Library Support Personnel

Woe is me! I miss my clerk this week. She's been home for several days, terribly ill and struggling to feel better. I have been reminded daily of how crucial she is to the performance of our library program. This year her presence especially hits home, because in our high school libraries we had cuts to LMS staffing; each high school now has one full time, certified library media specialist and one (almost) full time clerk. Last year, we had an additional half-time LMS (Mrs. Reeves), and this library functioned very successfully between the three of us.

This semester, I know I've dropped the ball on some things. We haven't had a major library contest yet. The video collection conversion from title to Dewey is dragging. I cannot travel as easily to classrooms for technology problem solving. I find myself staggering class instruction so that I am not delivering teaching for seven hours per day.

Don't get me wrong. We are still very viable and alive. When our last book order arrived, we had a sensational day sharing books and snacks with students and staff. We are having a great time with the Library Club (meet us at AMC 30, Monday, Nov. 23 at 3:45 p.m. for New Moon). Cirulation figures are off the charts. The library just played a huge part in a schoolwide Veteran's Day celebration that involved many different events and performances.

But when cuts are made, programs suffer. If I were to also lose our wonderful library clerk, Mrs. Curbow, I do not know how I would continue striving to provide an exemplary program and still keep my head above water. Mrs. Curbow is the first point of entry in our library, and she handles a great deal of customer service up front, allowing me to perform programming work on the side. This week without her has made me appreciate her help and caring attitude all the more!

The decisions that school districts are making today are grave ones that affect much more than a budget. They affect the functioning of lively, engaging school library programs run by certified teacher-librarians who are invested in students and their learning. Those librarians need adequate staffing to help them provide exemplary programs. What a shame if budgetary constraints dictate wrong decisions that ultimately wind up hurting our student populations...

We are back in business!

Library Log is up and running again. I strayed to WordPress, but ultimately decided that our students and staff are best served by using Dreamweaver for the library web page, and Blogger for the Library Log blog. I'm looking forward to sharing news about the Olathe East Library Media Center with students, staff, and our community.

Mrs. Franklin

Hey Seniors! Bring Back Those Books!

Dear Soon-to-be-graduates:

We are a fun place. We provide a myriad variety of services for all of our patrons. Remember the day we served nachos and cheese, just because? Or the fun library parties, complete with gorgeous new books, prize drawings, and candy? We are all about books, and young people. And sometimes, food. We are not in the business of charging overdue fines.

However, as the last day of school for senior students approaches, we do hold our wonderful students to one expectation: making good on their library accounts. What does this look like?

1. Return your library books by May 15.
2. If you've borrowed a book and lost it, please pay for it.
3. If you've borrowed a book and damaged it, please pay for it.

Come, bring your books back to the library. If you need to make payment, please bring either cash or a check made out to: Olathe East. If you return your books,we'll probably do a cheer for you! We might even jump up and down. We want your graduation checkout process to go as smoothly as possible. Taking care of this portion will complete one more item off of your checklist!

Students, our goal is to have all books returned and to avoid having any students have to pay for materials. We look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks.

And yes, we are going to miss you so much! Your visits have been a source of fun, wonder, inspiration, and many good experiences.

The OE Library Staff - Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. Reeves, and Mrs. Curbow

Web 2.0 for Teacher-Librarians

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Web 2.0 for Teacher-Librarians

View more presentations from Lori Franklin.

Updates, Club News and Movies!

The first semester passed by so quickly at Olathe East, that I did not take time to blog! We saw a tremendous amount of classes in the OE LMC for instruction, research projects and other visits. Our numbers attending Academic Resource Time (ART) and Seminar are up over the previous year's figures. These increased visits make our library a very busy place, and we have been strategizing how we'll handle increased numbers of students when the 9th graders move up to high school (2011-2012). The library will not be having additional space added, so we will need to be careful and thoughtful about how we manage an increase of 500+ more students. One suggestion is to convert our office area into an instructional space. Because we have moved our desks out onto the library floor, this is viable and may well free up space currently used by our instructional section.

The Reading Club has been meeting regularly. Club members worked together last week to sign and decorate Christmas cards for our U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. We were so pleased with the caring and creativity our students expressed at our work party. Of course, food, drink and holiday music rounded out the event!

Last month, several students, teachers and I attended "Twilight." It was so much fun to see how the movie captured certain aspects of Stephenie Meyer's first novel. Of course, when a book is translated to a movie, there are often many details left out and this was the case here. Still, the movie was enjoyable and from what I've read, it looks like the second film will be created, aligning with New Moon. At first, I did not like the way Edward looked (based on my own preconception of what he might look like), but as the movie played, he grew on me. It was a fun afternoon activity!

We are so delighted to have a new library clerk, Kathy Curbow. She loves working with young adults, and has a lot of experience. A library clerk is often the first point of contact in this setting, and we are especially pleased that Kathy exudes such a warm, welcoming presence for our students and teachers. If you haven't met her yet, please stop by and say, "Hello."

