QR Code Update

On Friday I had some freshman classes in the library for independent book selection. The second of the two classes had a few minutes left at the end of the period and one of the students decided to download a QR reader onto her phone and check out the barcode on the book she had checked out. Two of her friends gathered around to see the book trailer. This was the first time I had witnessed a student doing this with the books I had put on display with the codes. They loved it and started scanning codes on other books before the bell rang. I figured this PR attempt would take some time to catch on and was glad to see it being used.

Public Library Card on School Supply Lists

Lately I have been seeing some discussion on listservs about adding a public library card to school supply lists. Genius! Why hadn't I thought of this? I have been trying to think of ways to get my students signed up for public library cards and this never occurred to me. I think we need to try it!

Statistics

Usually the term 'statistics' makes me a little nervous since, despite what my transcript says, I didn't do so well in that graduate course. Luckily, library statistics are a little easier to deal with and don't involve charts and formulas.

Maintaining accurate and current statistics is very important for a number of reasons. They are required for annual reports, grant applications, and budget justifications. They can also help you keep your job when you can clearly show how many patrons are coming to programs, checking out materials, and using technology. It may appear to be good enough to tell an anecdote about how great the library program is, but the truth is numbers are important.

Keep up on your library stats by updating your records at least once a month. It is more impressive (and good for your sanity) if you have the numbers available when you need them. Keep track of visitors, circulation, program attendance, etc., in a spreadsheet. Data from database subscriptions may only be available going back a few years so don't rely on vendors to keep your stats for you.

Numbers can also help you evaluate your program by highlighting weak areas that you hadn't noticed before, such as low database usage or book circulation in a specific area. Using statistics to evaluate your program is an easy way to do a regular check-up on how your library is operating and gives you hard data to compare current activity to previous years.

Why?

I don't think college students would enjoy being compared to toddlers, but this morning my mind made that connection. You know how you get one idea in your head and it leads to another and another and the next thing you know you are making some oddly relevant connections? That's what happened. 

I was thinking today about trying to get another student teacher. I got lucky my first time and had a great one. This reminded me about how much I enjoy teaching college students because they make me really think about how things work in libraries and schools and why we do things the way we do.

It's the whole "Why?" question. Children ask "why" all the time because they are curious. They see the world with fresh eyes and are trying to understand how it works. It's the same with newbie librarians. They want to know "why". And this is a great thing for the veterans.

Being asked why you do something makes you step back and consider it. Why do we have the policies we do? Why is the library set up that way? Why do we do the things we do? Why is that book challenged? When you have been doing the same job for a long time, things become routine and you forget the rationale behind the initial decisions to move in specific directions. "That's the way it has always been done" isn't a valid answer. What events and decisions led to that practice?

The next time you are thinking about how to evaluate your library, bring in a library science intern or student who needs observation hours - he or she will ask you questions about areas of your library facility and program that you haven't considered in a long time.

When is the last time you were asked why you do things the way you do?

Classroom Tip of the Day: Painter's Tape on Whiteboards

My school recently administered the Keystone Exams (new end of course exams in algebra, literature and biology). My role was to offer a coffee/bathroom break to test proctors, a very important job that also allowed me to visit classrooms I hadn't been in before. In the first class I visited I noticed something brilliant - blue painters tape on the whiteboard! It was so easy and clearly designated areas of the board for specific classes. I thought that it was genius because it stood out more so than drawing lines, couldn't get erased and didn't damage the board. Later I saw it in a special education room where the teacher had used it to make a chart with a box for each student and his/her assignments. I was starting to see a trend and wasn't sure who did it first, but it was such a simple, effective idea.

What tricks do you use in your classroom/library?

Curriculum you can't teach

I've been working on a new 9-12 curriculum for the last few months. It's hard. Really hard. Not the actual writing part, but the bit where I try to conceptualize a great curriculum I don't know that I'll even be able to teach. I feel like it is more of a wish list for my seniors than a guarantee of the information literacy skills I will teach them before they graduate. That is very frustrating to me. I don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep. So I have decided to do the only thing I can think of - conceptualize a great curriculum and make a plan for implementation.

I know what skills my students should have before graduating. I have written curriculum before, read the articles, attended the workshops and see the skills my college students lack. The problem lies in the fact that I am writing a curriculum without a guarantee that I can teach it. At my former district I had a quarterly freshman class. We also had two librarians and never taught at the same time so it worked - introductory skills taught and other classes could be attended to. But I can't do that alone. It feels rewarding when my colleagues ask for help with research projects, but I want to scream when they don't tell me about other projects or assume the students know what to do because they are honors or seniors. Don't they understand that the information literacy skills are a constant work in progress with these young adults? In these moments I wonder why I'm wasting my time making curricular promises to the students that I can't keep.

I know what others will say - "you have to collaborate", "don't let the teachers do research without you", "attend department meetings", etc. I understand all that very well and say the same things to others in my situation. After all, it is easy to blame the others for not collaborating with me. How can I do my job if no one else will play nice?

But then I had to be honest with myself. The simple truth is that I have expected too much in the last two years. I can see the library program and role in my school that I want. And I wanted it from Day 1. Over the last year and a half I have alternated between proud at the impact I have made some areas and frustrated at the slow change that has come in others, as well as going through the process of being the "new kid". I've come to realize that the key is patience and understanding that it won't happen overnight.

Ugh, I'm not good at thinking like that. But I have to.

You see, when you have a curriculum you aren't guaranteed to be able to teach, you have to think positively and creatively. And have a plan.

