I'm proud of the end result. It's not a professional job, but it looks nice, and really enhances the user-friendliness of the media center. Plus, it makes it a lot easier when shelving because you can walk right to the proper section.

Starting the year off with Video Orientation

One challenge I have always faced as a high school librarian at a school of 1600 is how to provide Media Center Orientation for all students at the school. Last year, our school started holding grade level assemblies for at the beginning of each grading period, so over the summer I worked up a short video orientation that could be shown at each assembly.

The video was simple. At the beginning, I recorded an introduction so that each student could see my face and get to know their librarian. The majority of the video was comprised of my voiceover narrating the expectations and procedures of the Media Center over a slideshow tour of the Media Center. It wasn't anything flashy, but it was a way to be sure that as many students as possible heard about the Media Center, its services, and the procedures for visiting.

I'm not completely satisfied with the video. I think I can do better next year by making it more visual and less of a recorded lecture. My voice is fairly monotone -- I think I need to try to be more dynamic. However, I am pleased with the results. Right after it was shown, freshmen recognized me and we able to greet me by name the first time they entered the Media Center. Upperclassmen, now aware that the Media Center is open during lunch, started coming by to get lunch passes. The exposure definitely had a positive effect, and was a satisfactory solution to my orientation dilemma. I can say with 100% certainty that more students are aware of Media Center expectations, procedures, and services than have ever been in the past.