My question concerned summer checkout programs for high school and any
suggestions. The responses I recieved were all positive.
Several mentioned printing a report showing all items checked out and giving
that report to the student as well as to the main office. I will do this but
unfortunately we are not allowed to hold transcripts or report cards so this
may not be that effective.
The actual responses are below.
Consider printing a report from your circ system of all materials checked
out to students, sorted by name. Leave it with your office. Ask them not to
process a transcript request (generally necessary to enroll in the new
school) unless the books on the list are returned. Although the list could
be long, it's easy to scan & will only take your office a second.
Since you are a DOD school, is there some kind of penalty you could enforce
if they move without returning books -- i.e. no transcripts sent to new
school, etc?
Good for you! This is successful at my school and I'm going to continue. I
allow grades 8-11 to take summer books, with no limit on number.
I've lost very few. Your idea to put the school mailing address in the
books, or summer office contact, is a good idea! Maybe I will make a book
mark with that info, as well as the due date.
One year I got most of the English classes to bring their classes down for
summer book selection and some teachers 'forced' everyone to get one. This
was a big mistake. Kids who don't appreciate reading or have any intention
of reading the book are the ones you don't get back, or at least not until
November!
Now, I talk it up, put posters around - but, it is purely voluntary. It's my
bookworms who go home with a grocery bag of books who really love it the
most.
I have allowed summer check outs, although I will admit there weren't many
takers! I would say 50% of the kids took out test prep books so they could
spend some summer hours prepping for the SATs, and get ahead on prepping for
APs. The rest checked out fiction. When I leave, I have to submit a list
of students with outstading obligations to the office so I also make a copy
for guidance (all teachers/coaches have to do this because we have a ton of
kids that don't think they have to return their texts, uniforms, gym locks,
etc!) That way when a student tries to sign out of school (or the new
school calls for records) they will hold the records until the obligations
are met. I would recommend that if you do summer check out, you create a
form on bright paper to go into their folder so that if a new school calls
for their records, they can be held until the books are returned. Depending
on your school management software, maybe a flag could go on their record
too, which might be easier or harder, depending on your situation. Or,
simply make a list for them, but that means you have to trust that the will
check the list!
Tried this for the first time last year and it was quite successful. It was
an elementary school, so not exactly the same. Like you, I required the
parents to sign, but I went a step further. I made two printouts of the
books the kids took, and had the parents had to sign one copy which I kept.
The parents got the other copy. I also had required that the parents pick up
the books rather than just sending the books home with the kids. That was
more an elementary thing, though. We were willing to check out up to 20
books. Most took less than 10, but some took the full 20. Not one book was
lost or damaged.
At our state conference this month this was mentioned by another h.s.
librarian. I am in a rural school district and the public library has a
small YA collection. I mentioned allowing summer check outs to our students
and the principal jumped on board. I plan to be open 3 days a week for 3
hours each during summer school so students have an opportunity to keep
reading.
At our state conference this month this was mentioned by another h.s.
librarian. I am in a rural school district and the public library has a
small YA collection. I mentioned allowing summer check outs to our students
and the principal jumped on board. I plan to be open 3 days a week for 3
hours each during summer school so students have an opportunity to keep
reading.
Rather than giving each checker outer a sheet with the school address, you
could put a stick-on address label in each book. I've been putting
"property statement" stickers in each item for 10 years now. You can print
out a page of 30 labels in WORD in no time. Be sure that you have the
address, e-mail, and phone numbers of each of the checker outers. Then you
can harrass them when school starts and the item has not returned. We;ve
been checking out books over the summer for 8 years. We lose some every
year, but not many out of the hundreds that go out and come back.
Deborah Stafford
Gen. H.H. Arnold High School
Wiesbaden, Germany
deborah.stafford@t-online.de
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