Chris Somers is the media specialist at Indian Creek Middle School in Trafalgar, Indiana. Chris has been successful in securing grants for her school and collaborating with teachers. She is another Indiana teacher librarian who is integrally involved in classrooms and student learning and who is always looking for new and interesting opportunities.Learn more about Chris and her professional interests and expertise at:
Chris Somers http://eduscapes.com/sms/overview/somers.html.
You can also visit her school's and media center websites:
Indian Creek Middle School http://www.nhj.k12.in.us/icms/
Media Center website http://www.nhj.k12.in.us/icms/library/index.htm
Ms. Somers:
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating in this blog and sharing your thoughts and ideas with us online!
I thought your Reservation Form was very detailed and couldn't help but notice that you ask the teacher to tie the request to at least one learning standard! Do you get much cooperation from teachers in completely filling out the form and how to you use this form to support your program, in other words, to what purpose are you gathering this type of data?
Thanks,
Carol Sanders
Bedford
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteHow do you find the time to do all that you do? Are you a staff of more than one? Do the students have enough of the required technology skills from elementary school to proceed with your curriculum? What do you find is lacking? What are some ways to get the teachers to warm up to the use of the media center and all that is offered there? How often do you meet with the teachers? Will you be at the ILF conference?
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteI really like the library website! We have to review media center sites for an assignment, and Indian Creek's site is definitely user friendly. Did you work with an IT expert to design it or did you do it alone? Do you find it difficult to keep the site updated? I saw a lot of outdated library websites when I worked on my assignment.
Thanks,
Emily
Carol,
ReplyDeleteI created the reservation form several years ago and it worked well for us. At the end of every year, I would tally all the info and put it into an excel document that showed what technology teachers were using, how often, and what stardards they were addressing with technology. This info helped me to see what software and online resources were being used that I purchase so I could track the impact these expenses were having and decide whether my money was being spent wisely. It also gave the teachers a document they could look back on to relect on their practice and to keep a record of technology use. This document was included in my End of Year report to my administrators and to the school board.
Teacher cooperation has always been good with a few exceptions. This year my administrator asked me to drop the learning standard request. She felt teachers would feel that I was spying on them. I had not heard any such statements from staff. Originally, this item was added when we had a superintendent that cared about standards and made it a part of the form. I liked it. I thought it helped teachers to reflect on what they were doing in the computer labs. I did not like to see it go but what can you do when your principal doesn't see the usefulness of that data. I tried to defend it but lost the battle.
Thanks for the question.
Chris
Sue,
ReplyDeleteI do have a full-time assistant in the middle school media center. This allows me to work and plan with teachers when it is convenient for them. Students generally arrive from 5th grade with varied computer skills. Most can type and most are somewhat skilled at Internet use and gaming. Some are even little future techo-troublemakers, but we try to turn those away from the dark side.
I have a library orientation and use class for 6th graders at the beginning of the year. We teach them where things are located in the media center, how to use the online card catalog, and how to use our Reading Counts program.
Other lessons I teach, are all collaborations with staff and the lessons are dependent on the discipline and what the teacher wants from me. I often go into classes at the "point of need" and help students with citations and bibliography skills. I also help with note taking and paraphrasing and copyright issues. Internet safety is another lesson I frequently am asked to help teach.
There are software programs like Inspiration that I push when I see the need and I may go into a classroom for several days if the research project warrants that much time. I have teachers who really like to work with me and we will do projects together every year. I love it when we get a new teacher because I can introduce that teacher to the idea of media specialist as teaching partner and collaborator and offer to help them at a time when they are overwhelmed with new responsibilities. I want to be their best friend and serve them in whatever way they most appreciate. I will also make sure they have access to ( or at least know about) all the resources we have that match their curriculum.
I will not be at the ILF conference this year but will be going to the National Middle School Association conference in November for several days. It is here in Indy this year and that's too good to pass up!
Thanks for your questions.
Chris
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI helped design the website in terms of telling the tech person what I wanted, but then the actual creation of it is done by a high school IT student. Sometimes things can be a bit outdated depending on how often the students work on the pages and how much of their time is in demand. I don't think I have the time or expertise to work on this as well as everything else that I do. I would love to be better at website design but it is not one of my strengths. I admire those really techy media specialists who can take care of their own webpages, etc. but that's not me. I know what I want, but someone else will have to make the magic happen.
Thanks,
Chris
Hello Chris Somers and thank you for interacting with us. The information about you is so rich - I have a couple topics to ask you about. But first, is LITS now inactive? It seems like such a great idea and much needed.
ReplyDeletehttp://ltts.indiana.edu/system/support/pre_enroll.pl
One more quick question - I am going to AECT at the end of the month - what do you think of that conference? I notice you attend: Chris has been a presenter at AIME, ICE, IMLEA, ISIT and Indiana NEXT
ReplyDeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your answer to my question on the use of your request form. It shows me a very concrete example of gathering evidence to support the role of the media specialist which I have been learning about in my current MLS classes. Your idea to make the request form an actual tool to gather data was ingenious!
I am wondering if you are part of any listservs? I am registered with one for my class for young adult literature but quite frankly find the sheer amount of e-mails overwhelming to even weed thru! Any suggestions for listservs in children's literature?
Judy,
ReplyDeleteI believe LTTS is still active. I found info on a 2009 IU newsletter that seemed to confirm that it was up and running.