• Write the dream curriculum - include everything my students should know to prepare them for college and life in general beyond high school
• Hmmm...now I have to teach it. Zero in on those that have already been working with me for more collaboration in the planning stages of the lesson. (Hear that English and social studies? We need to talk...No, we aren't breaking up. We have been together for awhile now and it is time to take our relationship to another level.)
• Spread the word about information literacy and tech integration and meet more of the faculty. Host tech workshops regularly for flex hours. An hour here and there should draw them in. (Snacks will probably help, too...)
• Begin inquiring when other departments are rewriting their curriculum and attempt Phase One of Information Literacy Cross-Curricular Integration 

Collaboration isn't always easy, but it is the only way I can teach my curriculum. Stay tuned as I implement "Operation Information Literacy Skills".

Google Art Project

I love museums of any kind. Ok, except Modern Art. Although I try, I just don't get most of it. Yesterday I heard about yet another Google tool, the Art Project. This site is fascinating. It combines the ease of  traveling around in Google Earth with close ups of masterpieces from around the world. I really shouldn't have been surprised by this project having stumbled across and explored museums in Google Earth previously (Louvre). The beauty of this site lies in it's simplicity. The background of the screen is a constantly changing array of artwork from the collections with only half of the screen initially dedicated to menus and instructions. The focus is quite obviously on the art, not a cluttered web site. There are drop down menus to select the museum, then the user chooses to "view artwork" or "explore the museum". Each piece of artwork is accompanied by notes on the piece, artist information, additional works by the artist (all with images), and the history of the ownership of the piece. Each museum has an interactive floor plan, links to the museum page, the history of the museum and location on Google Maps, of course. It is hard to decide if the "street view" stroll down the museum halls or the ability to zoom in to examine the finest brush strokes is the more engaging experience.

For those who desire a little more assistance, there are two beginner videos (Visitor Guide and Behind the Scenes) that are linked from YouTube. The behind the scenes one is merely a 2 minute or so montage of museums included in the project and Google staff members photographing, but it is still informative and makes one a little jealous of the participants.

Google Art Project - Google Art Project via kwout

QR Codes and Enticing Readers

Last week I decided to finally give QR codes a try. I have been seeing librarians talk about book trailers on list servs for quite awhile now, and figured it was time to investigate how to use QR codes to link books to their book trailers.

The first step was locating book trailers to use. I found that many publishers have set up their own channels on YouTube with trailers, interviews and more linked there. I decided to add as many as I could, so I searched through the publishers' channels to locate interviews and trailers for as many books as I had.

It was easy to create the codes on QR Stuff . All I had to do was copy the URL for the video into the generator and download the finished product. The process was:

1. Find video on YouTube
2. Copy url address into QR Stuff generator
3. Download QR code as an image
4. Rename and save download to "Book Trailers" folder on desktop
5. Insert QR code image onto Word Document 
6. Print full page

I set up a 3 column Word document to print out the labels and added a title for each ("Raven Boys Book Trailer" or "Libba Bray Author Interview") so that I could tell the codes apart. I left the title with the code when I placed them on the books since the first may be an interview and then add a trailer later. It was easy to copy and paste as many codes as I needed for titles with multiple copies. I used yellow paper to try to get them to stand out more against the cover. Luckily, I picked a day when I wasn't interrupted too much because it is easy to mix them up if you don't do it in a set pattern of creation and labeling. I did a quick scan of each code with my phone to double check that the right videos were linked.

As for the display, I went as simply as I could. I just wanted to draw attention to the new features and see how the students reacted. I use my iPhone to take quick pictures of the newly coded covers, emailed them to myself and printed them out to add to the bulletin board.

Several of the titles have been checked out, but I'm not sure yet if it is the popularity of the series or the new codes had something to do with it. Time will tell, but for now it is a fun and easy way to draw the attention of my readers. I'm also hoping that some teachers who do independent reading projects might consider book trailers as an alternative assignment.

(Almost) Tech-free Holidays

Over the holiday break my fiance and I attempted to go tech-free as much as possible, especially Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We did pretty good, opting for quality time with a movie marathon, catching up on some TV series (can't wait for Downton Abbey season 3!), a little post-holiday sales shopping, and Les Miserables. It is so easy to get lost in laptops, smartphones, and other devices that it is important to make a conscious effort to put them aside once in a while.

But....technology does have some advantages. Today I was thinking about some of the ways I used various tech tools (despite attempts otherwise) in the last two weeks:

• Using my Canon Rebel T3i camera to make copies of family photos at the future in-laws
• Using the Ancestry.com app on the iPad to share what I have found at family gatherings, instantly update the tree with more names and find more information from historical documents as we talked
• Edit family photos on my laptop to upload to Ancestry program and make copies for family on printer/scanner
• Search Pinterest for inspiration to make holiday wreaths
• Search online for instructions on how to make a bows for wreaths (found, but ended up not using them)
• Listen to audiobooks downloaded from public library while making the wreaths
• Download and read books onto Kindle
• Saved Christmas specials throughout December on DVR to watch on holidays (LOVE Prep & Landing!) 
• Pretending we had a fireplace with the yule log on OnDemand (couldn't resist!) while opening presents
• Use shopping lists on Grocery IQ app on my phone

What didn't I use? Twitter, the "professional" email account for listservs, writing blog posts, etc. 

Technology is such an integral part of our lives that we must strive to find the balance between helpful and distracting. One of my resolutions is to do more tech-free days on non-holidays, as well as holidays.