LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Folks,
Let me take this opportunity to thank all that participated in my request
for help as well as everybody participating in this listserv. It has been
an invaluable place for me to be quickly oriented to the profession of
Library Science. What follows are selected highlights of the responses I
got.
This information may be too basic for most on this list, but I post it for
the sake of archiving information that a future librarian in my
position--with no training or experience but a task to perform--may be able
to access.
I will not include names, since these responses came before the debate on
naming began . . . and since the debate left me more confused than I was
before it started.
____________
A number of repondents suggested that I purchase or borrow H.W. Wilson
Company's Senior High School Library Catalog to establish or update a good
high school reference collection. The following passages are cut/pastes
from direct responses:
____________
Go ask for a copy of the shelf list of high schools whose collection you
admire. Look at reference. Talk to your teachers about curriculum. The
collection should support the curriculum needs of your students.
____________
There are 2 options for you in your endeavor to re-start your library
with a new collection : doing the work yourself, or allow a book jobber
to assist you in your purchases. Neither is necessarily right or wrong,
just what fits your situation.
In my previous position as a public librarian in Florida, we formed a
coalition with a community college and a university to start a new
library on a new campus. In that job we relied on a jobber to put
together a list of titles because we were spending so much money and
acquiring so many titles. They processed and cataloged the books, we
placed them on the shelf, and this included a reference collection. Of
course, it was a collaborative effort; they sent us a ream of paper
describing the possible titles and we each split the list up into our
respective backgrounds to evaluate what we did and didn't want; the
lists were re-compiled and sent back to the jobber, this process was
done over again until we fell below our budgetary ceiling, the books
were acquired, processed, and sent to us for placement on the shelves.
The caveat for this technique is, you may get fewer books because the
jobber service may cost money. The positive attributes are that you
don't have to fret about poring over catalogs and selectively ordering
titles and you won't need to process the books.
Doing your own selection can also be a palatable way to go because you
still have a jobber acquire all of your books and process them for you,
you would just need to do all of your own investigation (which I enjoy,
but does take time).
______________
I would love this opportunity--No. 1 work for a direct internet server
and then go from there building your collection. I would get an online
magazine database, an online encyclopedia, make some good link pages and
then buy to support units that the school teaches (e.g. endangered
species, the Great Depression (not you when you look at your old books),
. The internet is not the future for libraries--it is the present.
Consider it your base and work around it for enrichment. You may not
like what I am saying, but I am working in a school with our own
internet server and this is the way it is going. Good luck.
___________
First thing I would do is WEED! You said a bunch of books were already
trashed. But get rid of the things in your current collection that are
plain old not useful, for whatever reason. There is no use working with
them if they're not. (I'm still working on this after over a year in my
current library, which was a mess when I took over.) You could also do
an inventory against your shelf list while you weed. This is always
recommended before automating anyway.
Another thing: get your library in physically attractive shape. Clear
off table tops, get rid of miscellaneous messes. (I think I only had
one clear table when I started. There was no place to work!) People
don't want to use a library that looks disorganized. I won a lot of
support from my faculty just by making it look nicer!
******
Ask your faculty what they need to support their curriculum, then focus
on that initially.
Book fairs can be a lot of work, but they can earn a lot of money pretty
quickly. Do you have any volunteers who would help you run them?
Actually, I was petrified about running my first one, but found it
pretty much runs itself - the book fair companies send you all the stuff
you need to get organized, including promotional materials.
________________
I do have two books to recommend to you that I hope will prove
helpful.
1) Secondary School Librarian's Almanac; Month-by-Month activities,
displays and procedures for the entire school year
by Streiff, Jane E. Published by The center for Applied
Research in Education New York
ISBN 0-87628-783-6
While I have no idea of the price, since it was one of my many
donations it is a wonderful book. It will help you once you get
started. It comes highly recommended by the other Library Media
Techs in our district.
2) Small Libraries: Organization and operation
By Donald J. Sager published by Highsmith Press Fort
Atkinson, Wis.
ISBN 0-917846-16-8
_________________
In your quiet(er) moments, at home and during the breaks, start looking at
your development strategy. How the library is used, how the school WANTS the
library the be used, local and regional requirements, all have a bearing on
this. It is worthwhile doing an audit of this to focus your mind, the minds
of the rest of the school, and to support budget proposals. Once you have
established how the school wants the library to be used, you can then start
matching this against what you already have. This will inform your strategic
planning and your budget planning. Set yourself clear and achievable targets
in a clear development plan, get these approved, and get to work !
______________
Really try to upgrade in the following
areas:
Technology (of course) and space exploration
Biographies (you may have a lot of those old moldy "Young so and so" bios.
Get rid of them.
Modern fiction
History (esp. multicultural)
As you're weeding, be thinking about how you will organize the collection.
If you're not going to automate, you need to do some things to make your
life easier. Try to make sure that EVERY book has an accurate card and
pocket that includes a call number and price as well as the author and
title. Once that book is checked out, the card is all you have to go by
(especially if your shelf list is in the horrible state that mine was when
I started--and it's not much better now!) If possible, try to catch up with
the copy 1, copy 2 business also. Otherwise it's too easy for a student to
say they already turned the book in. If you have 3 other ones just like it
on the shelf, it's awfully hard to back up your claim that they still have
it, unless there's some identifying number.
_____________
* Try to find out what the re-accreditation team is looking for in
detail.
* Check the Internet for other Catholic or Public High Schools and
communicate with other Librarians.
* Type up a survey for the teachers to fill out of their suggestions and
needs to support the curriculum that they teach.
* Find a book that suggests a Core Collection for High Schools.
* Find good, consistent volunteers to help you with the Library or train
students to help.
* Raise additional money by donations and by sponsering a Bookfair.
* If a computer is available use it for an Internet connection for
researching those current topics and others that your collection can not
cover.
* Perhaps you can purchase a few CD-Roms for research (Encarta or other
cd-rom encyclopedias
* I also write notices to the students parents asking for donations of
usable, current books,magazines (National Geographic, etc.)
* write or email vendors for new catalogs to order from.
* when you order try to purchase all the catalog cards and labels
pre-done ( sometimes this only costs $ .75 and saves lots of typing
time) I am assuming that the library is not computerized for circulation
of materials.
________________
Good luck. You have a difficult task. A couple of ideas: maybe
you should find out who exactly will use the library, and then cater
to their needs. For example, in my own situation, the English department
makes almost exclusive use of the library. I used to buy a lot of
science books, but have given up as these volumes are never touched.
The other important, and more difficult task, is to estimate student
use. For example, my students won't touch books about chemistry or
physics or ecology but still check out loads of materials on zoology
because they're interested in that area. So my zo collection is large,
and I feel a need to keep it up because of student interest.
________________________________________________
Richard Smyth
Librarian/Cybrarian
Cathedral High School
Boston, MA
(617) 695-2306
rsmyth@mec.edu
http://www.cathedral.mec.edu
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