Ahhh, Summer!

Here we are, almost halfway through the summer, and I am not halfway through my reading list or my to do list!  As usual, the casual living of summer has taken me out of routine and into the moment, which means that my best-laid plans are out the window as soon as a better opportunity comes along!  Still, I have devoted part of every day to reading.  Sounds easy for a librarian, right?  Well, I should clarify.  I have devoted part of every day to reading something adult and/or professional -- which is not always what I want to read.  As I tell students and their parents, reading every day is the best way to keep the skills we have, but the only way to strengthen those skills is to read things that challenge us.  So, this summer I am practicing what I preach.  No, it isn't easy, and no, I don't really like it, but it is doable and I know it will pay off, because I already have a list of ideas to implement in the coming year.

I wonder how many of my students and fellow colleagues are practicing what we all preach -- to read throughout the summer?  We all agree it is the best academic activity, yet so few actually follow through and do it.  I know why -- because it is easier to do other, more fun, activities.  It is easier to watch TV or to play video games than to put the time and effort into reading.  So, I have made my reading a part of something I love to do -- which is sit on my deck in the cool of the morning, sipping some really wonderful coffee or tea, and enjoying the fresh air.  Rather than taking my current novel, I take my current professional book or magazine outside with me.  Here's hoping all my students and fellow teachers can find a way to make reading part of what is undoubtedly their favorite time of year -- summer.

Winding Down to Summer

I dislike this time of the year in the LMC.  After months spent working with students to get them reading, encouraging them to try new books and check out multiple materials, I have to switch gears and try to get them to return materials and limit the number of items they can take.  It is a frustrating change for me.

Still, the fact remains that I am responsible for inventorying all these materials, making sure they are back on the shelves, and preparing the collection for use by the summer school students.  Towards that end, I have instituted a couple of new practices.

1. A maximum checkout of 4 materials per student.  Hopefully, this will lessen the number of outstanding overdues and help the students keep track of what they have more efficiently.
2. Any overdue material means that only one book for reading practice can be checked out.  It must stay in the classroom.
3. May 20 has been set as the final due date.  All LMC materials need to be returned by then, and no new checkouts will be allowed for students after that date.

As we continue working toward the summer, the LMC staff will complete an inventory of the fiction, nonfiction, magazine, reference, and audiobook sections of the LMC.  Students will receive more frequent notices of overdue materials.  Letters will be sent outlining long overdue materials and requesting payment for all lost items.  With some hard work, the collection will be ready for summer school.

If We Didn't Have a Library...

As we enter National Library Week, it is time to reflect on just how the school library enriches the lives of our students.  Without the library here at Meadowview Intermediate, our students would not have such a wide variety of materials to read for pleasure and for information.  They would not have access to computers every day.  They would not have magazines to read that support their interests.  They would not have audiobooks and specialized reference materials, like the encyclopedias of the Native Americans, Mammals, and The Civil War.  They would not have expert help while learning to navigate the Internet.   They would not all be taught the same process for accessing and using information.  They would not all have the opportunity to explore and create using the available technology.  The gap between the haves and the have nots would only widen.  There would be no safe and comfortable place to work alone or in a group.  Their exposure to the vast and ever-increasing amount of information available to them would be dependent on the knowledge, interest, and comfort-level of their classroom teacher.  They would never know the joy and wonder of browsing through a large order of new books and deciding what to read first.  Without libraries, their learning would progress...but it would lack the depth and variety offered here at the Meadowview Intermediate LMC.