Third Week - Going Great!

I'm in my third week now. I had a fun and relaxing weekend and didn't come to school even once! I went in to school yesterday carrying only ONE bag and it wasn't even heavy. Does this mean my dad can't call me the "Bagley Lady" any more??? My shoulders are sure loving it!

The last two weeks have been incredibly busy. I've been giving the MAP test to all third, fourth, and fifth graders during their library time. Reading last week and this week, math this week and next week. Unfortunately, this means that the kids didn't get their regular library time and so didn't get to check out any books. Also, since we had Monday off for Labor Day and Friday off for a teachers' institute day, 13 classes were unable to check out books last week! I offered all classroom teachers an opportunity to come to the library to check out, and we were swamped. I think 11 out of the 13 teachers asked for a time to come down. This week, I had more teachers ask for time to come to the library than I had openings! We had classes back to back to back. My clerk asked if I was trying to kill her!

(NO WAY! She's half the reason I love this job so much! Marilyn makes everything so easy for me. She told me this summer, joking of course, that she wouldn't retire until all the bookmarks were gone. We found hundreds and hundreds of them. So now I'm only letting kids take one bookmark at a time and I told her I'd cut the bookmarks in half if I had to, just to keep her here!)

This week was a bit more manageable, since it's a five day week. However, we are now adding second grade to the testing schedule. However, since their normal library time is in the afternoons, and we test in the mornings, their check out times won't be affected. It makes me feel so great when I hear the kids want to come to the library to check out!

I went over to the high school this afternoon to meet with some of the ladies who work there. I wanted, particularly, to learn how to order books. I also got a list of our magazine subscriptions ($260.10 out of $275 budgeted) and advice on running reports (don't do it until we get a new circulation system next year.)

I'm starting to recognize kids in the hall and even remember some of their names. Now, all I have to do it figure out how to get my full 40 min lunch!

First Week Went Well!

My first week lasted eleven days, but I made it. Here's how it went:
Day One: Fri, Aug 21 All day librarian's meeting at the high schoold, then back to Rose
Day Two: Sat, Aug 22 Dad and I spent a few hours at Rose working on SMARTboards, awesome graduation party that night at Kim and Frank's house
Day Three: Sun, Aug 23 I ache head to toe from jumping for hours in the bouncy with the kids. Dad and I spent many hours at Rose working on SMARTboards, go to another graduation party with my mom and brother's family in McHenry, then Dad and I come back to Rose to finish up the SMART boards. Thanks, Dad!
Day Four: Mon, Aug 24 District wide meeting at BHS, staff meeting at Rose, many hours spent troubleshooting SMARTboards, setting up visual presenters, a short time spent preparing for my first day. I use an idea from School Library Monthly to create a I have... Who has... game. Sample Cards: I have the first card. Who has how many books we can check out? I have three books. Who has the name of the Rose School librarian?
Day Five: Tues, Aug 25 Kids finally arrive! My first class is Ms. Solymossy's fifth grade. Also had third, fourth, and first grade, all checking out. My game was successful! Took pictures.
Day Six: Wed, Aug 26 Weird day - only two classes in the afternoon, as kindergartners hadn't arrived yet, but my awesome aide Marilyn and I got lots done. We put up a bulletin board for the book fair, go through book bags from the public library, and frame and hang up some posters.
Day Seven: Thurs, Aug 27 Third grade comes in the morning, the afternoon was NUTS! I have four classes in a row, back to back, all checking out. Marilyn's lunch takes place during two of those classes. I forgot to click on CLEAR while checking books out and accidentally check out a book about Jane Austen from the high school to a first grader! Marilyn helps me correct my mistake. Conference call with my principal and the book fair chairperson after school.
Day Eight: Fri, Aug 28 Fridays consist of non stop classes all day. It was nice to see many familiar faces, as two of the first grade classes had come earlier in the week and I knew most of the fourth and fifth graders. I am starting to get tired of reading Goldie Socks and the Three Libearans. I read it to all the first and second grade classes. Two big crates of brand new, just process books arrive in the afternoon!
(SHOCKING - I did not come in to school at all this weekend, though I did take some new books home to read. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping may be even funnier than the first Alvin Ho book!)
Day Nine: Mon, Aug 31 More familiar faces as fourth and fifth grade arrive, plus all the afternoon classes had come once before. Went out to dinner with the music teacher. Back to School Night - got introduced as librarian - weird to see the third grade team stand up without me, but it's ok. TEN parents stop by the library. Granted, five were parents of former students, but five were not! My library must have looked inviting in some way. They all said they'd never even been in the library before!
Day Ten: Tues, Sept 1 New set of plans for this week - show the book fair video to classes and let the kids preview the new books. So hard not to let them check out the new books, but I have to save them for a week so all the classes can see them. Meet with principal for my first monthly (at my request) meeting - end up creating a testing schedule to get second graders into the computer lab instead of sharing all the great things happening in the library. Next month! Marilyn and I go a little crazy rearranging furniture and actually end up taking apart part of the circulation desk and putting it in storage. We were laughing so hard we almost "peed in our pants" as my friend Tanya would say. I am so busy all day I don't even have time to check my email!
Day Eleven: Wed Sept 2 The day I've been worried about since I got the job back in March... kindergartners arrive in the library. They are so little! They color on their library cards. No one colored on their bar codes. I was so proud! We got books picked out and checked out in 25 minutes. I am totally impressed by how well it goes. Superintendent stops by during my second kindergarten class. Eeek! After school staff meeting held in the library. I asked staff if they could figure out what major piece of furniture was missing from the library.... only one person figured out that we had removed a third of the circulation desk and put a computer cart in its place! Finished filling out a spread sheet about SMARTboards to send to my boss.

