Thank you everyone for the great sharing of "collective wisdom". I did not
include something from every post. A consistent recommendation was for a short
concise newsletter. The following offer a variety of ideas.
Jennifer Rike
Roberta Tipps Elementary
3001 N. Walnut Creek Dr.
Mansfield, TX 76063
rikeje@mansfieldisd.org
if you have a PR problem there is a really good book called, Building
Influence for the School Librarian by Gary N. Hartzell. It is an excellent resource
for ideas on communication and tooting your own horn in a balanced but
confident way.
4X6 or 5X7. They're thin & cheap
down at Wal-mart or thick & spendy from Demco. Take your pick. Put them
on the tables in the staff room just like the "Today's Special" or
"Dessert Menu" do-dahs you see in restaurants. I usually put new book
announcements in the frames. At elementary, you could feature books on a
theme basis. Don't crowd the information. One book per frame is fine.
Change often including moving from one table to another. This is a good
way to "sell" the occasional professional title teachers always say
they want but no one ever checks out.... I've also found it effective
with those teachers who rarely or never go to the library,
purchase the clear photo stands in various sizes and put
larger notices in the 8x10 frames and then smaller information / notations
(information about specific sections of the library) in the smaller 3x5 (or
smaller frames). The smaller frames I set on the shelves near the areas
that may be described. I plan to put information about the library on some
of these frames this year --- things like "DID YOU KNOW....the library
provides access to over 30 online databases that you can use from both
on-campus and at home?" I'm hoping to be able to catch the attention of
some of the library patrons who might not be avid users and who may not
realize the resources available to them.
I agree with others re short and sweet newsletters. One thing I have
included is a "caught researching" header, which lists the teachers and their
projects. Everyone likes to see his/her name in print, and it is also sure to catch
the eye of the administrator - not a bad thing for you or the teacher!
<When I process new books I make a scan of every cover. If the budget is
tight I switch to photocopies. I've made little, business-card size labels
that say "NEW IN THE LIBRARY This was bought with your curriculum in mind."
Then I staple a label on the scanned copies of the cover or the photocopies,
and I put the copies in the appropriate teachers' boxes. I've learned that
only one copy of each item is necessary. Not every teacher has to know
about every book that fits his or her curriculum that is coming into the
library. If the book is good for American History, then one teacher gets
the scan of the cover this time. The next American History cover scan will
go to another history teacher. As long as every teacher is getting some
copies every now and then, the teachers stay aware that new stuff is coming
into the library all the time for their curriculum.>
My dad says "He that tooteth not his own horn, the same shall not be heard."
So, I've learned to toot my own horn, even though it certainly isn't natural
for me.
Two of the best toots I have (sorry, couldn't help it) is to get up in
front of the new teachers each year before school starts. Ask around; you'll
find out that the new teachers have an orientation before school starts; get on
the program. Ask for at least 10 minutes, and then sell your PARTNERSHIP with
the teachers. Everyone will love it. I've worked up to an hour presentation
that my administrators love me for, and my new teachers rave about each year.
The second thing ties right in with your Reading Counts (or AR) program.
When I process new books I make a scan of every cover. If the budget is tight
I switch to photocopies. I've made little, business-card size labels that
say "NEW IN THE LIBRARY This was bought with your curriculum in mind." Then I
staple a label on the scanned copies of the cover or the photocopies, and I put
the copies in the appropriate teachers' boxes. I've learned that only one
copy of each item is necessary. Not every teacher has to know about every book
that fits his or her curriculum that is coming into the library. If the book
is good for American History, then one teacher gets the scan of the cover this
time. The next American History cover scan will go to another history
teacher. As long as every teacher is getting some copies every now and then, the
teachers stay aware that new stuff is coming into the library all the time for
their curriculum. It doesn't have to be exact, but it su
re keeps the library and its purpose on peoples' minds. New books, videos,
DVDs, tapes come, copies to the covers are made, divided out to faculty who
might care about the item, and then the copies are dropped into the boxes with the
little notes attached to them. Over the years I've been doing this I've
learned that teachers pass the scans around their classroom, tack them to bulletin
boards, and wave them in front of classes. Each new item scan is an
ambassador for the whole library program.
Oh, about nobody knowing what your doing in Reading Counts: be sure that
every book that matches an RC test has a tag in the MARC record so that your
students and teachers can find the books with Keyword searches. Then move
heaven and earth to get your catalog on the Internet, if it isn't already.
I also like to involve the teachers in contests that I run in the MC such as
my favorite books contest where I had teachers select their favorite books
and students guessed which teacher selected which book. Also, teachers
really like it when you enlist their suggestions for book purchases. I have
done library/curriculum mapping with a couple different departments with
great success.
Each teacher receives a 1/2 a sheet (it is more
noticable and I save paper). I also try to make the "newsletter" fancy (with
pictures, borders or color paper) in order to attract the teacher's
attention. The information is concise (underlining words and using
bold-faced) so that it would at least be glanced at, hopefully read and
saved. The teachers like this idea, find it very helpful and appreciate it
very much. I never felt that they thought that I was "tooting" my horn. I
think they see it as a creative way to help make their job much easier,
which equals one form of collaboration!
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