Wow, the AECT conference even has a meeting scheduled in SecondLife on C.A.V.E. island. I want to be able to live in a virtual world. Pretty cool. I don't actually know much about this conference but it sounds like it definitely has some great info to offer people in situations like ours. It is so difficult to keep up with everything that is possible in terms of technology these days. There is simply toooooooo much. Yet, at the same time, it is a very exciting time and it is important to keep your ears open and try to keep in touch with the newest developments in education and technology. I think for those of us who work in multiple worlds (education and library and computers), conferences in all these areas are important and valuable. I would also add special education conferences like PATINS. I attended that a few years back and purchased software and hardware to help our students and formed a partnership with local public librarians and IU faculty to address some of our special education issues. You never know what will inspire you. HAve a terrific time and have a virtual coffee on me!
Carol,
ReplyDeleteSorry. I don't currently subscribe to any listservs. I used to when I was in school but have gotten out of the habit. If I need info I will ask a fellow librarian or go research the query online, or check my journals like Teacher/Librarian or SLJ. I don't have time to filter out the diamonds from the sand every day. I may be missing something but so far I haven't felt the need to go there.
I suppose if I had a thorny problem like a difficult book challenge and I wanted some fast advice from a large number of people, I would subscribe quickly and try to pull in as many points of view and suggestions from professionals as possible. Then I would unsubscribe again:)
Chris
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you wish media specialist can do thay they are no doing now? I am so encourgaed with your collaboration with the teachers. Working with the new teachers right away is a win win for both. Do you visit other libraries to see what they are doing? Do you have a good network of others MS to bounce ideas off of? Where does the bulk of your budget go to?
Thank you for the wonderful insights
Sue
Sue,
ReplyDeleteI wish Media Specialists were better understood. Our job is so varied and so broad and can be so creative. Most staff have little real knowledge of what we do outside of our involvement with them. This involvement may be little or large depending on whether the person values collaboration or the services of the library. I think principals would be amazed at what they could learn about their building from media specialists.( I am not referring to gossip) We are a terrific resource that is not always recognized. We can see trends, spot overuse or misuse of resources, and help support student learning in a myriad of ways if only principals would be supportive.
Budget question:
The bulk of my budget goes for books,multimedia,and online resources. We have several budget lines: Books, Periodicals, AVsupplies, and Library Supplies. We also have a CPF account that lets us buy equipment like laminators, chairs, carts, etc. (things that are not disposable) Some years we are better funded than others. Last year was a disaster. I couldn't buy a book for nine months. I can't tell you how difficult it was not to be able to put out a sign that said NEW BOOKS all year. This year has been much better and I'm able to purchase again.
I do talk to other media specialists in the corporation and outside it. Conferences and Journals are also great for communicating with peers and exchanging ideas.
Chris
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteWhat advice do you have for new media specialists who face converting the "book sitting" idea of the librarian to the information/media specialist? This seems to be a big hurdle I am facing.
Also, I am curious about what types of collaborative projects you have done with teachers? Have you ever had collaborative projects that did not work out well, but were learning experiences for you to build upon?
Amber H.
Hello Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteI was reading about your after school program that meets on Tuesdays. Do you have a good turn out for the program? Besides the chess club, do you do any planned activities during this time?
Thanks,
Jenny C-J
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI've been reading the blog postings. Thanks for speaking to us. I have a couple of questions for you. I visited your media center’s website, and I explored the link from the Parent Resources option to the PowerPoint presentation on Internet Safety Issues. This is the first time I’ve seen a presentation of this nature on a media center’s website. I imagine parents really appreciate access to the Internet safety options available to them. Did you produce this presentation on your own? Or was it a collaborative effort? Where did you get all of the statistics presented, including the statistics for your county? The program looks like it was a significant undertaking. How long did it take to produce?
Secondly, you are quoted on our class website as saying, “I don’t want my administration to ever believe that they could exist without a dynamic media center that plays a central part in the school curriculum.” I recently interviewed another media specialist (for another course assignment) who said that “most school principals have absolutely no idea what media specialists do.” What can a new media specialist, who perhaps shares your same feelings, do if she lands at a school whose principal falls under that category? Perhaps the principal only contacts her when she/he needs a visual presenter, microphone, or LCD projector set up for a meeting. What might be the quickest way to bring an administrator up to speed on the many aspects of the profession?
Thanks for writing. -Kelly Hladek
Hi Chris! You have already given so much great information in regards to the comments already left. Thank you! I am curious, at the Middle School level, what kind of skills do you expect a student to already have when they enter your library? I know that of course there are some children who grasp concepts better than others, but if there were 3 skills (pre-requisites if you will), what would they be? I work in an elementary school and am wondering what we need to be doing to help students achieve when they get to Middle School.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Jessica
Hi Chris, Thank you for all the information you've shared with our class!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year as a teacher-librarian. I work with middle and high school students, grades 6-12. I noticed you mentioned not being able to buy new books previously because of funding. My budget is looking pretty small this year. What are your suggestions for seeking other funding sources? I have never applied for a grant but I hope to do so very soon. Also, what are your feelings about magazines/periodicals? I have what I feel is a too large budget for this and am hoping to convince the school board to shift and reallocate some funds. Currently, the magazines I have don't check out and are for use in the library only. It feels like they take over by the end of the month!
thanks,
Sherry Gick
Rossville
Hi Chris!
