HIT: Discipline in the LMC

[Janice Borey <boreyjan@WC.K12.MO.US>]

Hi everyone!
Sorry it took so long to post a hit.  I had great response and am
trying several things.

Thanks and have a great day!
Janice

I have a list of behavioral expectations in my 9-12 library, and in
the student handbook as well.  These are posted for everybody to see
and I occasionally have to ask students to "refresh their memories" as
to my expectations of them in the library. I start firm at the
beginning of the year and try not to allow myself to slip into lower
expectations as holiday times draw near. Most of my behavioral
problems come from students who choose to come to the library instead
of their study halls.  Most would rather follow my behavioral
expectations than be sent back to study hall, but I do sometimes send
them back -- for the remainder of the day, the month, or the semester,
depending upon the infraction. My wonderful principal backs this
completely because he sees my excluding problem students temporarily
as contributing to the academic tone of the library, something he
values. Before I ask a student to leave (or not sign up tomorrow,
ThankYouVeryMuch), I try less invasive strategies -- change your seat,
etc. Students behaving inappropriately while here with classes are
simply handed back to the teacher for discipline. I assign detentions
when necessary, too.  Most students are very surprised that I can even
do that -- not being a "regular" teacher and all.  Word gets around.
Good luck.  Control over the noise level and behaviors in the library
are the very first steps to my maintaining my own sanity here!

Chris Finer, LMG
Library Media Program
Newfound Regional High School
Bristol, NH   03222

I am in a suburban school district in NJ. I find that routines work
the best with classroom management. When students walk into the
library they automatically sit on the floor in front of my reading
chair. Whether we are reading, going to the tables for work, the
computer lab, etc. they receive their directions from there. In the
beginning of the year, I have procedures written on 8 =BD x 11 paper. We
review these for the first week.  After a long break, I review them
again. For example, keep hands and feet to yourself, respect others
using library, over dues, etc. I am in a K-5 setting.  There are
always consequences to actions...usually I give a warning then they go
into a time out seat. I also take away recess time.  5 minutes, 10
minutes, etc.  The classroom teachers are supportive.  When outside
with classes, they make sure students sit out.  These are only a few
tips. Hope they are useful to you. Mike D'Aloia Lincoln School
Caldwell-West Caldwell Elementary Library Media Specialist

 I am the library media specialist in a prison for juveniles (age
 12-18) and I am lucky enough  to have an officer that handles big
 problems for me.  However, one thing I do is ask the student why they
 have come to the library, after they tell me, I ask them if they have
 accomplished their task, if they have not then I tell them to get
 busy or leave.  I tell them I will check with them in 10 minutes, if
 they are not working I send them back to where they came from.  It
 does not matter what they tell me, I send them away.  Because I am
 absolute in my removal of them, after I speak to them the first time
 they get busy, because they do not
wish to go back to study hall or class.  I realize my situation is a
little different I just thought I share it with you. Elizabeth

I'm not sure if you have full flex scheduling or if you meet with
classes.  I have K thru 4 classes for 30 minutes once every six days.
Grades 5 thru 7 come in for 15 minute book check out only every 6
days. 8 th grades mostly come on passes.   The library is open to
students with passes at any time and since we do Accelerated Reading
we have high circulation/library use. Here is what I do for
discipline.  I have five simple library behavior rules.  1.  Use a
quiet "inside" voice.  2.  Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.
3.  Walk at all times.  4.  Treat books, equipment, etc. in the manner
described by the librarian.  5.  Follow directions the first time they
are given. Student are assigned to specific tables but may sit at any
chair at that table.  Each chair has a number on the back (with
marker).  At the end of each class period, I have drawings (usually 2)
from a container with numbers matching the chairs.  The person sitting
in the matching chair is allowed to draw from a chance jar containing
slips with different prizes indicated on them. (see consequences
below) The prizes are simple things 1.  stickers, 2. small pieces of
wrapped candy, 3. pencil, 4. bookmarks, 5. a pass to come in at lunch
recess with a friend to play games on the computers in the library,
6.  a selection from the treasure chest.  I do change the prizes from
time to time. Now the consequences.  FOR AN INDIVIDUAL: If a student
breaks one of the rules during their time in the library, I let them
know that they have been eliminated from the drawing for that class
period.  We discuss which rule they had a problem with and what choice
they should have made.  If the same student has an additional problem
in the same class period then they must serve a lunchtime detention in
the library with me (they eat their lunch in the library and then just
sit--not read, not sleep, not talk--nothing but stare at the wall)  We
have a staggered lunch period and it is generally quiet in here at
lunchtime.  The severe consequence is immediate referral to our after
school detention program.  I haven't had to use the severe clause at
all in the last 3 years I have been doing this and I rarely ever have
to give a lunch detention.

