Thank you to everyone who sent along suggestions. I hope I will have
the opportunity to incorporate some of them next year (my position is
tenuous due to budget cuts). I have gotten great support from LM Net
either directly or indirectly from all your posts. Lisa
________________________________________________________________________
_______
How is your magazine collection? Sometimes you can bring in reluctant
readers this way. Have you tried to survey your students to see what
they would like to find in the library?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Contests are good. Guess the monthly circulation;
fiction addresses - who lives where; famous first (or
last) lines of books.
_____________________________________________________________________
How about sponsoring some contests. Womens' history, Poetry month, etc.
Ask some questions over the loudspeaker during homeroom and have
students come in to research. Answers can be placed in a big brown
envelope one correct entry can be selected per day. A prize (paperback
book) can be given to the winners.
___________________________________________________________________-__
If you are on a 180 day calendar like we are, then you have 142 students
a day in your facility. With more than 20 a hour. I would guess, you
really are getting more traffic before, lunches and after school. What
does he want? Ask him for a number to shoot for. Then show him you are
over that. Unless, of course he's already seen your numbers and jumps
it out there. I'd still ask for a number he feels is reasonable to
shoot for in your goal planning. Put it on his shoulders!
_____________________________________________________________________
I was just wondering how many students are in your
school? 25,683 in circulations for the year seems
high. Did the principal say what he is looking at
that indicates to him you need to get reluctant
readers into the library? Most of my suggestions you
are probably doing already. I give students an
opportunity to write down books or types of books they
want to see in the library. It's set up like a
suggestion box. Maybe you could do a library survey
and try and find out why some students aren't coming
into the library. I bet someone in LM_NET would share
one with you. Perhaps the English teachers could help
you out by distributing them in class. We have a new
book section; next year I was thinking of buying those
clear plastic picture frames and including summaries
of some of the new books. The graphic novels are a
great idea. Sounds like the principal is looking for
something to complain about. I would take the
suggestions from everyone, include some of them in
your plan, and hope he finds something else to pick on
next year....
_____________________________________________________________________
Since there is much I don't know about your situation I can only tell
you about our situation - We are a high school with just under 1600
students. Our library is open from 7:15 until 5pm. We see a DAILY count
of 1300+ students & teachers. That means in one month we see 26,000
patrons. How do we get them here:
1. We have tons of current magazines & several daily newspapers. (We
have online subscriptions - EBSCO & Infotrac - but what boy wants to
read Sports Illustrated online?) We have a comfortable seating area
where kids read magazines and check out job/car ads in the paper.
2. We have computers in the library - we started with 15. We now have
56. Students can use them for personal use (AUP's are required and use
is
monitored) before and after school. They can use them for academic use
during the day.
3. We don't insist on quiet voices before and after school, BUT respect
is also a big issue and we do not hesitate to ask disruptive kids to
leave.
4. We are welcoming both in our mannerisms and in our activities. Our
activities: We run contests that range from writing book reviews to
trivia contests. Winners may win a parking permit, their picture on a
READ poster, chocolate, movie passes, the such. Near vacations we put
out jigsaw puzzles on a table near the enterance. We change displays
regularly, display student artwork, classwork, and items of local
interest.
Our Mannerisms: we try to address students by name whenever possible.
We comment positively on students - their appearance, sports
involvement, a concert they were in, how they deal with their peers,
etc... We listen when they need an ear. We suggest books constantly.
5. Class use: It in not uncommon to have 5 classes at a time. Scary,
but true.
6. Our school has open campus for juniors and seniors. Somehow they
all find their way to our library dispite the fact that this is not a
lounge and that they will never be allowed to eat or drink in here!
7. Space: While we have been in a new 14,000 sq feet space for 3 years,
we came from a 6,000 sq ft space before and our usage has not changed!
It was the same before, we were just sardines.
8. Staff - this is the biggie. You need to have the staff to handle
all this. We have 1 LMS and 5 assistants. It is the reason we can do
all this. If your principal wants the students to use the library then
he needs to have the staff to deal with the students.