We are wrapping up this semester and eagerly looking forward to 2009. One of my resolutions for the new year is to update this blog more often. Be watching for previews of new books we've ordered, and for upcoming library celebrations. Hint: one day next week we will be giving away cookies to our Seminar attendees!

The Twilight Series Phenomenon

By now, you've no doubt heard about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. We have six copies of each title and cannot keep them from flying off of our library shelves. Really, what is so great about a love story between an average high school girl and a guy (well, let's just say "supernatural" doesn't really begin to describe him) who has piqued her interest?

I've read Twilight and New Moon. I want to read Eclipse. But I am making myself wait. Why? Because I need to get my life back! I need to study for classes I am taking. Instead I've been plugging into my iPod and listening to the adventures of Bella and Edward for hours and hours and putting off all sorts of important things in my home that simply must be accomplished! I'm giving myself a two-week break to try not to muse about Meyer's exciting books, and to focus on reality instead...

And honestly, I cannot wait to download the third book. I'm dreading beginning the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, because I know that the series will then be complete, and I'll have to quit living in Meyer's world, until I find another series worthy of my attention. I've thought a lot about the Twilight series, and here are the reasons why I think Meyer's books are so popular with readers:

• The main character, Bella, is just an ordinary girl who has to shuffle off to a new high school, in a strange small town, and mostly just wants to get through the first few days of school. She also wants it to stop raining, which is nearly never does, because the story is set in the Pacific Northwest.
• Edward is such an enigma. He's smouldering, angry, contemptuous, and yet at the same time, hugely appealing and even protective. Clearly, he's enough to keep any girl on her toes, trying to figure out how make him happy. I also forgot to mention one other character trait: he's drop dead gorgeous!
• Bella's character shows growth and spunk, especially from her first, somewhat hapless days at school as she gets to know the kids who go there. With time, and anger, she develops into a feisty woman prepared to make important decisions that will affect the rest of her life.
• Meyer really taps into the intensity, and the extreme joys and sadnesses of a first true love. The stories she weaves reminds readers of the first time they fell hard for somebody, and went through all of the accompanying emotions, and even physical reactions. When Bella looks at Edward, she can hardly speak, let alone think. She feels as if her heart will break right out of her chest, because it is pounding so hard.
• I've watched boys, girls, twenty-somethings, married couples, and parents enjoy this series - it has huge crossover appeal for a variety of people in different situations in their lives. Several teachers at Olathe East are talking daily about the characters and the events that motivate them to act as they do.
• Simply said, word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful forms of advertising. This book has legs like the Harry Potter series, even if sales figures don't necessarily match up.
• Finally, Meyer is an excellent storyteller. She gives enough detail to paint a picture, but at the same time knows not to give too much away, especially early on. She's been criticized for using too many adjectives in her writing, but aside from the occasional awkward phrase, her stories just work. And work, and work, and work.
• This is one of those cases, where I resisted reading a book for a long time. I scoffed, "Yeah right, it's some love story/vampire thing." Oh but readers, it is so much more than that. And while I wish I'd dived in earlier, I cannot complain and as I mentioned, I dread finishing up the final book in the series. I also resisted reading Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) for years, and after finishing the entire series, could have kicked myself for not giving it a try sooner. Same deal with Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry).

If you've finished reading the Twilight series and you need a vampire book fix, consider Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire. Again, great storytelling, compelling characters, and a swirling plot all come together for an exicting read. Yes, it is part of a series! So if you get hooked...

Drop by the Olathe East library for more suggestions about great books to read. We'll spend time with you, and help you find what will work. We welcome suggestions from students, teachers, parents and our community about other great reads to stock in our library.

Summer's Over, Baby...Time to Rock 'n' Roll!

Mrs. Reeves and I are so happy to be back in the Olathe East Library, greeting a new school year. As always, it is a pleasure to catch up with former students and to notice how much they grew over the summer months! We've met some really fun sophomores who are excited about checking out a new library setting. We created an awesome, relaxing area surrounded by magazines, interesting books to look at, and cool toys for exploration!

We welcome a new library clerk, Martha Credit. Mrs. Credit has extensive experience serving QUEST students in the past, and has enthusiastically joined our team in the library. Be sure and say "Hello" when you see her in the library.

Once again, we are excited about providing students with an alternative place to eat lunch during fifth hour. I am always pleased to see our students treating the library with care, in terms of cleaning up after themselves.

Best of all, it's time for another great Book Party! Please join us all day Tuesday, Aug. 26, as we unveil our newest book offerings and provide treats for our patrons. This year we have scheduled the Language Arts classes to bring their students for visits. Our Book Party also aligns with the curriculum: students will self-select from a variety of literary offerings. The Language Arts department has a new requirement for students at Olathe East - they each need to have a book to read daily during class time. We encourage students to drop in and choose from a variety of genres, including an extensive Manga selection.

Next week: Library Club Sign Up!