CONSEQUENCE FOR A CLASS:  If the class gets loud or has major problems
while choosing and checking our books, I ring a bell and that is a
signal that they have just lost one of their two drawings for that
day.  A second bell means the last drawing is lost.  if a class
demonstrates a particularly excellent behavior (like patiently waiting
while I solve a computer glitch) I award extra drawings.  You would be
surprised how much the 7th graders look forward to those drawings.  I
rarely have to ring the bell more than one time.  I always report the
class' behavior both good or bad to their teacher at the end of the
period and in front of the class...they know for sure that I
communicate with their teacher. Individual student problems are
discussed with the teacher in private.  I am fair and consistent and
the students know it. I do not expect silence nor perfection, but I
expect responsibility and respect for me, others, and for the books
and equipment in the library.  The rules and consequences are posted
and I discuss them thoroughly with each class at the beginning of the
year. I have had one particular 6th grade class this year that has had
real problems.  This is what the teacher and I worked out.  Students
bring home work with them to the library.  I have the student's names
on slips of paper.  I choose 4 random names from a jar.  Only those 4
students go to the shelves and begin the selection/checkout procedure.
 As each of those students check out a book they draw another name
from the jar.  No more than 4 students are at the shelves at a time.
The rest are at their tables doing homework, studying or reading. The
students are aware that they must choose quickly so their classmates
will be able to have time to get a book--they are only here for a
total of 15 minutes.  We have been using this procedure since before
Thanksgiving.    We have agreed to give them a chance at the "normal"
checkout procedure next week when they come in to see if they are
ready to handle it--they know we will return to their "special"
procedure if necessary.  By the way--no teachers stay in the library
with their classes and my assistant is only 1/2 time and I am
sometimes alone with some classes.

I, too am in a rural school of PreK-5.  What I do as discipline would
probably work 2nd through 8th grade, maybe higher.  I see the students
on a regular basis (I am a planning period for the teachers.)  When a
child (3rd-5th) misbehaves he must fill out a "Media Center Citation"
stating his name, teacher, date, and what he did wrong.  I file this
in a file that I keep (for future reference at conference time) and
the child gets a check by his name on the class list that is posted in
the front of the room.  If a child gets 3 checks in this time period I
call the parent.  5 checks (which has never happened) we go to the
principal.  Every 6 weeks, the class with the least amount of
citations in each grade gets a reward (game day in library, music day
in library, cupcake party, etc.)  At the start of the new 6 weeks,
everybody starts over with zero citations.  If a whole class makes it
the entire year without a single citation, I give them a big reward
(recess outside, etc.) at the end of the year.  This happens
sometimes, too! With the little kids (PreK-2) I usually tell the
teacher to write their name on the board when they come to pick up
their class. I'm happy to say that I have VERY FEW discipline
problems.  I live by the  words "Be firm, fair, friendly, and
CONSISTENT!"  Life is a whole lot easier. Jana Ruf, Library/Media
Specialist

I use a mostly a technique "designed" by Fred Jones. There are books,
videos, workbooks, etc. out there on this style.  I had never heard of
it until I came to Baltimore County where it is pretty much embraced.
It is kind of hard to explain. The first week of school I told the
children exactly where to sit, how I wanted them to sit and we went
through certain routines. (Checking in books, going to the story area,
etc.) Any time I see a child doing something that is not appropriate,
I stop immediately and either calmly tell them to stop or just stand
in front of them (without saying a word) and wait for them to
"comply". If I am teaching and a child is disruptive I put their name
on the board as a warning and then go through a series of
consequences. (Time out, call parents, request recess time, etc.)
Depending on your school these will vary.

