Thanks for the all the responses I've received on this topic. Generally
speaking, most use either a sign-in sheet/library pass and/or are of the
"old school" mind like me that it is the teacher's & student's
responsibility to track their time. I've decided to stand my ground,
continue to train my teachers, and not be the "time police".
I've cut & pasted the responses below.
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Just the other day I had a teacher want to know what a
student was doing in the library for 1/2 hour. I showed her where the
student signed in and out and told her that I saw a number of students
at the computers, and they all seemed to be doing work (were either in
Word or on a database), but that I could not closely monitor all
students in the library, to the point that I know if they are always on
task or not. She seemed taken aback that I didn't know his every move!
(This is a middle school).
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We have our students come in on teacher signed passes
for only 45 minutes of the 90 minute block. They sign in & we
time-stamp their passes at the time they arrive & when they leave. The
stamps are great, about $75.00. The teachers have come to look for the
time, so this helps too.
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I think this is more the responsibility of the teacher who allowed the
student to come to the library than it is the responsibility of the
librarian. We have enough to do now; we don't need to add timing
students to the list. The teacher should be the one who determines how
long the student should "hang out." This happens to me, and I will
usually go to the student and ask if there is anything they need help
finding. This works as a gentle reminder to the student to get a move on
and finish the task at hand.
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We have a computer lab in the IMC and require passes to have both the
arrival and departure times as well as an indication of the student's
task (internet, word processing, etc.) I then expect them to watch the
clock and return on time. I don't take responsibility for students
returning late.
Students coming to the IMC to get a book or do a short reference look-up
are reminded that they are responsible for returning on time. In truth,
if they are working quietly, I don't bother them. Encourage your
teachers to set time limits with the students and give these
expectations (and responsibility) to the kids, not the librarian. We are
just too busy to be time police.
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I make sure that they sit on the back side where I can see them from my
office. We have been in this library 2 years and I have them trained inside
of 2 weeks.
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Get some type of holder that the student would pick up when they come in and
it would have the time they came in. I don't know what they are called,
but when our administration gave us one some people thought they looked
like roach clips.
I have several of them -- one with a wooden base, one with a globe, and
one with a clear square base. There is a clip or something similar to a
paperclip about 3 1/2 inches above the base. You could have 3x5 cards
available to print the time when they come into the library. The
student as well as you would have a reminder of when they came to the
library and no noise from a timer. And probably cheaper than timers.
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I have a sign in sheet. Students put name, time of arrival, why they are in
the library, and which teacher sent them. I don't have a sign out time,
though one could add that.
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I guess I always took the "old school" idea. As long as the students were
occupying themselves and not causing problems, I did not as a rule try to
enforce their being on task. My thought was that the teacher should be the
one to make sure they had followed his/her instructions and that it was not
up to me to worry about their productivity. An exception might be made if
space were an issue or, as you said, if they were disruptive in any way. I
also was less lenient about computer time. They needed to be on task then
and not just surfing around killing time. Furthermore, I made it very clear
that I could and would not be able to supervise kids coming down to make up
tests. Some teachers persisted in doing this, and I did NOT watch the kids
and make sure they did not cheat. If something crucial were going on in
class, that teacher should not allow the student to be missing it. I did
keep a sign in and sign out sheet at the front desk and a basket where we
kept passes. Kids were supposed to sign out with time when they left. If
they failed to do this, I would not vouch for when they left. Things just
were to hectic to keep up with individual kids other than to make sure they
were behaving. Their teachers should be responsible, and they should be
responsible for their own actions.
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One of our four rules is that students must have a goal and be working
toward it when they are in our center. The goal may be to research,
read, work on a project, or anything reasonable approved by the teacher.
The student and teacher are aware of the goal before the student comes
to us. If a student is goofing around all I have to do is ask about
their goal and their being off task is obvious. We occasionally hurry
students along if they are dawdling, but generally consider the timeline
to be between the student and teacher. My aide and I have been here
quite a few years and are lucky to work with a great staff. Teachers
will sometimes call us and ask to have a student sent back.
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I made up a form for our teachers to use
Library pass: Date:______________________
Teacher:_______________________________
Student:________________________________
Time: Out:_______________In_____________
Library: In_____________Out__________
Time allowed in library
________5 minutes
________10
________15
________20
________Until end of class
________Other
Purpose:
_____Check in/out book
_____AR Test
_____Computer research
Topic:___________________
_____Other:____________________
This solved a lot of our over looked students because now we know why
they're here and for how long.
This is for a 5-8 library
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I have a log independent users must sign when they enter the library. There
is space for them to write the arrival time. If it seems as if the student
is there for a long time I just check the log and tell the student their
time is up. Sometimes I also tell them as they arrive they have forty
minutes and to keep track of the time.
I do have a formal policy in place. We have a block schedule so students
coming from a block class are allowed to stay for 40 minutes and students in
period classes are allowed to stay 30 minutes.
The system works for the most part but like you I get involved in other
things and can't always watch to make sure a student isn't abusing the time.
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I created my own 'library' pass and it has a place for the
teacher to write the time a student left their class and I write the time
they arrived in the library. This was largely to prevent kids from
wandering down the hall to the library and taking their time getting
there. You could add a place for time left to return to class...of
course, that whole process may be more involved than you'd like.
Another thought is to have the students sign in with the time they arrived
and have them sign out when they leave. If you or your assistand could
check the sign-in sheet every half-hour or so (just a quick scan) you can
see who has been around for a little while and check in with them to make
sure they are getting what they need. Another bonus is you have easy to
pull usage statistics if you simply keep your sign-in sheets in a binder
or file.
Some teacher-librarians on this list have mentioned using a library 'task'
sheet that the teacher must send with the student identifying what task
they are supposed to be completing. This way you know what they are
working on and can not only assist them better but you can also monitor if
they are doing what they came to do. I haven't used that at my current
school, but am considering it for the next school at which I work.
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We have a sign-in sheet that requires each student to write down the
time they arrive at the Library, why they are there, which teacher sent
them, and time they leave the Library - I know it's paper, but it works
great for us and is easy for the teachers to check whether or not a
student actually came to the Library or skipped.
Cindy Rogers, MLS
Librarian
IDEA Public Schools
401 South 1st Street
Donna, TX 78537
School (956) 464-0203 ext. 1126
Fax (956) 464-4137
crogers@ideapublicschools.org
www.ideaacademy.org
IDEA Public Schools are dedicated to providing students with the academic,
social, and leadership skills needed to apply, matriculate, and succeed in
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