Re: Target: Checkout period for books

[John Lees <jlees9@ATTBI.COM>]

I switched from two weeks to three weeks several years ago to cut down on
paperwork. We are in year three of AR, and kids must actually read books. On
the two week cycle (and prior to AR), I think many kids would check books
out, read part of them, turn them in when they returned to the library,
check some more out, and repeat the cycle.

Yesterday, I was tracking down the "severely" overdue books, those due
before November 12th. One student I talked to was actually reading the
offending book, about a 130 pager, and was half way through it.

My recomendation, would be to extend the checkout period, allowing you to
cut down on paperwork, encourage teachers to encourage their students to
renew their overdue book, which can allow you to concentrate on the flagrant
issues. We have set up a written schedule for printing overdue notices,
approximately once every three weeks. (Printing them every week, again,
generated a lot of paper with no improvement in results.) Because we have a
written schedule, we track when a student has received two overdues.

At this point the principal has been extremely supportive in encouraging us
to assign lunch detentions to these offenders. This, and not allowing kids
with "overdue books" to go to the school dance (I go back three weeks on the
cutoff, but am questioning this) have been the most effective procedures for
significantly reducing the overdue list. As you all know, the longer a book
is overdue, the higher the chances it will become lost because of a student
withdrawal. I'm also finding out that most of these overdues are just
sitting in lockers and not even being read.

John Lees
John Lees, Librarian
Mt. Baker Middle School Library
<http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/mtbaker/library>
620-37th SE
Auburn, WA  98002-8011
253-804-4555
jlees@mx.auburn.wednet.edu <mailto:jlees@mx.auburn.wednet.edu>





-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU]On Behalf Of Julie Long
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 6:37 PM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Target: Checkout period for books


Several librarians in my district would like to know your opinions on a
two-week check out period versus a three-week check out period for books
at the junior high and senior high level.

Thank you,

Julie Long
Librarian
Cinco Ranch High School
Katy, Texas

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