I also do a lot of counting. For example, I say I am going to count to
three and I want you to put your pencils down and look at me..or I am
going to count to four and I want everyone in their seats. I also set
a kitchen timer during book check out and count to five when it rings.
Any child not in their seat by the count of five does not get a book.
(After the first week of enforcing this, no one leaves with out a
book.) I give lots of verbal and nonverbal clues.  I tell them I am
looking for tables that are ready to work, go the story area, check
out books, etc. and they jump to the ready position. (Which I modeled
for them the first week of school.) I know this is a lot, but it
really does work.  (I have used this technique in my current school
and a school that was very economically depressed. I only altered the
consequences to fit the kids and philosophy of the schools.)  I hope
this helps. Kristen Hill, Library Media Specialist Lansdowne
Elementary Baltimore, MD khill@bcps.org

I use a mostly a technique designed; by Fred Jones. There are books,
videos, workbooks, etc. out there on this style I had never heard of
it until I came to Baltimore County where it is pretty much embraced.
<=3D It is kind of hard to explain. The first week of school I told the
children exactly where to sit, how I wanted them to sit and we went
through certain routines. (Checking in books, going to the story area,
etc.) Any time I see a child doing something that is not appropriate,
I stop immediately and either calmly tell them to stop or just stand
in front of them (without saying a word) and wait for them to comply;.
If I am teaching and a child is disruptive I put their name on the
board as a warning and then go through a series of consequences. (Time
out, call parents, request recess time, etc.) Depending on your school
these will vary I also do a lot of counting. For example, I say I am
going to count to three and I want you to put your pencils down and
look at me or I am going to count to four and I want everyone in their
seats. I also set a kitchen timer during book check out and count to
five when it rings. Any child not in their seat by the count of five
does not get a book. (After the first week of enforcing this, no one
leaves with out a book.) I give lots of verbal and nonverbal clues. I
tell them I am looking for tables that are ready to work, go the story
area, check out books, etc. and they jump to the ready position.
(Which I modeled for them the first week of school. I know this is a
lot, but it really does work. I have used this technique in my current
school and a school that was very economically depressed I only
altered the consequences to fit the kids and philosophy of the schools
I hope this helps.

I tell my elem kids I have only one rule for them:  work in such a way
all others can get their work done too.  I try to get them to
understand they need to adapt their noise and activity levels to the
total situation.  If they are the only ones in the room they can do
things they can not do if I am teaching a class or others are trying
to do research etc.  I explain to them it is their behavior that
allows them to stay.  Mostly I find that the nature of the learning
activity has a major impact on the need for discipline.  Activities
that are meaningful and actively involve students in working with
information for a purpose lead to few behavior problems. Activities
that are busy work or focus on teaching skills in isolation lead to an
increase in behavior problems.

KISS--keep it simple, simple--I basically have the rule that you can
not prevent another from working--that includes my secretary or myself
and other students--so if you're disturbing another, knock it off.  I
try to emphasis respect for each other and that we enforce all school
rules, including no drink or food outside of cafeteria, no walk mans,
hall passes required, etc.  Respect is the key--my secretary gets a
little notty/abrupt and she will have problems that I don't because I
always try to speak respectfully like I would like to have others
speak to me.  That doesn't mean I don't get in a student's face if
they don't reply with respect to me--I do.  Also, toys ie. Yo-yos,
etc. become my personal property. Only need to give expectations once
I've found.  The problem is when you get a teacher that can't control
a class--then I get my "teachers" voice on real fast and get the class
under control or ask the teacher to take them back to class.  I don't
list any rules either.  Rosette' Acord Janice, I'm not sure how I
would do in a k-12 setting, but I have worked many years in elementary
and now I've been at the high school level for 8 years. In elementary,
one of the best things I did was to have a seating chart, and the
student had to sit where I put him. That way I could change one's
close environment a bit if necessary. (I also had students write
sentences for disciplinewhich may be illegal now -who knows? That
worked well, and the sentences were always about certain rules of the
library...different number of sentences for the different grade
levels.) In high school I've had to learn a different method, and if
things were set up differently here, it wouldn't work. I don't allow
much visiting - you're in here to research or do homework, etc. If a
teacher has a class in for research, I try to let her discipline her
own class, but in some instances, I've had to insist on my rules, if
she's too lax for me.

