Hello! This is a long question: those of you with time and experience
to help me, I will greatly appreciate: I am a 4th year librarian, not
yet finished with my MLS. I have started two small libraries for
charter schools, serving around 600-800 students.
Currently I am librarian at KIPP, a charter school in Austin that
provides students of low socio-economic status a college preparatory
education. We are grades 5-9 and growing up one grade each year. Each
grade level has approximately 90-100 students (so 100 5th graders, 100
6th graders, etc) and the grade levels are capped at that number. Thus,
rather than add grade levels, we are added a second MS which will start
with 5th grade and then grow out to 8th. In the next 2 years we will
add a elementary following the same path one grade a year up to 4th and
then a second elementary after that. So long term we will have a campus
consisting of 2 elem, 2 MS, and 1 HS. We are located on a somewhat
large and sprawling campus that was an old state run school in the 70s,
so for the MS to get to the library which is located in the HS, they
must cross a parking lots and walk--which takes 4-5 minutes--a bit of a
hassle. Plus right now I serve 5-9, next year I'll serve 2 fifth
grades, plus 9-10. The library isn't huge---maybe 500-600 sq ft? And
half of it is a tech center with computers.
My MS teachers are EXCELLENT and classes visit the library every week or
every two weeks regularly so I see HUGE turn over in my books, I mean
these kids check out books! So next year, I will be pretty tight with 6
grade groups to schedule and 5 days it the week, but still doable if
they come every other week. Obviously, the next year with 8 grade
groups to cover, it will stop working so well.
Right now the leadership team is meeting to discuss long term plans.
Here is what they wondering:
Should the two elementaries share a library (thus resources and a
librarian) or should each elementary have it's own library? If each
elem had it's own library, could they share a librarian?
Should the two MS share a library? And if so, could they share a
librarian?
Should the MS/HS library stay combined---could one library support two
5-8 schools and 1 9-12 school?
What kind of space is needed? Is it better to save money and share a
librarian between two libraries, or is it better if they can only afford
one librarian per level (EL, MS, HS), to have all the books and the
librarian in one place and force the students/teachers to walk to
wherever that is?
Could the Elem do just a "reading" library with research meaning
traveling to the "big" MS library?
OR could the ELEM and MS do just a "reading" library and travel to the
HS library for research?
I'm sure on some level they are questioning the value of libraries all
together. I am really pushing for the importance of libraries to a
college prep curriculum and to developing strong interested readers.
I'm also really pushing for if we buy all these books having someone who
makes sure they get used--someone who not only makes sure they aren't
lost and damaged but can actively create reading programs that hook
students.
Any insight you have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Team and Family,
Katrina Baecht | KIPP Austin Librarian
office: 512-501-3586 | fax: 501-3587
8509 FM 969, Bldg 676 | Austin, TX 78724
kbaecht@kippaustin.org
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Giffard, Sue
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 11:45 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: HIT: Leveled books database
Here is my original post:
We recently upgraded to Destiny 8.5 and can now search our catalog by
Fountas and Pinnell level. Has anyone either found a way to download
this information, or figured out an efficient way to access the
information from their database? The best thing for us would be an
alphabetical title list, but the online database doesn't seem to offer
that; only the book does, and it's out of date.
I received one extremely useful suggestion:
I found the same thing---my MS teachers love F&P so I was thrilled to
find I could now do searches only to realize --that information isn't in
my MARC records! Since I work a lot with Mackin, I contacted them,
uploaded my records, and they are going to add that information to my
records and then I will reupload them and ta-da! It's going to cost
around $250-300--we are small school, but it is worth it. Mackin is
GREAT, very helpful and I highly recommend them. Also, make sure to
tell them you use Destiny because they way they usually enter F&P is not
readable by the 8.5 version---Mackin has to enter the reading level in
the Mark Record with just the letter versus the words "Level X" .
Sue Giffard
Ethical Culture School
New York, NY 10023
sgiffard@ecfs.org
(212)712-6292
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research,
would it?" - Albert Einstein.
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