Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. Every response I received was
valuable, and I'll be using these to help make our decision to take on
textbooks or not. I am looking into Textlink from Follett, as I really
want to keep textbook stats separate from library materials. Below is my
original post followed by the responses I received.
My Original Post:
One of our teachers has asked me to circulate classroom textbooks through
our Follett system. (I knew this day would come!) As much as I would like
to provide this service, I am very hesitant for a number of reasons,
primarily because I know that if I do it for one teacher, I will need to
provide this service to everybody, and I would like to hear your comments
on the following issues:
Your thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages of circulating textbooks
through the library.
How do you manage your reports (collection and circulation) with the
addition of the textbooks?
Do you have to close your library at the beginning and/or end of the year
to deal with textbooks? (We are currently open every day of the school year.)
Because I would not be given any extra help in this project, I would need
to clearly separate library and teacher responsibilities (teachers
responsible for barcoding, stamping, and dealing with damages and
overdues) Anyone try this and have problems?
And of course, storage is a concern...
If you use a textbook-specific program, I'd love to hear about them as well.
We are a small school with under 25 staff members, so we wouldn't be
talking masses of teachers, but it is a busy library and just me...
Again, your comments would be a BIG help in assisting me in my
decision. Thanks in advance for your help!
--------------------------
REPLIES:
I, too, work in a small school. I would never voluntarily start keeping
track of textbooks. Our teachers are each responsible for passing out,
collecting, and storing their own books. All they have to do is number
them, write down the number when they give them out, and check them in
according to number. If a book isn't returned, the student on record as
having received it pays for it. When I taught, I had an index card that
went with each book--numbers matched. Each student had to sign and date
the card when they received the book. I put the cards away until the end
of the year. That way there was no arguing about whether a student had
received a book or not.
To think of all the lugging around you'd have to do on all of those
textbooks--ugh! I'd hate to get it started--it would soon all (barcoding,
etc.) become your job. I have way too much to do to fool with
textbooks--it's all I can do to take care of the library books.
-------------------------------------
Dear Michelle,
from (bitter) past experience:
For many schools, circulating text books through the library is an
excellent management strategy for the whole school - at least from the
budgetary viewpoint - but will create an extra workload for the
library. Will your school supply a staffing suppliment to cover the extra
work, or compensate for time lost to library-related activities ...
This can create further demands on library space - is your school willing
to extend your library building? Or do you lose yet more space to
non-library related activities ...
Just some thoughts.
-------------------------------------
Michelle,
I saw your post on LM_NET.
I have used Follett's Textlink program synchronized with the Follett Unision
program for 3 years. The technical end works just fine. Overdues are from
both systems on one slip of paper. That part of it is very effective. We
tell students they don't get another textbook until the previous department
(ie. math) textbook is returned or paid for. It takes about 3 weeks each at
the beginning, semester, and end of the school year. We have a textbook
room near the library and just put the texts on carts.
It's the teacher relationship end of it that is now starting to cause me
problems. I took it on when I got a .6 clerk. I had never had one before.
We have 1682 students and around 80 teachers, so this is no small project.
This year we're having budget cuts. My .2 teacher prep teacher was taken
away. My position is that I was doing textbooks as along as the staffing
remained the same, so now teachers will have to do their own textbooks.
I've been told that my clerk will be cut if I refuse to do textbooks, so it
really is a sticky problem.
You could help them enter the data into the system, but require that they do
the actual checking in and out of the books. They should do their own
barcoding, as you wrote. And pay for all the barcode costs, etc.
You could put the computer program on a cart (assuming you have a certain
amount of networked jacks) and let the teachers take that to their rooms.
You could also use volunteers.
I'll forward some documents to you from school that might be helpful.
Checking in (and out) library, textbooks and audiovisual equipment all at
the same time is too much work for one person to do.
--------------------------------------
Do not go there! If the school uses Aeries for the student information
system the teachers could use that to issue textbooks. SASI probably has
the same feature. We use Text link from Follett. The problem is not with
the students it is with the teachers and getting lists from them. Call
me if you have other questions. Attached is a policy/procedure the
principal and I came up with this year.
--------------------------------------
Advantages: Saves money for the school in the long run because the
library is much more efficient at tracking books and collecting for loss
and damage.
Disadvantages: It is a time consuming job. You need to decide which of the
things you currently do that you will stop doing to make time for it.
Teachers don't want to do it because it cuts into teaching and planning
time and they assume that you have time to spare.
How do you manage your reports (collection and circulation) with the
addition of the textbooks?
