Jane Kokotkiewicz is a school library media specialist in a highly acclaimed private school. She is department chair for the library media services with three library media centers; one serving the Hilbert Early Education Center and Lower School, another serving the Middle School, and a third serving the Upper School.
Learn more about Jane Kokotkiewicz at http://eduscapes.com/sms/kokotkiewicz.html
Discussions with Jane might begin with comparing and contrasting work in private and public schools and involvement in curriculum and program planning. Feel free to move on to other aspects and interests.
Designed to meet the needs of pre-service as well as professional school library media specialists, this blog provides news and information, book and technology reviews, and professionals sharing their expertise.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteI have a question about student privacy. At a conference I attended in September, we discussed how to handle the follwing privacy issue... A parent calls the MS to find out the titles of books checked out by their child and not returned. The reason the parent calls is because the report card is being held until payment is received for the lost books. The parent wants to know what they are paying for. How would you handle this situation?
My other question is...How different (if at all) is your collection policy in a private school versus a public school?
Thanks for your time.
Jennifer Beach
Good evening. I also wanted to ask about your collection policy: do you feel that you are at liberty to collect a more diverse range of materials in the private sector? (i.e.: do you face the same number of parental challenges to materials? Can you collect materials that may be 'too edgy' for public schools, or is it the other way around?)
ReplyDeleteAlso, on a different subject, since you are responsible for such a large and diverse collection, what are you supplied with in terms of support staff? Do you utilize student helpers as well?
Thank you,
Sadie Smith
Just a simple question...
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to what led you to make the move to a private school setting after all your experience in public schools (according to your bio).
I taught in New Orleans at a school very similar to Park Tudor (Newman--the school the Manning boys went to) and am now in a public setting... How would you describe the differences you have observed--public vs. private?
Hi Jane!
ReplyDeleteWe have been discussing the importance of weeding in our course and have been exposed to the CREW method, among others. How often do you weed your collection? Do you have a time built into your schedule or is it an on-going process? It seems like it would be easy to put weeding on the back burner in favor of more immediate needs. Any thoughts or advice you have to offer would be most helpful!
Thanks!
Elizabeth S.
Jane,
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year as a media specialist in a public school in Fort Wayne. Like Nicole, I am interested in collaboration. You commented earlier on working with the speech teacher on a project, but what are some other types of projects you work on with teachers? What suggestions do you have for getting teachers to warm-up to the idea of collaboration?
Thanks,
Kelly Bordner
Jane:
ReplyDeleteLike Elizabeth I am courious how you do your weeding with virtually 3 separted libraries??? Is is ran by the individual librarians that coordinate each age level or is it done more on a master plan level?? Do you weed solely on content or do you go more by the age of the material??
Jane-
ReplyDeleteI read that you accompanied Dr. Saye and other UNC graduate students to Slovenia last summer. Do the schools in that country have libraries that are comparable to those of the U.S.? Were you able to visit any elementary schools or libraries and if so, could you share some of those experiences with us?
Elizabeth S.
(UNC SILS grad student)
I am not sure if I am too late to ask you this question but... you said you give weeded books to teachers, students or the public library. Do you have or recommend having a policy addressing what is done with weeded materials?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Jennifer