ReplyDeleteI love the Big 6 website that you have a link to on your library website. Is this the format you try to follow for research projects in your school? I am a third grade teacher and research is a skill that we hit and I'm always looking for new ways to teach it.
Also, how does your school incorporate the media center into their classes? Do the teachers contact you to collaborate or do you see students on a rotation basis?
Thanks for being on our blog!
Hello Chris and thank you for your comments about AECT. There are too many great conferences and not enough money or time! I was at MEMO - the state conference for Minnesota LMS - this weekend. An interesting theme seemed to be combining traditional library services with technology. Many of the LMS seemed to believe if the LMS did not become a leader in the use of technology the library would suffer. I wonder about your thoughts re this?
ReplyDeleteMs. Somers,
ReplyDeleteI am the programming media specialist at the Indiana School for the Blind. I've made plans for elementary and high school students, but I'm not sure about the middle school students. Do you know of any places for good ideas for programs?
Thanks!
Dayna Masih
Amber,
ReplyDeleteGood questions. I think that in terms of changing the image of the media center and the media specialist you have to be proactive. Ask your principal if at your next staff meeting you can have 10 minutes or so to show the faculty something. It can be a terrific new website, or a short instruction on how to use an online resource, or it can be a short talk about a specific aspect of a conference you attended that relates to teaching. I also put out an occasional newsletter that updates teachers on new developments or new websites that relate to their curriculum. I present at various technology conferences here in the county and I work with my school technology coordinator to be sure we are on the same page with how and why technology gets used and implemented. Join committees and let people see you wearing lots of different professional hats. Don't be afraid to start your own initiatives likes clubs or reading groups. (Always run it by the principal first of course.) When I came into the job, I refused to be a secretary for the staff. We no longer laminate for the staff or do any photocopies for them. I did not want the staff to see us as secretaries. We have plenty to do and they have a prep period. I made sure the principal understood my feelings on this before I made it public. It didn't please some staff but now it is the norm and nobody expects us to do this.
Collaborative projects: Last year I worked on a Civil Rights project with the 8th grade Language arts teacher. We were interested to see if using the software program Inspiration would help scaffold students in the writing process. Students still have problems with paragraphs and notetaking so we structured it tightly at the beginning and gave them a template they had to use. The results were very positive. Students who normally wouldn't even have handed something in actually did and we saw improvement in most students. We will try this again this year and tweak it a bit but both of us were excited. Something we tried worked!
I don't think I've had an unsuccessful collaboration because I always learn something in the process and most of the teachers who want to work with me really do solicit my ideas and input. We usually come up with something that works (at least partially) Sorry to be so long winded. These are good questions and they make me think. Thanks.
Chris
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI started the Chess Club and After-school program 5 years ago. For the first two years I paid myself to run it out of grant money. The third year, I got the superintendent to pay me out of license plate money from the state and for the last two years I have continued to run it for free. The corporation changed superintendents and the economy tanked. The only activities I run are the Chess Club (and I usually have about 20 students in that) and I give students access to the computer lab in the media center and I can have from 10 to 30 kids in that. It varies from week to week. I keep track with sign-in and sign-out logs and it is open to high school students as well. The real value is for students who are on the fringes. They will attend not knowing anyone and have few if any friends and all of a sudden they find someone a bit like they are and it's cool. Most the kids are not athletic, they don't really belong anywhere and haven't found their place yet. I'm sort of Wendy to the lost boys. They need a place and that's why I continue to do this even when I can't find money to pay myself for my time. I feel it's important even if no one else recognizes it.
Chris
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteThe powerpoint was created for an after-school workshop we presented for parents several years ago. Parents encouraged us to make it available online as part of our webpage. The statistics are a combination of stats from I-Safe and stats garnered from our own students in a 8th grade survey I took several years ago. The numbers are probably a bit outdated but the information is for the most part still valid.
When I first came to the middle school 12 years ago, the current librarian met with the school principal and the superintendent once a month. This was her opportunity to discuss issues and bring up concerns or budget issues, etc. I think it is a great idea. I haven't continued this regular meeting schedule but do meet with both these people when I feel a need. I don't want to waste anyone's time and so am a bit more hesitant to set up a monthly meeting if I don't have a pressing issue or communication to make. But I still think it is a great idea and it can serve to open a dialogue with those people who help make funding decisions. The better they know you and what you do, the less likely they are to devalue your contributions to the school and students.
Chris
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThree skills would be
1. How to search in the online catalog to see if we have a book they want. Search by Author, Title or Subject. We all have the same Surpass online catalog so this should be possible.
2. Know how to locate materials based on the Dewey Decimal system.
This seems to be harder. The lower grades shelve by categories sometimes. I have students who come in and ask "Where are your mysteries?" or "Where is the humor section?" We shelve fiction by author and this seems to be a change for them. They are used to going to shelves full of one genre. This probably makes sense for the lower grades. For us, we are trying to get them ready for high school and so they need to be more sophisicated.
3. I would love for them to know how to take care of books and where to find important info in the book. We don't have a library class so students have to pick this up during library time or a teacher has to invite me in to class to go over some of these things. I do have an arrangement with 6th grade at the beginning of the year to spend 2 periods with new sixth graders going over a lot of the changes and new ways of using the library. This at least gets us off to a good start.
Thanks for the questions.
