HIT: ELEM inventory the last week of school?? Pt 2

[Evie <e_fowler@YAHOO.COM>]

At our school we do not check out the last two weeks
of school, unless it is a special circumstance. We do
have students that last week, but do activities with
them.
Alma Center, WI

Several months ago my principal asked me why I close a
week and a half before school ends, because the Board
had questioned him and basically told him to put
pressure on me to be open until the last day. I told
him if he wanted the library open until the very last
day, I would be very happy to accommodate him. All he
needed to do was tell the Board of Ed to pay me to
come in for half a month, at my current salary, and I
would be happy to do it. That shut him up real quick.
I think the problem is that no one knows what we DO in
June and why it is important. When I explained it to
him, he finally "got it" and let the matter drop. I
don't know what he told the Board, but I haven't heard
anything about it since.
Parlin, NJ

We have always been given 10 days without classes to
do my inventory. I have approx. 7,000 items to
inventory. I use 1/2 of one day to do my orders for
magazines, newspapers, award books, supplies, etc. so
that the sec'y can mail them in July 1 and they will
be there in the fall. Librarians who do inventory in
this way are in no way shirking their
responsibilities. Instead, they are fulfilling a part
of their job, an important part, which sometimes is
not seen in the pressure to have them provide planning
time slots for teachers.
Clifton Forge, VA

How are you going to get books returned if they are
checking out till Thursday? Who's going to chase down
the books after the students have left? At $20.00 per
book that's a big investment in being open. Will the
administrators budget to replace all the lost books? I
still have "classes" but they watch a LOT of videos
and do color sheets while I do my "real" job which is
to administer the library and that means doing
inventory....
Altamonte Springs, Florida

Currently most schools do stop check out the last two
weeks before the last day and some do stop teaching
then as well.
Kansas City, KS

We have started putting on the school calendar the day
that all library books are due. Usually 2 1/2 weeks
before school is out. I also don't start library 2
weeks after school starts. I do all my own cataloging
and that what I do those first two weeks.
Shawnee, Kansas

My school allows for 6 full days of inventory - that
means no formal class, but aides or volunteers may go
to classroom to show a curriculum related video. If
inventory finishes ahead of schedule, then classes can
come in for story time (I am a K-2 school.) Books
cannot be checked out the last 2 weeks of class.
(Teachers can always take out books.)
Lincolnshire, IL

I do not have classes the last week, and quit
circulation the week before that.
Cambria, WI.

Week 7 -This is the last week for borrowing. All books
are to be returned by Week 9. Classes may come to the
library but there is no borrowing after Friday, Week
7. Week 8 No borrowing but classes are welcome to the
library. Week 9 No classes and all student resources
must be returned to the library. Teachers do not have
to return their resources but a printed list is given
to them to confirm they have resources or return them.
It is amazing how many teachers can not recall those
borrowed resources. Week 10 -Inventory check, weeding
and repairs. There is so much cleaning. I have a
meeting with the Principal and for the past 10 years,
this has been very acceptable. Staff realizes the
enormity of returning resources and repairs to be
done. Teachers are given this schedule at the
beginning of Term 4 and they have this in their
planners. Students are encouraged to bring books from
home. The Principal is aware of the work involved in
trying to prepare an end of year report.
Perth, Western Australia

We are allowed to stop circulation/classes the
Wednesday before the last full week of school so we
get at least 7-8 days to get books in, read shelves,
do inventory. I schedule a paperback book fair the
week before that so kids can browse/shop rather than
checking out new stuff. It takes at least a week to
get kids to turn in all books and during that week,
we're reading shelves and getting ready for inventory.
Keeping the library program going until the end of
school makes no sense - it's just babysitting. You
would have no way of accounting for all the materials
that are out.
Fayetteville, AR

If the principal expects me to do my job--inventory
and that sort of thing--I need time without
interruptions. (That's a nice way to say, without
kids.) The software that I use (Winnebago) is not very
friendly to being stopped mid-way though a selection
of books, and that is the kind of thing that would
happen if I were still seeing kids. I need to be able
to concentrate on the library collection, not the
students. I know that I am a teacher and should be
concerned with the students, but I am also responsible
for the books that the kids and teachers depend on and
this is my one time to try to make things right for
the next year.
Aumsville, OR

Our students' books are due on May 19, and teachers
are due as soon as they are finished using them. The
last day of library instruction is also May 19. The
last day of school is June 2.
Champaign, IL

I close down the last two weeks of school. We
librarians have gotten together and all agreed to the
same policies. No books checked out, the room is not
available except for homework without books other than
basic reference books needed. No computers used.... I
will not supervise students during this time. Now,
that said - this time is spent getting books back,
shelved and mended. I clean up the district database
during this time
Here's a list of end of year jobs: inventory (a huge
undertaking all on its own - estimated to be at least
2-3 weeks for an average (small) school with plenty of
adult help) mending getting all books back (this
greatly helps the inventory process by the way)
cleaning up the database cataloging any books needing
this weeding preparing bulletin boards evaluating
services provided this last year - getting ready for
next year and more....
Petaluma, CA

