September 2018 Updates

Septembers always fly by, and September 2018 was no exception!  It was a great start in the middle school library as we welcomed our students back to Iroquois.

Library Highlights for September 2018

Library Orientation Scavenger Hunt

All sixth through eighth grade ELA classes visited the library for an orientation scavenger hunt and book checkout.  Due to the many changes in the library's overall layout, this orientation included information that was new even for our seasoned eighth graders.  Students used the library iPads to access videos about the library's sections and offerings.  This was a great opportunity to move around the library and get re-acclimated to the space.  When the scavenger hunt was complete, students filled out an interest survey which gave me great ideas for book purchases and future library programming.  In fact, a large order full of student book requests was just placed!  It will be helpful to add these desired titles to the library's collection.

New Initiatives

During the library orientation sessions, students learned about two new library offerings: a special author visit and Free Book Fridays.  Students were excited to hear that Alan Gratz will be visiting Iroquois on November 7th!  In preparation for his visit, many students and classes are reading his titles.  His historical fiction selections are especially popular with Iroquois Middle School students.  Students were also interested in the new "Free Book Friday" promotion.  Each Friday, an Iroquois Middle School student is chosen at random to select a new book to take home.  The students that have won so far have been very appreciative!

Library Catalog Updates

Over the summer, all Iroquois school libraries moved to the Destiny Discover interface when viewing the library catalog.  This new interface supports some new, helpful features.  The main search page shows recently added titles and the status of popular book titles.

It's helpful to see the status of new and popular books.

The new interface also includes a "Collections" feature.  This feature is similar to an online pathfinder, where book lists and web resources can be found in one place.  The feature was especially helpful for Mrs. Maulucci's ELA students.  Her students are encouraged to read a book dealing with the topics they are learning in Mr. Baumgartner's Social Studies classes.  Suggested books were placed into collections and shared with students.  This will be a helpful starting point as they look for books of interest for their extra credit.

Suggested extra credit titles were placed into Collections.

Students could preview books to use for Mrs. Maulucci's extra credit opportunity.

Pay It Forward Introduction

There have been many visits from sixth grade reading classes so far this year.  In addition to reading books independently, each class will be reading a novel as a full class.  Mrs. Nicosia's class is beginning their year by reading Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  This inspirational book is set in the 1990's, which is well before our middle school students were born.  In order to better understand the setting of the book, students came to the library to participate in a 1990's introduction.  Mrs. Nicosia and I shared information about 1990's events and technology (students seemed particularly horrified by the concept of dial-up internet).  Students then tested their knowledge of 1990's pop culture through a Kahoot competition.  It was a fun way to introduce the book!

Lego League Robotics Team

From feedback gathered last year, it was clear that students wanted more after school offerings from the library.  Mrs. Ferger and I were excited to bring a robotics opportunity to our students by forming a First Lego League team.  We held an informational session about the team, then interested students submitted their applications.  The first team meeting was held after school on September 24th.  We can't wait to see what the Lego League team will accomplish!

First Lego League students worked on a team building challenge.

The FIRST First Lego League team at Iroquois Middle!

Looking Ahead

In October, the library will be undergoing another big transition - the genrefication of our fiction section!

Biography Genrefication Project

I had always wanted to genrefy a school library collection, but was overwhelmed when thinking about the scope of such a large project.  Genrefication is the process of moving a library's collection into topic/subject areas, rather than adhering to other traditional organization structures.  There are clear benefits to genrefication; namely, a genrefied library makes it easier for students to find the materials they are looking for.  Students frequently ask to be pointed in the direction of books about a particular subject or genre.  If our goal as school librarians is to get books in the hands of readers, genrefication might be a perfect tool to use!

Instead of beginning by genrefying our large fiction section, I decided to dip my toes in the water by starting first with the biography section.  The biography section was organized by last name of the book's subject.  If students came in with a specific person they were researching, this organization worked well.  However, students usually approached the biography section with a general idea of a type of person they would like to read about, for instance sports stars, musicians, or authors.  A genrefied biography section would allow students to browse the section based on their interests.