Chris
Sherry,
ReplyDeleteLast year when I had no budget to speak of, I did have the Bookfair. I schedule two a year. I take any profit in books and so this actually allowed me to add books to the collection right from the fair. This helped an otherwise dismal year. I can see what students are interested in as they browse the fair and then choose books based on student interest. I haven't written a grant for books. The grants I've seen in this area have actually had a limit in terms of % of free lunch students. If you have a great many students in that area you can apply for the grant. We never quite hit the mark. I was hoping that Laura Bush might make a difference in funding for school libraries but this never materialized as far as I am aware.
I love periodicals. I purchase professional journals for teachers and I let students pick their magazines according to their interests. Several years ago, I approached student council and told them we were having a hard time paying for student magazines. We came up with a great deal. They get to pick what they are interested in and they pay for them. Usually it cost them about $800-$900 a year. This has worked out well. This year we are getting money for this from school fundraisers and I have to fill out a form to get the money each year.
I still have a periodical budget but it mostly pays for professional magazines for staff and things that support the curriculum.
Students love the magazines they pick out and I always have students in the library reading magazines during lunch time. I also do not let them circulate outside the library walls. Too easy to lose and then only one person enjoys the magazine. This way it stays around and more people enjoy it. For some reason in our building student council makes a lot of money. They have a big budget from year to year and they create it with fundraisers, etc. Sometimes they need ideas on how to spend it:)
Chris
Laura,
ReplyDeleteThe Big6 Information and Technology Skills are highlighted on the webpage and I wish I could say I had been successful in implementing them. The media specialists in the corporation have been trying for about 6 years to make this happen from k-12. We have not been successful. I even have the principal's blessing and still we can't get it together. I do teach it in various classrooms with staff who like it and we apply it when we can and remind students that it exists and can help them step through the research process. But it is not threaded through the curriculum like I would like to see it. And teachers are not held accountable if they don't reinforce it or even mention it. I really need for an administrator to help me push this but until they really see the benefit or care to look into it more, the push doesn't happen except in terms of lip-service. Not enough to make change. We hobble along with this one. Again, I have talked about scaffolding students and this is one of the tools we can use to support students as they learn. I like the idea of the roadmap it gives them and I see so much need for supporting students as we ask them to do research. We fail a lot of students when we don't give them a concrete way to succeed.
Library Use: Language arts classes do rotate in every two weeks at a convenient time for them. Students can also come in during the time before or just after school and the media center is open during lunch so students can come in then as well. We usually have quite a crowd at lunch becasue I also open it up for chess and checkers during this time.
Classes that want to schedule time to research using books can also do this by signing up on the calendar and reserving a time. I often also pull books for research and will send them to the teacher's room if they would rather work in their classroom.
Thanks for the questions.
Chris
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteI took a look at the LTTS site and was curious as to the status of those courses. It looks like they are no longer available. I wanted to share that with our faculty but as I looked it suggests that enrollment is suspended. Do you have an update on that?
I am a new media specialist for Valparaiso High School and I have found that while our center is used quite a bit, the only "record" we have of teacher and student use is our sign-up sheet and the units that we designed. However, we don't have a place that we accumulate data that shows the standards that we are addressing through our units. Your reservation form is a great idea. But, our faculty doesn't adapt to change very well. What is your advice on how to deal with faculty members that resist the change. In other words, our current practice does not require the teachers to fill out a form stating the standards that they are addressing when they come in. I fear that they may be less willing to come in to the media center if we place more work on them. Do you find that to be a problem?
Thank you for taking your time to chat with us. These blog sessions have been helpful.
Kristine
Judy,
ReplyDeleteIn our profession now you almost have to be a technology person as well as a print person. The two can't really be separated anymore.
I try to keep up with technolgy in special ed and with software and online resources for teachers and students. I purchase technology: Digital cameras, Presenters, Elmos, Overhead Projectors, Electronic slates for classrooms, Vision monitoring software that controls my computer lab, and on and on. I also serve as the first line of trouble shooting for all four labs around the media center. If a problem occurs in a lab, I am the first to get the call. If I can't fix the problem, I call in technology and they take care of it. Often, it is something I know how to fix and I can take care of it and the class or student can continue quickly. If they had to wait for our four technolgy people who service four schools, things would not go as smoothly.
I work closely with the technolgoy department. My best friend is the technology coordinator and we confer on purchases and have written grants together. We share a common vision for the use of technology and support each other.
It is a relationship I will sorely miss when he retires next year.
Hope this addresses your question.
Chris
Chris:
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your comments to not only my questions but the myriad of questions being posed. With all your knowledge and experience in grant writing, what advise could you give someone that would like to get started writing grants or finding grant $$ but has no idea what to do?
Thanks!
Hello Chris!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of the wonderful information so far. You have such wonderful insight and excellent ideas.
Your website is wonderful. I, like many others, have been trying to find "good ones" and it just makes me realize how incredibly lacking my website is! This is my first year as a media specialist in a k-4 building. It was just the other day that I found out how I get information put onto my webpage. Unfortunately, it was also then that I realized how pitiful mine really is...especially when I compare it to others!! Do you do the website yourself, or do you simply give someone the information?
Also, as far as collaboration goes, any suggestions to get teachers on board? I have tried putting myself out there and making myself available. I just haven't had any bites.
Thanks again for your input!! You are an excellent resource. What you have done is amazing. I hope one day I can have the impact at my school that you have had at yours!!
