Thanks to all who responded. I think I'm going to try the Swiffer
products first and then, if I have to, work my way down this great list of
ideas!
Have a "house cleaning" week in your library. Come dressed like Carol
Burnett's char women character, read some stories about dirty houses.
The two that come to mind are the little old man one, where he finally
put all his dishes out in the truck for the rain to clean and Hey, Al.
Then have your students discuss why things need to be kept clean. Start
in your reading place and have the tables prepped with books from a
section of your library. Hand out the clean wipe things, no spraying or
muss. Each student helps clean the stack of books on their table. You
will probably need to show them what to do, so while you still have them
gathered, have some books ready to be used to demonstrate. After
everybody cleans one book, ask to see all the clean wipes. Ask if we
could go again, or do we need a clean one so we aren't spreading the
dirt to the next book? You will probably get two or three books per
wipe.
Sprinkle comments about the poor books, followed by praise for their
cleaning efforts and how much prettier and "happier" the books are.
This may sound crazy, but if you can purchase an inexpensive yard blower,
or a vacuum cleaner with a "reverse" option so it will blow, you can use
that. The flex hose makes it easy to get to tall shelves. There are plenty
that will fit a library budget, although storage may be a problem.
I keep a spray bottle with a little vinegar and water and a soft cloth at
the circulation desk and wipe books of as they come in. You could also
keep something like clorox wipes to do this also. I also use to get a
group of parents to come in with buckets of water and clean everybook in a
whirl wind cleaning.
We use baby wipes and then dry the books with a paper towel. It doesn't
take long and we are noticing a big difference! It's something my
library helpers are also able to help us with (when they show up).
I find dust and dirt accumulates over everything in my classroom as well.
What works beautifully for me are Swiffer dusters and wipes. They snag
the dirt and hold onto it, but are dry. Give it a try! :)
If it were me... ;-) ... the only thing I can think of... at the end of
each day... do a shelf or whatever you feel you can manage time for....and
spread them out to dry overnight... reshelving with the returned books the
next day... do it each and every day... slow and steady... until it's
done.
Or... have a Faculty or Student Club... "Cleaning and Pizza Party"....
everybody assigned a section... then party when it's done. I personally
vote for a faculty "Party" during in-service... when they have to come...
they have to participate... each department is responsible for the
sections they use... try to balance it out... find a way to make sure the
SS dept doesn't have to do more than anyone else... assign part of their
section to the Asst. Prin and the Principal.... point here is that this
probably won't work unless the aforementioned admin jumps in and VISIBLY
participates.... but make sure the pizza and coffee (e! tc.... cookies?)
are plentiful.
I find dust and dirt accumulates over everything in my classroom as well.
What works beautifully for me are Swiffer dusters and wipes. They snag
the dirt and hold onto it, but are dry. Give it a try! :)
Keep track and do a bit here and there. I'm pretty
good about not shelving dirty books. I put them aside
for cleaning.
Have you thought about student volunteers? When I did a brief stint as a
public librarian the national honor society students came over to the
public library and refreshed my whole picture book collection. Some
cleaned/dried. Some designed new book jackets in order to give a book new
life (they loved the art possiblities). Many of them picked their
favorite books that needed help.
I once had a collection of over 8,000 books wiped with Clorox!
Mold Problems.
Try the swifter brand products. We have the dust mop on the stick and like
it.
Get antihistamine? Seriously, my nose is apt to get stuffy as soon as I
hit school, and gets better over the weekend. Our blower filters are
supposed to be cleaned monthly, but we all know that doesn't get done
and it's proven difficult for anyone to check up on this with
administration or janitorial staff. In 1987, when I first came, when
the library was cleaned in the summer it was much more thorough, and
they had learning support students working with the janitors (who had a
different work ethic than the current crop), who took books off the
shelves and wiped them and the shelves. (Of course, there was the year
they used Lime-X by mistake.) Now, my aide wipes shelves at the end of
the school year when she puts the collection in order, but I think
that's about the only time anything gets cleaned.
A Swiffer duster and lots of refills? That should be enough to get the
bulk
of it. Then set aside any that are sitcky or really filthy, for special
cleaning.
I used to get the last class of the day to dust what was a fixture in our
library, an old school bell. Suprisingly, they fought over who would be
the duster. Maybe you can get kids to help out
I find dust and dirt accumulates over everything in my classroom as well.
What works beautifully for me are Swiffer dusters and wipes. They snag
the dirt and hold onto it, but are dry. Give it a try! :)
Susan Davis
Media Specialist
Bennett Elementary School
1755 NE 14 Street
Fort Lauderdale FL 33304
754-322-5464
FAX 754-322-5490
susan.davis@browardschools.com
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