Reports are fairly easy because of the software and because I have a full
time assistant who is responsible for textbooks.
Do you have to close your library at the beginning and/or end of the year
to deal with textbooks? (We are currently open every day of the school
year.)
Yes. We are open to checkout reading books but we close the computer lab
and we are closed to classes the first week and the last two weeks each
year. We do not have a real textbook room (it doubles as a server room,
periodical storage, and general storage) so textbooks are stacked on the
tables and on the floor during the summer. We have about 1000 students so
we have quite a few textbooks. The library is not available during summer
school.
Because I would not be given any extra help in this project, I would need
to clearly separate library and teacher responsibilities (teachers
responsible for barcoding, stamping, and dealing with damages and
overdues) Anyone try this and have problems?
I can't imagine doing this (relying on teachers to do part of the
processing). Some teachers will do it and some will "forget" or do it
wrong or otherwise make more work for you.
And of course, storage is a concern...
You bet (see comments above)
If you use a textbook-specific program, I'd love to hear about them as
well.
We use Follett's Textlink. It works-most of the time. Follett's library
circulation and cataloging programs are great, I really like them.
Textlink is a different animal. It is a different type of database and it
is less stable and requires more maintenance. It has gotten better with
each iteration, but I don't understand why they didn't use the same
database software as the Circ/Cat programs. We use it because it does
share the patron database with the library software (which requires another
piece of software) so students don't need to be entered into two systems.
It also allows us to print a combined transaction list with textbook and
library checkouts on one report. There are also ongoing costs with service
and support (absolutely essential) and processing supplies. Overall it is
a good program and, like I wrote above, it has improved with later
releases.
We are a small school with under 25 staff members, so we wouldn't be
talking masses of teachers, but it is a busy library and just me...
Again, your comments would be a BIG help in assisting me in my
decision.
Textbooks are a big job and I believe you are about to step onto a slippery
slope where you will end up doing all of the ordering, processing,
distribution, and recovery for the entire school in just a few short years.
With out a full time aide I couldn't do it. Unless you are ordered to do
it by your principal I would say no.
Thanks in advance for your help!
----------------------------------------
We're using the Alexandria system from COMPanion Corporation. I have a Palm
pilot that I use for Inventory and it can also be used for signing out
books and returning them if you had a problem with a power outage. One
middle school here purchased a Palm from COMPanion to use for signing out
text books to the students. The Palm can be used anywhere.
If the books were barcoded, teacher could use the Palm to sign them out to
students. Of course as I'm writing this I think it's too much work for the
teacher-librarian to have to enter everything into the system. I know that
COMPanion does sell a text book program to.
You can check their site at www.goalexandria.com
In a perfect world we would all have clerks to help us and we'd have lots
of library time.
---------------------------------------
Most librarians treat textbooks like the plague! But I managed it, plus
library plus tech with only a part-time aide (some times) and a few student
aides.
PRO: no more excuses about "Mr. Jones collected them all", "I didn't have
that book" etc.
Most programs will let you print by-teacher-by-period textbook lists which
are MUCH more legible than the hand-written ones you have now.
Yet another way to teach the kids responsibility (see the recent discussion
of ID cards to check out books -- same rule applies to textbooks; on that
one you'll have to get teacher cooperation, or they'll nag you about "Johnny
HAS to have his book or he'll cause problems in class" blah blah blah.
CON: One more job to do.
I hired (with a bit of arm-twisting of the asst. supt for money) 5 boys for
5 days during late June and we barcoded 10,000 textbooks and I was only off
by 71 barcodes!
Storage was not a problem for me because textbooks had ALWAYS been
associated with the library at my school.
We used Dynix Scholar (don't go that way, their service is lousy) and are
now using Follett, both of which can handle textbooks. Don't know about
other software.
----------------------------------
What automated system do you use?
If you can install it on a local computer in the
teacher's classroom she could do her own automation
and circulation.
---------------------------------
Are you aware that Follett puts out a software program to circulate
textbooks called Textlink or Textbook Link?
----------------------------------
Just say no! You should not be asked to do this...but if you decide to do
it, please do us all a favor and demand a supplement to your
salary....somethimes enough is just enough. The reason all these things
get piled on us is that we are the most capable people in the school...but
we can't be everything to everybody.
---------------------------------
Do you know that Follett has a program to manage Texbooks? Of course you
wouldn't buy it for just one class.
-----------------------------------
I have circulated textbooks through the library for several years. Follett
has a textbook circ system. I'm currently in a large high school with a part
time assistant but I also did it in a K-12 private school (only for grades
7-12) when it was just me. You can keep better track of textbooks but it is
extra work, and yes we open late and close early to do it in Sept. and June.