Elissa Ellis
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response! I will be keeping that in mind when I get into a Media Specialist position. I often think about what my first year might be like. I hear many stories of first year librarians and with all of the reading in class, I feel like I am absorbing a lot of information! What would you say is the most important things to focus on as a first year media specialist? I keep wondering if Procedures and Policies is something that is often revamped when new librarians come in or if most policies have been kept up with through the changes. Also, I really liked the layout of your website also. I thought there was a lot of valuable information for the students, parents, and teachers.
Jessica
Daynam,
ReplyDeleteGreat question but I don't have any expertise in this area. I imagine your job is very challenging. I did take the time to locate a couple of websites that you might glance at.
http:www.wssb.wa.gov This is a Washington State School for the Blind. I am usually impressed by Washington State programs.
http: www.educationatlas.com/visual-impaired-schools.html Gives a list of schools from all over the country for the visually impaired and will certainly have some ideas for you in terms of programming.
I wish I felt informed enough to add more but I think I had better leave this question for someone with more experience in this area.
I would love to know more about your job and how you serve your students and faculty.
Wish I could be more helpful. If I found myself in your position, I would certainly start surfing all the school websites I could find and figure out what others are doing across the country. There also must be state guidelines and other schools or organizations in Indiana who serve this population? The Center for Disability in Bloomington might also be a resource for you. I think Dr. Marilyn Irwin is the director.
Chris
Kristine,
ReplyDeleteIf you notice, the form is very friendly. All teachers really need to do is to circle or make quick check marks. Teachers know I use this form to help me make data driven decisions. My principal requires the form be filled out before the teacher can use the lab.
I have a table with a calendar for each lab and the forms next to the calendar. Teachers must come to the media center to fill out the form. I got my technology coordinator to back me as well because the data I gather also helps him to see what is used and rather we need more or less of some technologies. I also sign out equipment and track that.
As I mentioned earlier, we dropped the requirement for the standard. We changed principals and the new administrator did not want to stand behind this and requested it be dropped. I don't require teachers coming to the library to fill out a form, only those who want to reserve a computer lab.
You have to have an administrator behind you. Teachers generally will not go along with any new task unless it is mandated by admin and explained and sometimes even goes through union discussibles. Which this did! It is easy to ignore something that does not have teeth behind it.
Chris
Carol and Kristine,
ReplyDeleteMy best suggestion is to take a grant writing course. IU used to offer one and I took it. I really needed to understand the process and the class helped. I think Carol Tilley(?) taught it at the time. If you can't take a course, then partner with someone who is experienced the first time. You will learn an amazing amount and after you have one grant under your belt you may be ready to strike out on your own. Technology coordinators are usually good at grants. You might want to start there.
Good luck.
I am unsure what happened to LTTS in Bloomington. I have tried approaching it from several different directions and it does appear to have been shut down in 2007 with the promise to reopen but I can't find any evidence that it did start back up. It may have been picked up by PBS. I will have to do more searching. It was a great idea...Hope it isn't gone forever.
Chris
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteWeeding is an ongoing process for everyone. What are your thoughts about retaining old information on a subject for fear you may not be able to afford new?
Budgeting has caused the weeding process to become more difficult. Do you see the trend for your students to be using less print materials and relying more on technology? Are the teachers requiring both sources for research? Teachers and MS will have lists of web sites for children doing research, how often do you update them? Thank you for your time and insight.
Sue Reber
Jessica and Elissa,
ReplyDeleteYour questions had a common thread so I'm going to address both here.
When I first started, the previous librarian had been my mentor but she also had what I thought of as a flaw. She liked to handle multiple streams of information at one time and she often lost several of them along the way when she was doing something. She would tell someone she would help them in 5 minutes and she might never show up at all.
I decided I would be the most dependable person in the world. If I told someone I would be there, or I would help, I made sure I showed up on time and I did help. I wanted to be known as someone teachers could count on. I went into "service" in a big way. I think my first year of concentrating on what staff needed and being sure that I was there and always willing went a long way to help me make friends that year. In the process, I learned about what teachers were teaching, what the curriculum was, what teachers liked technology and who was most likely to make my life miserable when things didn't go exactly right. I still try to answer a teacher's call or plea for help immediately. After all when things go badly for teachers, they are usually facing 28 students who sense that they can take advantage of the break in focus and the atmosphere goes quickly downhill. Another body in the room to help hold things together works nicely.
As you get to help in classrooms, teachers will form an opinion of you. You can also suggest ways your strengths and knowledge might compliment what they are doing in the classroom. Make some good friends and go from there. Collaborations happen slowly and you need to build trust.
Chris
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering all of our questions. I was going to ask about grant writing but you have already answered it!
Above you mentioned that you might join a listserv to seek advice when you have a difficult book challenge.
How often do you encounter challenges to books? Who do most challenges come from? What do you do when someone wants to challenge a book? And finally, is there a book or books in your library that has been challenged more frequently than others?
Thanks
~Jenny C-J
Chris - thank you - I am learning a lot from your repsonses. I notice you are involved in assistive technology - PATINS and grants. Would you recommend the LMS become proficent in this area? Aren't special ed teachers trained in assistive tech as part of their teacher ed programs?
