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Our library resources were always available to parents and carers, often grandparents. They were added to the system as regular borrowers (after all, it was their money paying for the books!) I even made special grab bags of seven read-alouds so busy parents could grab one and have a bedtime story for every night of the week! If parents were responsible borrowers (and those that made the effort to borrow usually were) then their children also developed those habits. Knowing that parents would be my greatest allies if there were ever threats to the budget or the position, I went out of my way to work with them. The following is part of a post I sent to our local list recently. Barbara 1. Knowing that the support base is the parents of the very young, I built on this by having strong ties with the pre-school, made easier by their close proximity, and now, in the ACT, they also come under the administration wing of the local primary. Twice a week they came to 'big school' for storytelling -it was part of their regular routine and became an integral part of their transition to kindergarten. 2. Pre-school parents were invited to come in to read to their little ones while they waited during the gap between pre-school and big school being over for the day. This was really popular in Canberra's cold. 3. I adapted an idea from a Tasmanian library and made 20+ fabric book bags, into which I put seven pre-selected read-alouds suitable for K-2 so that busy parents could call in when they dropped the children off and, in an instant, have a story for each night of the week. 4. I had a Busy Bookworms reward system so that there were certificates and such like for when the little ones had read/ returned 10 books - Kinder borrowed one at a time until they got used to the routines - and 10 looked-after and returned books proved they could have three like the big kids. 5. I negotiated a discount with a private bookseller so our parents got a small reward for taking their business there. 6. In the fortnightly newsletter I kept the parents in touch with what their children were doing across all the grades and I kept the school website up to date with recommended reads. If I were there now this would be a blog for each year level and the children would be writing what they had done. 7. I created pages of hotlists for the website to accompany the themes being followed in classes so parents and students didn't have to search the WWW aimlessly. There was also a page called Schoolbag which provided links to interesting sites for kids covering all the curriculum, and another called Cubbyhouse that had links to safe game sites, mostly those associated with their favourite book or TV characters. 8. There was a clear explanation of InfoLit on the website so parents knew what the process involved and I developed a Project Planner that could be downloaded and filled in online so that everyone could manage their tasks and their time. The kids loved this because of the intrinsic appeal of the computer being used for 'real' work. Some even got precedence over their older siblings' computer time 9. I was an integral part of the P&C inaugural meetings each year and parent orientation nights so the library looked its best and I could share the services I offered. The library was also the venue for those meetings, and, in the very early days I teamed with another teacher to offer 'evening classes' in using Office, email and the Internet. 10. Book fairs were huge events, especially the Christmas one, as we offered the opportunity to do all the Christmas shopping in one hit. Barbara Braxton Teacher Librarian COOMA NSW 2630 AUSTRALIA E. barbara.288@bigpond.com Together we learn from each other -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------