Week 1

This week was the first week I spent time in the RHS library since May 2009 when I graduated from high school. Walking down the hallways brought back lots of memories and each time I heard the bell ring, I still felt the need to rush to my next class.

Wednesday.

Mrs. M did a presentation on using databases for a freshmen English class. The students were to use the databases and other recommended sites to find information for a research project. I was able to assist by navigating through the database and websites while Mrs. M spoke to the class. Next week, she will be presenting to another class. Each class has several sections, so she is giving me the opportunity to do one of the presentations. I am looking forward to it!

Also on Wednesday, Mrs. M taught me how to use her circulation system. One of her student library aides had weeded out all of the classic titles from the fiction section so they could be replaced with newer copies with more appealing covers. I was able to create a list of the titles by scanning the books in to the computer for Mrs. M. Then she was able to email the list to her book buyer to create a quote for replacement books. This is something I did not know librarians were able to do! I always create the quotes myself and then get them approved before purchasing. The book buyer that Mrs. M uses will be coming to the library soon, and I am looking forward to meeting her! Maybe I can use her in my library at Christ Academy.

Friday.

On Friday, I spent time looking at the budget reports that Mrs. M receives each month. She showed me how she keeps track of expenses and revenue, and also explained how late fines are handled in her library. I learned that collecting late fines in a school library is very difficult because there are not a lot of consequences for students who do not pay the fines. Mrs. M also explained to me the process for ordering in her library. She must turn orders in to get approval and the items are then purchased through the front office.

One subscription Mrs. M has was very interesting to me and something I believe my school could use. "NetSupport School" is a classroom management tool that allows teachers/librarians to monitor the content on each computer in their classroom/library. It seemed fairly affordable after looking at the budget, and I will definitely be talking to my IT director at Christ Academy about this program when I return to school!
Check Out NetSupport School