Week 1 Part 2

Scholastic Book Fairs are a great way to raise money for libraries. This week I was able to participate in a webinar geared toward helping people make the most out of their Book Fair. It was very informative. The presenter, Paige, talked about three things they want a Book fair to be: Easy, Fun, and Meaningful.

When they talked about "easy", what the meant was they do not want a librarian to feel swamped by running a book fair. Scholastic provides lots of tools and help along the way. "Fun" means the book fair should be a great time for the students, and even their families. It should be a time when people can choose leisure reading that suits their interests and therefore gets a book in their hands. "Meaningful" included talking about their book donations through "All for Books" and how important Scholastic believes it is to have a book in the hands of every child.

One great resource given during the webinar was to a report summarizing a considerable amount of research on reading. It contains information applicable to schools, but might also be used as information to give to parents to encourage reading.

In second grade we did a fun project this week! They have been studying animal habitats, so they chose a book about a specific animal, did a short report, and then completed a fun art project showing the animal in its habitat. The kids had a ball! Parents even said this was the most fun they have had with science all year. I love the integration of science, writing, and art!

Week 1

I began my practicum hours on January 4 with a meeting with Mrs. Brittany Butler, the LMS at Bowling Green High School (BGHS). We were able to sit down to discuss the semester and what needed to be accomplished.

Mrs. Butler and I were also able to discuss my unique situation. I currently teach second grade at Bowling Green Christian Academy (BGCA). Our library is available for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The librarian at our school is not certified and volunteers only two days per week. We are very thankful for her, but her limited time at school does not allow her the opportunity to do all that needs to be done. So, in discussing this with Mrs. Butler, she said that she would be glad for me to spend hours assisting at BGCA while also spending time in her library to learn there as well. She is in a large high school without an assistant. I am very thankful to be able to be of service in both places this semester.

One of the things we were behind on at BGCA was adding new books to our catalog. I met with the BGCA librarian to learn the system. She uses RenWeb to keep our inventory and track circulation. It is reasonably simple to add books manually, but you can also import MARC records from The Library of Congress. What a wonderful timesaver!

Here is a picture of one screen used when adding books in RenWeb:

I have been able to spend more than 10 hours cataloging items in the last two weeks. It has been great to have a bit of a head start on hours and learn such a practical and valuable skill.