Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Good, The Bad, The Challenges

final examThe start of a new school year always brings changes.  This year, the middle school where I work is dramatically changing its schedule.  The good news is that I no longer have to teach classes.  I will now have a completely flexible schedule.  The bad news is that the students no longer have any free time (study halls) to come to the library to select books, work on projects, read for pleasure.  Of course, every change brings new challenges, and I have two main challenges for this year.

My first challenge will be to build a stronger collaborative environment with my teachers.  Previously, I just did not have the time and flexibility in my schedule.  There were certain teachers and projects that I worked with, but overall, I was too tied down to with classes to reach out to more teachers.  So, I'm trying to be proactive before school starts.  I have created a packet of information to advertise what I have to offer at the library - description of offerings, example projects, and our research guide.  (see below)  I plan on starting small.  I want to focus on language arts and history, then I will broaden my scope to target science and specials as well.  I will be meeting with teachers individually and talk to them about how I can help them and what the library has to offer.

My second challenge will be to provide library opportunities for students without study halls.  I'm thinking about lunch passes of some sort, but that will needs to be worked out.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions that you have.  How does the library scheduling work at your school?  When do students use the library? 

GLOG DESCRIPTION OF OFFERINGS





Desk photo used under Creative Commons license from dcJohn.

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