Every Day is a Whirlwind

Apparently this is just how things go in a high school library, and I think that's great.  Every day is busy but really feels impactful.  The elementary school was busy, but less frantic, if that makes sense, because the schedule was so regular.  The high school library is different in that it's less regular (and louder), but I love the variety of things that happen in any given day.

Classes come in, mainly to use computers and tables (the library has an advantage over computer labs in that students can both access computers and have tables for working with others or on projects).  Circulation is really low in the nonfiction collection, which is something my supervisor and I have been examining in our efforts to update the sadly out-of-date collection.  After my cdp was complete (or as complete as I could make it and ready for her tweaks), I put together an evaluation of her collection based on age and circulation.  It looks both at the collection as a whole and at each Dewey 100, broken into 10s.  The age of the collection is a huge concern, and browsing the shelves confirms the real need for updating.

She has been working to identify additional funding sources, and as part of gathering evidence I created a staff survey to get an idea of what types of resources they would like to see on the shelves.  A good number of staff members have responded, from a variety of departments, and I am ready to begin building "buy" lists based on their feedback and identified needs.  Today a tech-savvy student (member of what Dr. L would call the "geek" squad) is busy pulling outdated technical books from the shelves.  After checking circulation data on them (I doubt there has been any), I'll look for updated titles to use as replacements.  My supervisor has an idea that we can "sell" titles we purchase based on teacher-identified  curriculum needs as "supplemental" materials, and there is funding for supplemental materials currently available we may be able to access.

As a whole, I feel like I am able to make more of an impact at my secondary site, perhaps because my teaching background is at this level, perhaps because teachers rely on the TL so heavily for help with technology, or perhaps because my supervisor is less experienced and more open to my opinion on how things should be approached, particularly in regard to revamping the print nonfiction collection.

The collaborative lesson I was able to teach focused on a student debate on Napoleon (was he a hero or tyrant?).  While I was involved in the planning of the lesson, it was not what Dr. L. would call a true collaboration in that the role of the TL was more adviser or sounding board than true co-collaborator.  In the flex lab, I was definitely in more of a support role than co-teaching role, although based on the lesson that day I suggested changes and created some documents that will change how the lesson is delivered today.  I am interested to see how many of my suggestions get incorporated and how today's lesson differs from yesterday's.