Perhaps you could give a brief monetary outline of the
cost to the school in lost books if you are still
checking out books this late. At a modest average of
$15 per book and 10% "loss" (or whatever figures you
have) this would make a big impact on the school
budget. Also, since you wouldn't be able to track down
missing books they would also have to hire an aide to
do this for you.
Madison, Alabama

Our school is closed for inventory for one week just
before winter break. The books are all called in two
weeks before that, to ensure that they will all be in
during inventory time. It matters not when you do
inventory as long as it is done once a year. That all
your books have been returned, etc. If the powers that
be can't see their way clear to allow you to do it
during the school year, then I guess they will be
willing to pay you for a week’s work after the end of
the school year! This is necessary to protect their
investment in the library. Keeping tract of and being
answerable for the materials entrusted to your care
are an important part of your job, so that those
materials will be available for the teachers and
children.
El Cajon, CA

One reason not to allow circulation the last week(s)
of school is to allow time for all materials to come
back in. If you have kids who commonly leave their
book at home or at Grandma's, cutting off circulation
allows at a week for those things to trickle back in.
Otherwise, once school is over, there is no motivation
for returning items. In our district, we have no
lessons, limit circulation the 2 weeks before the end,
no circulation the last week, although kids can come
in and look at "in-house" materials (magazines,
reference, etc.) AND we have 5 days before and at the
beginning of the year for inventory and "other
chores".

We start inventory with our automated system in May.
In the six years I've been here, we've had the library
open for six weeks in the summer during summer school.
That's when inventory is finished, and many other
administrative duties are taken care of.
Swedesboro, NJ

I also work at a school where library classes begin on
Day 1 and end on the Last Day. As others have said,
gosh forbid a teacher should lose a prep period!
However, at Cambridge Elementary (K-5, about 600
students), we usually stop circulation about 3 weeks
before the last day of school. This year, because we
are becoming automated and must have an extremely
accurate shelf list, we are giving ourselves an extra
week. During this time, I still conduct library
classes (doing library trivia games, visiting the
computer lab, showing videos), but it is vital that we
have the opportunity to hunt down overdue/lost library
materials (especially from teachers!), do any
remaining shelving of new materials, and do as careful
an inventory as possible, given our time frame and
personnel. (We usually have myself; my assistant and a
wonderful volunteer to do the inventory.)
Cambridge, NY

Our school library closes down the last two weeks of
the year for inventory purposes, etc. We have done
this for several years, as I do not have an extended
contract. It is too difficult to try to do inventories
with students coming in and out. One cannot supervise
them as well as try to do these inventories. If
students really need to do some research and have a
teacher's signed necessity pass, they are allowed to
come in. I do have my English class in the library as
we are short of rooms and also a couple of study
halls, so I don't have an open library all day.
Hankinson, North Dakota

We are not allowed to cancel classes, but we "compact"
them. I don't know how big your school is, but we have
570 students. I have all the K students at one time,
all the first grades, all the seconds, etc. This saves
me lots of time, and yet every child and teacher has
had their time in the library. We do not allow book
checkout for the last two weeks of school. The
students actually do not have books for about 1 1/2
weeks, but we allow teachers to keep class sets until
the week before school is out. Most of our teachers
have ample classroom collections to last for that last
week. During that "compacted" time, I do literature
activities as opposed to research activities since
there are so many students in there. I read stories,
do storytelling, give book talks, or show videos of
books we have already studied. I can reach every child
in the school in two days instead of five, and that
gives me 3 days to do inventory. Our district also has
extended contracts for LMS personnel, so that I
inventory all the AV and equipment and do all my
ordering and paperwork after everyone is gone.
Springdale, AR

Here in Keene, NH at the elementary level, we do not
have aides or paras in the library, one librarian per
school. We do close the library for the last week or 6
day cycle depending on the school. We stop all
circulation at least 2 weeks before the end of school.
To do otherwise means you will not recover possibly
hundreds of books. Unless the librarian is getting
paid for an extra week after school for inventory the
library must be closed at least a week early for
inventory.

If you check out books up to the last day of school,
when will you ever get them back? Inventory would be
worse than it already can be!
South Carolina

We are closed the last 2 weeks of school to get all
materials back, read shelves, and do inventory. Our
administration has been very supportive of this. We
try to support teachers as much as possible, but most
are finished with projects and reports by this time.
We make exceptions if necessary to accommodate
classroom needs.
St. Joseph, MI

We have gone round and round on this issue, but now we
have two weeks plus a few days after everyone leaves
(aides work 190 days, which leaves them here 8 days
longer than teachers) and even with that time, we
barely get inventory (33,000 items) plus other closing
activities done in time. I feel it is necessary to
close and do inventory in order to get everything in
order so you know what is missing and can reorder
later. But a lot of administrators just don't see the
point.
Roseau, Minnesota

Someone last year made the comment that if librarians
are providing prep time, what are teachers prepping
for the last week of school? And circulating the last
day? When do they expect to get the books back? We
have the last 2 weeks without students so we can do
inventory. Students may come to the library, but may
not circulate books.
Ann Arbor, Michigan



=====
Evon Beth Moyle
Librarian
Afton Elementary School
Pennsbury School District
1673 Quarry Rd.
Yardley, PA 19067
e_fowler@yahoo.com

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