What Other School Libraries Are Doing

 

Cindy Carr, Librarian at Cleveland High School, received these listserv responses.

 

 

1.  When I started a club when I first got here in the l997-98 school

year, I had about 10 members.  We're over 30 this year.  Here are some

of the things we do: 

• participate in Homecoming Parade,
• dress as book characters
• visit the elementary school during Children's Book Week,
• sponsor the football players to read at the primary school during Teen Read Week, 
• sponsor a Missouri Evening for 5th graders in October,
• sponsor a Beach Party for 2nd graders in April,
• do something for all our staff for National Library Week (This year they're doing bags of goodies, and the note on the bag will say, "The Library is Your Bag of Treats" –
• last year made wallpaper teapots for everyone - over 100 - attached a bag of tea, sponsored a tea party with goodies - and put a note saying "The Library is Your Cup of Tea" on each teapot.),

• attend a 2-day state convention,
• make a video for convention,
• make a scrapbook for competition at convention,
• have a family potluck/awards dinner at the end of the year.
• This year we're going to do a promotion on Epsilon Beta for the 8th graders.   Each event is chaired by a different member.
• We have the traditional 5 officers, plus lots of my students have served, or are serving at state officers. 

We stay busy. Good luck.  I'd say the effort expended is worth the trouble.  In fact, my students are staying after school tonight.  We pick a team of 4 to compete for us in the Quiz Bowl  at the state competition, and tonight is the final night.  They've studied, we've practiced with the buzzers, and tonight we choose the team.  As an incentive, I pay $10 of the convention costs for each student who makes it onto the team.

 

2.  Name of group? Galeton Area School Library Aides

 

What is your mission? To keep the library running smoothly, to provide services for our student population.

 

How do you encourage participation? Advertise in the school newspaper, word of mouth, friends encourage friends to sign up.

 

What activities do you plan? Christmas party, field trip at the end of the year for all who have worked at least ½ the school year.

 

How long has the group been in existence? Since 1979

 

Is your group part of a larger (statewide, national) organization? No

How many members do you have? Varies from marking period to marking period -

administration does not allow students to volunteer if they are failing any subject or have 2 or more D's.

 

If you have a web site, what is its URL? No

 

Any advice? Students can use this volunteer time to complete community service

requirements for graduation - 20 hours in grades 9-10 and 20 hours in grades 11-12.  I post a list of rules/guidelines on the library aide roster book. They are to read and agree to them before they start to volunteer. Rules talk of being on time, having a good attitude for whatever task they are assigned-because all jobs are necessary for a smoothly running library, commitment for the entire 6 week marking period - no quitting midway through the term.

 

They sign in each time they work; date, type of work done, amount of time

spent - this is for my annual report to the school board. I total hours by

volunteers (grades 7-8)  and by community service (grades 9-12) and if I

have any adult volunteers (rarely, unfortunately)

 

3.  We have a Lincoln Lion Lunch Bunch. We discuss a book a month with 5th

graders who have all A's but are not in GT. Usually have pizza, but once we walked to BBQ place 2 blocks away. Today for example we are discussing The Keeping Room, then kids will do Reader's Theater from Sequoyah Sampler. Sponsored by librarian

Jolene Singleterry, Lincoln Elementary, Chickasha

 

4.  Name of group?  Academy Central Library Club

 

What is your mission? To teach interested student to have work ethics by working in the library with duties such as: circulation, shelving, straightening, as well as daily jobs that rotate in the library.

 

How do you encourage participation?  By putting them on schedule a pay them

(with candy) when the job is done.  Each student is scheduled to work in the library one day a week for 15 minutes.

 

What activities do you plan?  After they put away books and straighten, that have one of seven jobs to do each time they come in.  The jobs include: hall patrol, floor patrol, straighten magazines, straighten reference, straighten computers, lead helper, book display.

 

How long has the group been in existence?  Since September of 2002.

 

Is your group part of a larger (statewide, national) organization?  No

 

How many members do you have?  35 at a time (some drop out and others are on

a waiting list)

 

Any advice?  Just do it!

 

Carol Hughes, Library Media Specialist, Academy Central Elementary

 

 

5.  We have a club intended to promote library use:

 

Name: Sequoyah 4 X 4 Club

Mission: Encourage students to read 4 or more Sequoyahs in 4 months (mid-Sept. -- mid-Jan.)

Encourage: Announce to all classes at beginning of year, decorate enrollment area with balloons, etc.

Activities: Meetings once a month, annual field trip, voting and end-of-year celebration

Tenure: 4th year

 

Janie Trotter, Lewis and Clark Middle School, Tulsa

 

6.  Is this something you would be interested in on an elementary school level?

I have a library volunteer club that helps out in the library and a book club that has different activities centering on reading.  If this is something you'd be interested in I could send you more information.

 

Debbie Barrick, Library Media Specialist, MacArthur Elementary

 

7.  We do not have a club, but we have library workers within the school-to-work program.  They have service projects worked into their jobs.  They also work within the library, including putting curriculum based 40 minute-programs for the first and second graders (school-to-work students are all fifth graders.)

 

Diana Terry

 

 8.  This is slightly off topic, but I have to write and tell you how much I loved my high school library club, in Bloomfield. CT. It was named the Nutmeg 020 Club, Nutmeg because that's the CT state nickname and 020 probably for the Dewey number. We worked at the circ desk, shelved books and helped out with various other projects. As a

special thank you our librarian, Victoria Miucci, took us to a Broadway play each spring. We went down to New York City on the train and I think paid for our own tickets, but she supplied snacks along the way. I learned so much about the library and it's probably one reason I'm a librarian today. By the way this was from 1959-1963 and the fact that I still can recall my time there and how much I enjoyed it says a lot for this type of club.