----------------------------------
I circulated all textbooks for the school at the last place I worked but
used Follett's textbook system called Textlink. It works with circ plus but
is a separate program. I believe it was $1,500. It is also a lot of work
to get it set up, and I would not volunteer to take on the job unless
you have an assistant, and get a stipend for the extra work.
The textbooks are not library materials. I also inventoried all of the
equipment in the school. It makes sense to use the library for circulating
resources, but then you do need more help.
---------------------------------
I'm not familiar with all the workings of Follett, but we are circulating
all texbooks through our library on Winnebago Spectrum. Our school has
1123 students, so it's a much larger scale.
Do you have the ability to give materials a type (1 = Fiction, 2=
biography, 3= Reference, etc)? If so, you give all textbooks a material
type of Textbooks (ours is 22 = textbooks). Then I set the circulation
period for 260 days with a global due date of the end of the year.
Things you need to consider:
1. Who will process the books for circulation? I buy preprinted barcodes
in a range for textbooks (50000-75000 is my textbook barcode section).
The teachers are responsible for processing the textbooks or getting
someone to do it. That means you do NOT stamp, insert barcodes or number
on the page edges. All you have to do is put one record into your catalog
and add the copies to the record. (At first, the teachers balked at this
work. I just held all teacher materials until the student books were
done! If they waited for me to do it, they waited a LONG time for their
materials.)
2. Where will the books be stored? If you don't have good storage for
this, forget it! I have two locking storage rooms to keep the extra books
in. During the summer, we use every flat surface in the library for book
storage.
3. Time allowance for checking out and returning books? I take six
school days to hand out books - no more than 5 sets during any one period.
I take 8 days on returning as well as put books in numerical order when
they are returned. We also take care of repairs and fines (it's just how
we have it set up).
4. Who will do the fines and repairs? Make sure you know who does it
before saying okay. It has become somewhat of a hassle, but I do have the
backing of the principal -- parents who want to complain must talk to him.
I have taught a couple of parents each year to do some of the simple
repairs (broken corners, ripped spines, torn pages). If books need to go
to the bindery, where does to money for that come? NOT out of the
library budget. Tape and other repair supplies come out of the
principal's budget; they don't get to use up the library repair materials!
Actually, we have saved a ton of money over the years on textbooks because
they go through the library system. Instead of replacing a set of books
every year, we're going two to three years between book orders. Students
who withdraw at the last minute used to get away with not returning
textbooks. Now, even if they are coming through at the last minute they
are required to clear the library. Students used to get away with turning
a book in, whether it was theirs or not. Now the number has to match
their record or they are responsible for payment. We are keeping better
track than the teachers ever did in their classrooms and are holding the
kids responsible.
-------------------------------
I, too, work in a small school. I would never voluntarily start keeping
track of textbooks. Our teachers are each responsible for passing out,
collecting, and storing their own books. All they have to do is number
them, write down the number when they give them out, and check them in
according to number. If a book isn't returned, the student on record as
having received it pays for it. When I taught, I had an index card that
went with each book--numbers matched. Each student had to sign and date
the card when they received the book. I put the cards away until the end
of the year. That way there was no arguing about whether a student had
received a book or not.
To think of all the lugging around you'd have to do on all of those
textbooks--ugh! I'd hate to get it started--it would soon all (barcoding,
etc.) become your job. I have way too much to do to fool with
textbooks--it's all I can do to take care of the library books.
---------------------------------
I don't use Follett, but all of our textbooks are in our system (Library
Pro). I created a second data base and called it "textbooks". All
classroom materials that were purchased with school funds are in this
data base and checked out either to teachers or, as in the case of
textbooks, to students. Because it is in a separate data base it is
managed like the library materials but but is separate from them. We
set the due date for the textbooks as the last day of school so there
would be no overdues. Teachers and students are then responsible for
the books checked out. I close the library two weeks before the end of
school to inventory both the library and the classrooms. Last year we
stored all the books in one classroom but this year I'm hoping to leave
the books in the individual classrooms and check them out in the fall
right in the room using a laptop.
Michelle Walker, Librarian / Technology Coordinator
Hamilton Union High School
Hamilton Union Elementary School
P.O. Box 488 / Hwy 32 & Canal Street
Hamilton City, CA 95951
(530) 826-3261
mwalker@glenn-co.k12.ca.us
http://www.glenn-co.k12.ca.us/ham-hs/library.html
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