2013-2014 Annual Report

Overview Common Core standards are at the forefront of any discussion about

education. These standards also impact every aspect of the school

library media center. While much emphasis seems to be focused on

technology, close reading of the standards show that it is

INFORMATION which is the key component of these standards.

According to Paige Jaeger, the Coordinator of School Library Services at

WSWHE Board of Cooperative Educational Services, technology is

mentioned 24 times, while information is mentioned an outstanding 243

times! Jaeger states that it is “information that empowers learners to make

good decisions. Information empowers us to argue, debate, create,

communicate, critique, analyze, support a position, comprehend a topic,

formulate a point of view, converse, and more…we live in an Information Age

in which technology holds no power without the correct information. Data and

information empower technology. Information is at the core of technology,

learning, debating, analyzing, developing a point of view, and other Common

Core tasks.”

We are ready to help staff implement these standards and support

students to become highly successful consumers and producers of

information. Information and research are at the heart of everything we

do at the MHS Library Media Center.

Frequently used words in CCCS; information and

research are mentioned extensively in these

standards.

(Rimes, 2012)

(Jaeger, 2012)

A Typical Day in the

Library Media Center

Each day 100’s of students and

staff frequent the library. Some

need to find a book, others need

a place to study, or access to a

computer or printer. Whatever

the need is, we are here to help!

1. By providing print resources including many narrative nonfiction items

2. Vetted, authoritative online resources

3. Access to materials 24-7

4. Instruction in information and transmedia literacy

5. Online research guides on the Libguides platform

6. Online citation guides

7. And a strong collaborative presence to help guide students and staff

through the guided inquiry (DISCOVER) process

These online research guides are the platform we use to

connect staff and students with relevant information 24-7.

Our libguides have been viewed over 67,200 times!

The Library Orientation Libguide, which we use as our library website,

has been viewed almost 50,000 times! Some of our other most viewed

libguides with their total views:

Database Usage:

ABC-CLIO - almost

38,000 searches!

Britannica - about

105,000 sessions

producing over

600,000 searches!

Elsevier – More than

2,700 sessions!

Facts on File – Over

25,000 searches!

Gale – About 5000

sessions!

Grolier – Almost

3,000 sessions!

SIRS – In excess of

2700 sessions!

EASYBIB

One important aspect of

Common Core is citing textual

evidence when writing. We help

support this Common Core

requirement by providing the

online citation maker, Easybib.

There are over 2100 registered

users in Easybib and these

users have created over 32,500

citations!

Statistics-

Over 149,000 staff and students used

our facility this year!

This includes almost 2,500 classes!

Over 24,000 students found the library

media center a safe, welcoming and

inspiring place to be at lunchtime!

And almost 5,000 students used the library

media center independently during class

times!

Before and After School

Librarians Debra Gottsleben

and Anne Piascik volunteer

their own time to open the

library before school and keep it

open after school closes.

Typically, there are over 100

students each morning and

another 15-25 students after

school.

Some of these students just

want a place to socialize before

school starts, while others are

finishing homework or printing

out materials and/or

assignments for the day. After

school, students use

technology and print resources.

Circulation Statistics:

• Over 2,100 items circulated

compared with 1400 last year!

• One of the most

popular books was 13

Reasons Why by Jay

Asher!

• About 450 new items were

added to our collection !

• About 600 items were

deselected because they no

longer met our collection

criteria because they were

outdated, no longer relevant,

worn, or some other reason.

(Thirteen Reasons Why)

Valentine’s Day Book

Display

One of the many projects

created by our student teacher,

Christine. For Valentine’s Day,

romantic fiction was highlighted

in this beautiful display!

Highlights

Implemented new calendar system after

Moodle was removed

Gave every freshman cohort an

orientation to library resources and

registered all freshmen for Easybib

Continued implementation of the

DISCOVER Research Process

Our own guided inquiry

model, DISCOVER Define

Inquire

Search

Collect

Organize

Verify

Express

Reflect

Highlights cont.

Mentored student teacher, Christine Jansen

Anne and Deb completed over 100 hours of

professional development each!

And, they provided PD to members of the

MHS staff

Debbie (with support from Anne) created

the new MSD Teacher Academy

Interactive Discover

Research Process Guide

Our student teacher, Christine

Jansen, created a completely

interactive research process

guide based on our own

DISCOVER model!

Concerns-

Facility Our media center was last upgraded in 1999; more space is needed and

the way it is configured needs to reflect a 1:1 environment.

Better lighting is needed to improve working conditions for students and

staff and would give the space a needed uplift.

Quiet space is desperately needed. The number one request we get

from students is to have a quiet place to study. Our current configuration

makes it impossible to create a quiet haven.

Testing While attempts are made to limit the use of the library for testing

purposes, practicality dictates the use of our space. When this happens

staff and students are cut off from Library Media center physical

resources.

Concerns cont. Collaboration

As we move into the first phase of Common Core and the PARCC

testing, which states that, “To be ready for college, workforce training,

and life in a technological society, students need the ability to gather,

comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, and report on information and ideas,

to conduct original research in order to answer questions or solve

problems, and to analyze and create a high volume and extensive range

of print and nonprint texts in media forms old and new…” we will need to

ensure that information literacy skills are not just referred to but are

embedded and embraced in all curricula. To ensure that the most up-to-

date resources are used, it is imperative that there is collaboration

between media specialists and content area teachers.

Staffing So that Anne and Deb can continue to provide information and

transmedia literacy guidance they will need strong support to ensure

they aren’t bogged down with clerical tasks.

Concerns aside, we are looking forward to

another year of:

Libguides

DISCOVER

Multiple online resources

A vast selection of print materials

And a great staff to work with and

students, whose enthusiasm we share!

Have a great summer! We’ll see you in

September!

References

1. Jaeger, P. (2012, November 12). A Match Well Made: The standards' emphasis on

information aligns with librarians' skills | On Common Core. Retrieved July 21, 2014,

from http://www.slj.com/2012/11/opinion/on-common-core/a-match-well-made-the-

standards-emphasis-on-information-aligns-with-librarians-skills/

2. Jaeger, P. (2012, November 9). Information Trumps Technology in the Common Core

[Digital image]. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://librarydoor.blogspot.com/2012/11/information-trumps-technology-in-common.html

3. Rimes, B. (2012, November 7). High Frequency Words in the Common Core State

Standards related to Technology [Digital image]. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://www.techsavvyed.net/archives/2675

4. Thirteen Reasons Why [Digital image]. (2007, October 18). Retrieved July 21, 2014,

from http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Reasons-Why-Jay-

Asher/dp/1595141715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405977319&sr=1-

1&keywords=thirteen+reasons+why