Paul Kloster and Christine Tempestoso, the librarians at Orchard Park Middle School, were a great source of knowledge and inspiration during this process.  They genrefied their biography section (as well as their fiction section) and were kind enough to share their planning documents and some helpful suggestions.  Patty Lebrenz from the Erie 1 BOCES Library Automation Team was instrumental in cataloging help.  We spent a full day together updating the biography records in the library catalog!

Before I began the process of genrefication, it was first necessary to weed the biography section.  There were 1.039 biography books in our library, and sadly many were outdated or hadn't been checked out in the last ten years.  After weeding, there are now 920 biography books available to our students.  The books that were removed were outdated or in poor condition.  Over the next few orders, I'll be using student suggestions in order to bolster the biography section with books on popular current figures.

Utilizing the suggestions from the Orchard Park librarians, I selected eleven different genres for the biography section.  They are:

• Arts (including artists, musicians, composers, actors, designers, entertainers, and architects)
• Authors (including poets)
• Business (including entrepreneurs)
• Explorers (including famous world explorers and modern explorers such as aviators and astronauts)
• Holocaust (including people that lived and played a role during this time in history)
• Notable (a catch-all for interesting lives, memoirs, and current popular figures)
• Presidents (including first ladies and vice presidents)
• Science (including scientists, mathematicians, inventors, and engineers)
• Sports (including athletes and coaches)
• U. S. History
• World History

Placing the books into the appropriate genres required a little legwork.  Instead of pulling all of the books from the shelves, I used Follett Destiny to download a spreadsheet of all of the biography books in the library.  Utilizing the Destiny catalog, I was able to determine what biography genre to place each title in.

This spreadsheet came in handy when Patty Lebrenz, Erie 1 BOCES library automation expert, came to the library to help with the cataloging.  We were able to update all of the biography call numbers to reflect the new biography genres.  In Destiny, we also added a location which displayed the book's genre as well. 

Once the catalog was updated, new spine labels were created that displayed the book's genre as part of the call number.  Unfortunately, the spine label template available through Follett Destiny was not printing the labels as I would have liked them.  This meant that I had to create all of the labels from scratch (but I think the end product was worth the extra effort).

A sample of the spreadsheet listing the new call number for biography books.

All biography books now display a location in the library catalog.

New spine labels were created from scratch.

We were now ready to utilize the spreadsheets and updated spine labels to make physical changes to the biography books.  Working on one genre section at a time, Mrs. Jensen and Mrs. Martinez pulled all of the biography books and attached all of the new spine labels!  This project couldn't have happened without their effort and hard work.

The biography section was cleared out in order
for the books to receive new spine labels.

The completed World History section, now with new spine labels!

With the sorting and labeling of books complete, our focus was now on the organization and signage accompanying the revamped biography section.  The eleven biography genres would be sorted alphabetically within the biography section.  New shelf labels were created, along with new signage to appear on the tops of each shelf.  This updated signage should make it more efficient for students to find the biographies they are looking for.

Samples of the new shelf dividers to appear in the biography section.

Each biography section now has a sign denoting its genre.

The beginning of the Arts biography section.

On the morning of May 9th, 2018, the biography genrefication project was officially complete!  All of the sorting, signage, and organization finally came together. 

The newly-renovated biography section.

I anticipate that sports biographies will be very popular!

Each biography section has signage denoting its genre.

Mr. Frommann's sixth grade reading class was the first group to check out the new biography area.  Students seemed to gravitate towards the biography sections of interest to them.  Ms. Beauchamp's RtI students are also beginning a biography project today.  Hopefully, the new organization of the section will help the students find a book they will enjoy.

I'll be looking closely at the circulation statistics to see if there is a spike in usage associated with our new system.  I'm also looking forward to receiving student-requested biographies in our next book shipment!