I guess an eleven day week explains why I'm so tired! My TO DO list is still growing...

Lillian's book to be reviewed on WBEZ this Thursday!

I just got an email from Lillian - her book, which was released just last Friday, is going to be reviewed on Eight Forty-Eight this Thursday! The show is broadcast on 91.5FM WBEZ from 9 to 10 am and again at night, I think between 9 and 10 pm. (I might be wrong on that - I can't get to the WBEZ website or the Eight Forty-Eight web site here at school. Yep, they're blocked!)

If you can't listen at either of those times, you can also download a free podcast of the program. That's what I'll have to do because this Thursday is also the book launch party at Anderson's Bookshop in Downers Grove. Lillian will read from her book and sign copies. I'll sign books, too!!!! Ha, just kidding. I'd have to sign the bibliography, because that's the part I contributed.

Want to see something cool? Go to http://www.amazon.com and type Pam Meiser in the search bar. MY NAME COMES UP! Wow! The 21st century is so cool.

I hope you take a minute to check out The Letter from Death on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or Borders and find out more at the Three Arts Press web site.

It begins.... Random thoughts about the start of the school year

I'm guessing no one is reading this blog anymore, since it's no longer a class assignment for anyone. I'm going to post, anyway. Someone said a blog is for one's own reflection, so I guess that's what mine will be. ( - ;

Today was the official start to the school year for teachers and staff. The kids (1st through 5th) start tomorrow. The kindergartners start next week.

For the last few days, I've been thinking that I should be feeling sad about not having a classroom, but I don't. I was ready to leave the classroom and am so happy to be here in the library. There are so many little things that I don't have to worry about! No lunch menus to pass out, no lunch cards to keep track of, pick up notes, bus numbers, who goes to Kids Klub and on what days, where should I hang the birthday chart, writing kids' names over and over and and over and over.... Nope - don't miss it one bit.

Considering the fact that I had no classes today, I ran my @$$ off! We got 12 new SMART boards installed in our building this summer. My dad and I came in this weekend and spent many hours making sure all the wires were hooked up properly, bluetooth connections were synced, document cameras were operational, and so on. This morning, I tried to check in with everyone who had gotten a new SMART board to make sure they were comfortable with the set up. Then, I got email messages from people who had SMART boards last year that couldn't remember how to hook them up! I feel like an expert now. They're not all hooked up 100% ideally, but they all work AND the document cameras are working as well.

I had to laugh at myself because I was so worried that I'd get less exercise by being on the first floor and not doing the stairs all the time... I bet I ran up and down the stairs twice as much as I would have on a normal day teaching third grade. I'm sure things will settle down once the kids get here, but I didn't sit down today for hardly a minute. I didn't even get my computer turned until after 2:30!

I met with HR this afternoon, and it may turn out that I don't have to student teach after all. Our HR director doesn't think a Type 10 certificate is necessary to teach in the library at the elementary level. This would relieve a big worry - mainly, how does one pay bills with no paychecks for five weeks!?!? Yes, five weeks. I had to add another week because apparently, I also have to do 40 hours of observation even before I can student teach. Honestly, that I wouldn't mind so much. In fact, if I decide not to go for my Type 10, I may still take some time to observe in other elementary libraries. The best would be to spend a whole day hanging out in each of the school libraries here in Barrington. We'll see!