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteI will weed if the information is too old even if I can't afford new print material to replace it. However, if it has good pictures or diagrams, I may hold on to it longer. I can always support a query with current online info. I find, in fact, that I buy little print nonfiction these days unless it matches the curriculum or it is a big draw for student interest. (Cars, sports, animals, etc.)
Teachers are taking students to the labs for research and rarely requesting print books. I will pull books that go with their topic and offer them for research in the labs or in their rooms. Often I pull them and they are never touched but I try all the same. I encourage teachers to require at least one print resource when they assign a research paper.
I do have areas of the curriculum that I know will need to be developed and so I will buy print materials relating to Africa, Civil Rights, Native Americans, Civil War, and for China. I know these will be used by the staff that teach them.
I spend a bigger percentage of my money on fiction these days. Nonfiction can be outdated so quickly... especially in the sciences. You almost feel like you are wasting your money.
Good online resources are critical. We subscribe to Worldbookonline and to Nettrekker. I also encourage teachers not to turn students loose on the web since they waste an incredible amount of time. Most teachers are trying to focus students on two or three good sites or online resources.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Hello Ms. Somers- I live in Franklin here in Johnson County. I graduated from Center Grove, and I am very familiar with Indian Creek and Trafalgar. I have a practical question for you. I will be graduating next summer with my cert. in school media and I am a former English teacher. What are the chances of me finding employment in Johnson County? Should I bank on the fact that I will most likely have to find employment as a school media specialist outside of Johnson County, or even outside of the state of Indiana? Thank you, Steve Skirvin
ReplyDeleteMs. Somers- here is another practical question for you: I have been told to hold off on completing the MLS degree until I find employment as a school media specialist because I will be more marketable since schools will not have to pay me Masters pay- is this a good strategy? Does this make sense, or is it really the case? Thank You, Steve Skirvin
ReplyDeleteMs. Somers,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wealth of information in your response!
I, like Sherry Gick, am curious about funding. I currently have 11 computers on the jr/sr end and 10 computers on the elementary end of the library media center. The center is not on the rotation for equipment replacement by the technology staff. We tend to get the computers that are a bit older but still working. Do you have any suggestions for places to find technology grants?
Also, you mentioned doing book fairs. What companies do you use for this? Are there any that you would advise us to stay away from? Last year we were approached by a couple other companies (not Scholastic) about doing book fairs. I am familiar with Scholastic's program, but am a bit hesitant to try another one.
Amber H.
Thank you for your response, Chris. You are exactly right. I feel that trust has everything to do with it. The teachers have to get to know me first before any collaborative relationships can begin. I have done some little things to show that I have an interest in what they are doing in their classrooms. I gathered websites for fire prevention week and sent an email with the links, offered to pull books on a subject the students were studying (I even had some takers!!), and I asked the teachers for input on books and dvds I was ordering for the collection. Now, I am hoping I can get one on board and then I will keep my fingers crossed that I will experience a domino effect!
ReplyDeleteDoes your school use the Accelerated Reader Program? I would like to start a reading program within the media center and we currently have AR and have a good number of quizzes. I am struggling with the fact that I have a lot of books returned, but there is no accountability with the students as far as whether or not they actually read the book. I would rather circulation go down because the students are actually reading the books, than circulation going up because they find it fun to check out new books but arent' reading them. Any ideas???
Thanks,
Elissa Ellis
Ms. Somers- I have been reading about the concept of flex scheduling where students can access the library throughout the day not just during scheduled library times- do you do this at Indian Creek? It sounds like a good idea, but I cannot imagine how it would work on the practical level.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve Skirvin
Ms. Somers,
ReplyDeleteI took the course Resources for People with Disabilities w/ Dr. Irwin, but I never thought to go back and ask her more questions! Thanks for the websites; I do a lot of internet searching these days! I guess I'm just wondering what programs you do for middle schoolers because I can often find ways to adapt them for my students.
Thanks,
Dayna
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteLike the others, I've enjoyed reading all of your responses. They're very informative! I would also like to know what you think about Steve's question on holding off on his degree in order to be more marketable. I have recently discovered that it is rare here in Ft. Wayne for elementary school librarians to have any library schooling. In fact, if you have the master's, you're pretty much over-qualified. I do not know if this is the case for middle and high schools here, but is the media specialist certification or even the regular library degree uncommon among school librarians?
Thanks, Chris, for the information on how your Internet safety PowerPoint for parents was produced. You mentioned that some of the statistics may be a bit outdated now. I can't help but think that many of those percentages probably have increased (unfortunately). The presentation is still a valuable service for parents.
ReplyDeleteYour bio mentions that you have classroom teaching experience (language arts and American history). Many of us who are seeking media specialist certification also are classroom teachers who are looking for another professional experience in education. What do you miss most about your classroom teaching days? What do you miss the least? What should those of us who are considering taking a similar path keep in mind about this transition? Many thanks.
-Kelly Hladek
Wow, you people have inquisitive minds. A great quality for media specialists!
ReplyDeleteO.K. here we go. To Steve and Emily,
I got my job with a B.S. in English and 18 hrs. certification in Lib Science. The librarian I did my student teaching under retired. I was already in the school system teaching American Literature at the high school. When she retired I jumped at the chance to move to the media center. They already knew me there, so they weren't taking too much of a chance and I only had 2 years experience teaching so I was cheap. I was also mature since I went back to school after my kids were in grade school. I got my MLS a few years after taking the MS job.