______________________________________________________________________
One thing I did during the time when the Newbery was announced was to
put out all the Newbery books I had on the display counter and then had
a "NewmanBery" Award quiz. I made up a bunch of crossword puzzles (on
puzzlemaker.com) of questions about the Newbery books. The kids were to
find the answers in the books and when they got the puzzle correct,
they'd get a bookmark I'd made up with some shiny paper (provided by the
art teacher with a sticky label saying NewmanBery Award) and a gold seal
on it. A certain element of kid really took to this. I wish I could say
that they took out the books, too...but that was only a few of them. But
it got them into the library and broke the ice (so to speak) about
finding the library as a comfortable place to visit.
I'll attach the input I used for the www.puzzlemaker.com site. You put
in the answer, followed by the question and the software generates (or
used to generate) a crossword puzzle which you could have a title for,
etc.
Gimmicks like this which highlight a part of the collection, always paid
off...I changed my highlighted subjects monthly and the art teacher was
fabulous at helping me make cheery bulletin boards and displays for the
books.
______________________________________________________________________
We have a lending library of vhs tapes. Most bought at garage sales,
leftovers at video stores, etc. for $5-8 bucks. Less than the cost of a
paperback. Of course, I don't buy R. Lots of kids check them out.
_____________________________________________________________________
Have a poetry slam night. Have Book Fairs. Have a design a tee shirt
contest. Have a Poster contest. Set up an area to display student art
work. Have nice soft cushy chairs for students to sit and read in.
Talk to every student you see. Eat lunch in the cafeteria with them
from time to time. Visit their classrooms for quick book talks. Send
out a newsletter. Design a website. Have website trivia contests. (Go
to local companies for
prizes.) Send out a student survey to find out why they're NOT coming
in, and WHAT would make them want to come in.
Sounds like you're already doing a superb job; just what is it with some
principals?
______________________________________________________________________
I guess this would all depend upon the type of kids who are NOT using
the library. Trying to figure out what the interests of those kids are
might take a survey...which is always fun!
This was my first year at my school and I had to do some thinking about
what it would take to get kids back into the library (since the last
librarian had driven everyone away....) Aside from the computers (which
are a big draw---but have caused so many problems that we are now
restricting Internet usage), I've done board games, author
presentations---when the author stays all day and talks with kids as
they visit (and some come by just to hang-out with the author and get
inspiration), food and "coffee" on special occasions--to give it a
bookstore feel, booktalks / book clubs during lunchtime
(books-sandwiched-in), and some holiday events (for Halloween,
Christmas, Thanksgiving). I'd like to do more also but for the first
year, I thought it was pretty well received.
I serve approximately 650 students in grades 5-12 and my circulation
stats went from 9,000 items last year to 19,000 this year. I am just
now finishing my total count for student usage, so I don't have those
stats. The only positive things that I have noticed have been parents
who have stopped by this past week to actually let me know that they
thought I had done a great job this year--their children talk about
using the library and "wished the library would be open during the
summer"---can you say "future summer projects and an increase in salary
for that time?"
I was also inspired by the fourth grade class orientation (two weeks
ago) when the lower school librarian brought them over to meet me and
allow me to give them an introduction to the library. The students went
back to the classroom excited because they would NOW be allowed to check
out video tapes for home! (The lower school librarian doesn't allow it
and she now blames me for corrupting her students! I told her that they
would check out video tapes--as they do at the public library--for about
a month and it would be "out of their system," then they begin to focus
on the other items including the new books! It actually gives all of my
library materials a "good work-out" because each grade focuses on a
specific area it seems--(5th grade--videos; 6th grade--all new YA books;
7th grade--computers and YA books; 8th grade--more of the "adult books /
fiction;" 9th grade--literary criticisms; 10th grade--non-fiction and
reference; 11th grade--world literature and literary criticisms; 12th
grade--college level materials, literary criticisms, computers, and
history.)
I'd be interested in knowing what ideas you might come up with regarding
getting students in the library. (Buying "fun furniture," graphic
novels, and making it a "teen scene" isn't in the administration's
scheme of things right now---we have a "building and grounds committee"
that oversees our "environment." If it doesn't match, it won't be
accepted! --kinda keeps the Harry Potter stuff at a minimum! )
______________________________________________________________________
Lisa Mulligan, LMT
Cordova High School
Rancho Cordova, CA
(916) 362-1104 ext 248
lmulliga@fcusd.k12.ca.us
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