At our staff meeting today, I asked Scott for 10 minutes to talk about the library. I was going to talk about "procedures," but that seemed so boring. Instead, I gave a quick Top Ten Things in the Library list! I don't know if I said this all in less than ten minutes, but I tried! Here's my list

10 Batteries - come to the library to get replacement batteries for school equipment such as wireless headphones, digital cameras, and remote controls. We will also take batteries for recycling. Do NOT send your student to the library for batteries in their own camera because they filmed their friends on the bus ride to school and used up the batteries!
9 Magazines - the library has magazines available for check out for both kids and teachers. We have a subscription to Mailbox so come check out current as well as older copies to aid in your planning. Remember, any Rose School staff member can check items out of the library - this includes aides and other classified staff!
8 AV - The library is home to all audio/visual equipment including DVD/VCR players, televisions, headphones, cassette players, CD players, and LCD projectors. If you need one of these items or some AV equipment needs maintenance or repair, let Marilyn and I know. Apparently SMART boards fall into the AV category, so please see me with your SMART issues.
7 Computer Lab - With the TSA schedule being flexible this year, the lab will have more opportunities for use. We're going to have a sign-up so that classes can come and use the computer lab if needed. Of course, my library classes will be using the computers as well.
6 Videos - Many more videos are available for check out. In the Picture Book section, you can see that there are many literature based videos on the top shelf. The non-fiction videos are now housed on the shelf directly above the books on that topic. So, if you're looking at plant books, for instance, you can just go above the books to see the videos we have on plants.
5 Books - of course, we have lots of great books in the library for checkout. Bonus - Marilyn will be happy to fix any of your classroom books that need repair!
4 Databases - The Barrington school district has spent a lot of money on some really great databases for both students and teachers. Throughout the year, I will have opportunities for you to learn about some of the great resources that are available online.
3 Science Materials - I moved the science materials to the other side of the bookcases so they are more visible. We have microscopes, balance scales, electronic scales, digital microscopes that can be displayed on your SMART boards, weights, and even science lesson books available for checkout.
2 Professional Development Collection - Our library has a professional development collection available to you. If you're looking for a book on a particular topic, check here - we may have it. Our collection includes back issues of Mailbox magazine.
1 Marilyn and I - We're your best resource here in the library. Please come to us with your questions and requests! We can get book bags from the Barrington Area Library, inter library loans, pull books on a certain subject, or find just the right video. Please email requests to both Marilyn and I at the same time so we don't duplicate requests.

So, tomorrow I start with fifth grade, third grade, fourth grade, then first grade. I am so excited! My goals for the first month in the library are: get to know the kids, make sure we're all clear on policy and procedures, and learn how to order a book! (I still don't know how to do that....)

It's Official - I'm a Librarian!

No, I didn't get a new certificate, actually check out a book, or even have a student call me librarian. I KNOW I'm a librarian because I literally JUMPED UP AND DOWN with excitement today when my clerk taught me how to get records for my library catalog from OCLC! I have a REAL login and Rose School has a REAL OCLC location code! (I can't remember it right now though.) I got to edit a record FOR REAL!

It was so neat to do something I only got to practice in class before. Marilyn even let me do a bunch of records all by myself! I was so proud.

Only a REAL librarian could get so darn excited about OCLC. Too bad no one else around here gets it. Marilyn did, though, and I think she was "tickled" (as my Grandma C would have said.) Hmmm... I hope she was laughing with me and not at me!

Graduation

I know we're supposed to blog about a topic we're studying in LIS 725, but I can't help but reflect on my years leading up to this day - my last GSLIS class. I've been so looking forward to graduating, and now, of course, I'm feeling a little sad! I will not miss assigned readings, writing papers, creating citations, or driving to Oak Park/River Forest, taking the train to Chicago, or sitting in traffic trying to get to Oswego.
I will miss my classmates and instructors. It's only been since January that I have had classmates that I knew! Previous to the spring semester, every time I started a new class, most everyone was new to me. While I appreciate meeting new people, there's something to be said for knowing someone's name, a bit of their back ground, and feeling comfortable sharing in class. My instructors have been great, but I've also learned a lot from my classmates. Hopefully, with blogs, web pages, twitter, and email, I'll be able to keep in touch with my friends.
Most of all, I just can't wait to start my job! The kids will be here in eight days. Next Tuesday will be the beginning of a new(ish) career for me, even though I am in the same school. My new teammates, the other librarians in the district, will have lots of advice for me and will help me out as well.
So, I won't be sad about finishing graduate school, but excited about all the possibilities ahead!

Twitter Info from SLJ Blog

For those of you in LIS 724 with C. Balsano this summer, you may be interested in this blog post: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1360047736.html The author is Joyce Valenza, Ph.D, whom Chris has mentioned in class a few times. In this post, she talks about ways to search Twitter. I talked about a few in my presentation (using the @ symbol, the # symbol, and near: ) but she goes much further!

If you want to see the source of her post, see this post: http://grazitti.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/quick-tips-to-use-twitter-search-in-a-better-way/

Have fun searching Twitter!