I don't know about the chances for jobs in Johnson County or Indiana in general but I do know we are looking at retirements in the profession and that may be your best bet. I will be retiring in about 5 or 6 years and I know the Intermediate librarian will be retiring before that. All media specialists in the corporation have Master's Degrees. We have a lay person in the elementary school who is supervised by the Intermediate media specialist.
I believe most schools try to hire the most qualified people, but if it was a choice between two equally impressive people and one had certification and one had a Masters, and the economy was like it is now...I believe most boards would hire the person with certification. Most teachers follow the same path. They enter with a bachelor's degree and obtain that master's degree later.
I believe that in order for schools to get North Central Accreditation that they must have a full time media specialist in the library or media center. This helps a great deal. Both the high school and the middle school participate in the North Central program so they must hire media specialists. So far, I still have a job. There have been threats that I may lose my assistant and then my job would change dramatically. So far, my principal has seen that this hasn't happened but with more cuts expected next year, I am braced for a change.
A question on flex scheduling: Steve, to me this only means that the library isn't strictly reserved for some groups during the day. I do have LA teachers that come on a regular basis but they can also change the day they come if their plans change. Students can arrive at the library from anywhere at any time and find a place to take a test or finish an assignment as along as they have a pass from a teacher. So flexible to me means "loosely scheduled with holes for individual use." I will turn classes away if we are already full with other classes but this rarely happens because most staff do check with us before bringing a whole class in and we can always handle individuals.
Hope some of this helped. Good luck in the job search. Stay positive. Excuse any spelling errors, I'm trying to respond to these questions inbetween classes coming in for books today and I need to jump up and excite the masses.
Chris
Jenny and Judy,
ReplyDeleteI'm going for two at a time today so I can consolidate some of this and save space and time.
Book Challenges: I've had two in my 12 years. One was actually at the high school ( I was a committee member) and involved a Toni Morrison book, The Bluest Eye. We do have a policy in place that details what procedures are to be followed when someone seriously challenges a book. They must fill out a form stating their objections and they must also read the entire book. The library forms a committee of about 8-10 people who are willing to serve on it. This is made-up of parents, staff, students, and local clergy. All on the committee must read the book. We look at the objections and decide if the book has value and if the objectionable material is in the book for good reason. We make a recommendation to the board and if policy has been followed, they back us up and the parent backs down. This worked for the Bluest Eye. The second challenge didn't get that far but I agreed to remove the book from the media center for interesting reasons. I had purchased the book at the request of a student a few years before. The book was Jaws. It was not middle school material (lots of language issues) but the student was interested and his parent said he could read it.I bought it, he read it, and it sat in the collection until someone else checked it out and the parent looked at it and objected. I could have asked the parent to go through the process of challenging the book but I looked at it and based on several things decided I couldn't really defend it. IT was not grade level and amazingly and even more problematic, it had information in it that wasn't true. The author several years after writing the book, had said that there was so much misinformation about sharks in it that he wouldn't write the same book again. It was for this second reason that I decided we could do without it. I told my principal and wrote a letter to the parent explaining my reasons for removing the book. They were not the reasons the parent had wanted the book removed but it was removed all the same. My principal was very happy with me because it saved us all a lot of time. Bottom line... don't waste your time defending something that can't be defended just for the sake of fighting censorship. Sometimes you may include something in your collection that doesn't belong there.
Special Ed question: I think in some ways education has only recently embraced technology in the university setting. (10 years or so) and so we have lots of teachers who don't have the knowledge they need about what is out there for students with disabilities. I believe that is changing. When I started this job, I went to a PATINS conference and as a result, I had taken the disability class with Dr. Irwin and I purchased Kurzweil software for our special ed students out of my CPF funding. I saw a need we weren't filling and felt it was within my job description to serve the needs of students. Since then, I subscribe to a magazine called SETP or special education technology practice..this keeps me current on what is out there to help this population and it is passed on to the special ed teachers in the building to keep them up to date as well. Great Magazine. It is very important not to forget about this population. We also have a severe and profound population in the building and I make sure I purchase much lower materials for them.
I really am sorry my answers are so long, I just don't know how to shortcut some of this and make sense.
Chris
Amber and Elissa,
ReplyDeleteBookfairs: We hold two Scholastic bookfairs every year. One right before Christmas so that students can enjoy the "Buy one, Get one free" sale and pick up a gift for someone else. And in May, so that students can purchase some summer reading material. I like Scholastic for the most part. I do not do much except set the fair up for a week and let students buy or not. Students do love these things and we do sell quite a few books. The sixth grade are big spenders. They always seem to have money. I did look into another company one year when I was disgusted with Scholastic because a lot of their junk merchanise arrived broken but never made the change. Since then, things have improved. This fair also allows me in May to pick books out of the cases as my profit. I really like this feature.
READING COUNTS:
We use the Reading Counts program at the middle school, intermediate, and high school. We have online access to all their quizzes (over 14,000). This does cost us money on a yearly basis for a subscription. But it means that you can take a comprehension quiz over an incredible number of books in our library. Our greatest problem is keeping up with the labels on the books. We have really pushed this program this year and since we participate in the Young Hoosier Book Award program, students have the opportunity to take a test on these books as well and this is the way we track the students who are reading five of the books to participate in our end of year celebration. We also give small prizes for every two books read and passed using the program. I do not use their point system however. I give one point for one book. This way my lower readers can earn the same number of points as the more advanced readers. I feel this levels the playing field.