I give marbles.  I have a jar for each teacher, with colorful nametags
on the outside.  I give 5 marbles per class period.  1 for entering
quietly, 1for good behavior during lesson/story time, 1 for being
quiet during checkout time, 1 for finding their books and either
checking out or at least being in line before the timer goes off, and
1 for leaving quietly when the class period is through. I have a
"Marble Person" as one of my jobs.  It is the most coveted job of
all!!  The person comes in, gets the jar, picks up 5 marbles from
another "spare" jar, puts them in a tiny basket I have, goes to their
seat and raises their hand.  When everyone is seated, I call on the MP
and they say, "Ms. Suby, did we come in quietly?" and I can say yes or
no, depending on how quiet they were.  (I have a rule that you can't
stop and ask me a question on the way in.  You have to go to your seat
and raise your hand to ask.  I find that if one person stops and talks
to me, they all start talking.) I give them 6 weeks to earn 25
marbles.  The 7th week is "Puzzle Time".   I have a cart with puzzles,
BrainQuest cards, etc.  If they got 25 or 26, they get to do puzzles
at their assigned seats.  If they got 27 or 28, they can do them at
tables with their friends.  If they got 29 or 30, they get to do them
on the floor with their friends. You'd be amazed at how well it works.
 I love for kids to have fun in the library, but just walking around
talking in a normal voice multiplied 25 times is an uproar.  If kids
forgot their book, I give them a book off my "ready" shelves to look
at.  They are not supposed to be up walking around just visiting. I
can't say it's perfect, but it sure helps me control things.  You
would be amazed at how much the 6th graders love this marble system.
It might sound rinky dink, but it really works.  Hope this idea helps
you think of something that might work for you. Suby Wallace

I'm in a 4-8 grade school. During class visits, its quiet; this is a
browsing, reading time. Teachers come in with their class and handle
any really bad behavior.  I ask the student who is talking to move to
a new table, after moving a student or two things really quiet down.
During recess I allow a higher lever of noise but all students must
be sitting down at a table. Students standing around are encouraged to
leave. If anyone gives me a lot of trouble I just kick them out, tell
them they can try again tomorrow.

I opened a new building in September and am taking advantage of the
newness to establish new library behavior policy.  Don't know your
layout so some may not apply to you. Besides the regular rules about
keeping it quiet enough for other to study, I'm asking students with
passes to sit in one area and the classrooms to sit in another.  The
biggest change for me, though, is to have the teachers sit the
students down at the end of the period and not dismiss them until the
bell rings.  I saw one teacher do this last year and was really
impressed on the order that it imposed.  With this new layout I can
have maybe three classes in the library at the same time so it can
really be a crowd. Teachers are to have the students pick up, put
things away, close out of web applications, pick up papers from the
printer, etc. Otherwise there used to be a herd mentality.  Students
would edge toward the exit and out the door long before the bell rang.
And students from other classes would try to join in. I've just
explained to all teachers that this is the policy I want followed
because of so many people.  This way the same behavior will be
followed in the library regardless of who the teacher is.

Sue Weiss

We have the kids sign up to use the library during lunch.  Next to
their name they have to state their purpose for using the library.
Once they arrive that cannot leave and come back in again unless they
have special permission.  This eliminates all the "cruisers" who used
to come in and out throughout lunch looking for action or creating
disturbances.  Also, when a child's behavior is inappropriate, we can
point out to them that they signed up to study, read magazines, or
whatever, but instead they are doing something else.  They are then
either warned or asked to leave depending on the infraction and/or the
student's past behavior. One tactic we implemented a few years ago has
worked GREAT. We have the kids sign up to use the library during
lunch.  Next to their name they have to state their purpose for using
the library.  Once they arrive that cannot leave and come back in
again unless they have special permission.  This eliminates all the
"cruisers" who used to come in and out throughout lunch looking for
action or creating disturbances.  Also, when a child's behavior is
inappropriate, we can point out to them that they signed up to study,
read magazines, or whatever, but instead they are doing something
else.  They are then either warned or asked to leave depending on the
infraction and/or the student's past behavior.




Janice Borey
Library Media Specialist
Worth County R-III
East Avenue
Grant City, MO 64456
boreyjan@wc.k12.mo.us

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