Special ed students use this program as well but we adjust the passing rate for them based on the teacher's suggestion.
Chris
Daynam,
ReplyDeleteProgram at the middle school are varied. We have althletic clubs, Choir and Band and Student Council. Chess Club and the computer after-school program.
We have a literary club I started this year. It is student driven. Students will submit artwork and writing and students on staff will decide what pieces to include and will also work on the layout. We hope to have the first annual magazine out in May. This might also be something that students at your school might enjoy. Middle school students love to express themselves and I had over 20 students apply for the editor jobs. I didn't know the idea would be so well received by students, but they can't wait to get started. Their first job is to choose a name for the magazine.
Thanks for all the great questions.
Chris
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteBeing a Media Specialist is absolutely the best job in the school system. But don't tell anyone. I love my job because it allows we to create programs, to be somewhat independent, and I get to interact with all of the students. The only downside is that it is more difficult to have personal relationships with students because you often only see them once every two weeks. I do develop relationships with students who are in Chess club or the afterschool program or part of the Literary magazine editorial group. There are also my booklovers. We swoon over Twilight or talk about Orson Scott Card or discuss the Bone graphic novels. But I definitely don't get the chance to spend as much time with students as I did when I was teaching. And the opposite is true. They don't get to know me as well either. That part I miss. But the job is so varied and so special and when your boxes of books arrive that you have painstakingly picked out, it's like Christmas!!!! So much fun.
And I don't miss the discipline problems, or the grading, or the parents. I would do it again in a hummingbird's heartbeat.
Chris
Steve,
ReplyDeleteWhat about letting students record their own booktalks. We have actually done this on video tape and then showed them to other students. No reason why students couldn't tape record them and play them for classes. This involves writing for an audience and it would also be a neat idea to let students do this on a podcast. If you have a library website, I'm sure you could add these to the website as well. They could add music etc.for dramatic effect. You would also add music in the background with a tape recorder. Just an idea.
You have me thinking now.
Chris
Chris~
ReplyDeleteYou made a very valid point about a book being a book no matter how many points the program awards. My previous school had AR and the picture books were all worth 0.5 points, so it took a lot longer for the younger students to read the number of points required. What is your passing percentage on the quizzes in order for the students to earn the point? I am still pondering exactly how I want to use AR or if I want to do something completely different.
I started the Young Hoosier program. Right now I am just requiring that the students come and do a book talk with me. I thought, being new, it would be a great way to get to know the fourth graders. So far they seem excited, but coming into the position late in the summer...I haven't had a chance to read all of the books. Any chance you might know where to find quick summaries of the Young Hoosier Books for this year??
Also, I know that you said it was hard to build relationships with the students seeing them once every week or two weeks. I am finding that the kindergarten and first graders are very willing to come up to me. I worry that because 2-4 grades had the same media specialist, they may never warm up to me. Any suggestions on how to encourage or build a relationship with those students.
Thanks again for talking with us!
Elissa Ellis
Elissa,
ReplyDeleteI set the RC persentage at 70 % for passing. Special Ed students are set at 50% if they are really challenged.
I use the program to encourage reading and it gives me a way to see if students have actaully read the Young Hoosier Books.
The Young Hoosier Book Award site will actually have a small synopsis of each book. Amazon.com will also have reviews of the book and I find this to be helpful as well. Also if you search with the book title and add "booktalk" you can usually pull up a site just for that book. I do try to read all the YHBA books over the summer so I'm prepared to make suggestions for students and I try to have the recommended 5 copies of each available. What I have found to be helpful is that if I have a bookfair in May, most of the Young Hoosier books will be included in that fair and so I will take them as part of my fair profit. That way, I don't have to spend budget money to get the books. This helps when budgets are tight.
Those 2-4th graders will be out of there before you know it. You will soon be the only one they will remember. You might want to purchase a special reading chair or beanbag chair or something that seems special to them and new so that your being there seems like a great idea and they can get excited about what you might do next!
Have a terrific year.
Chris
Thanks so much! You have given me some really good advice. My plan is to read the YH books for next year over the summer. I just haven't found the time coming into this postion late at the beginning of the year, as well, as taking this class, etc... I am even thinking about having the students blog about the books they read next year. We shall see if I am ready for that step! Have a great rest of the year!
ReplyDeleteThanks again,
Elissa Ellis
I'm signing off. It was great to talk with all of you. Thanks for inviting me into your class experience.
ReplyDeleteChris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the wealth of information you've shared with us the past several days!
I appreciate what you had to say about periodicals. My students do enjoy browsing through them in the library. I love the idea of student council funding the subscriptions and then using the money for professional journals. My library is currently lacking in professional resources and I hope to change that.
I don't know much about grants and was considering taking IU's class in the future. I will definitely look into that since it was helpful for you! I would love to be able to increase some of the technology we offer within the library for students to checkout.
The information you shared about book challenges was also reassuring. It's wonderful to know how others have handled the situation and the details surrounding the complaints.
Again, thank you so much for all that you have shared. This has been an informative conversation!
S. Gick
Chris I just wanted to thank you so much for all the information you shared. I cannot believe you apologized for long answers - it is I who should apologize for asking so many questions! I learned a great deal but perhaps the main thing i will take away is what you wrote about the special ed population - I believe more could be done to help these students. Thanks you much! Have a great week.
ReplyDelete