Wednesday, August 04, 2004
I have a dream...(apologies to Dr M. L. King)
I have a dream that one day children will be able to visit the the CCA Library anytime on any school day and even after school....because it will always be staffed...but until that time we will be creative with the staffing we have. Due to the size of the room, only about 4 children at a time will be able to move around comfortably - so this will need to be our limit for the time being. As the school year gets underway, the PTO and the administration should decide the best times of the week for the library to be open given the limited staffing. Lunchtime recess and after school are good times for children to come in and browse. I will be available to staff it one whole day a week - the exact day to be determined by the time school opens.
Given the crowding problems, the collection scarcities, and staffing issues, I think the best way to help the school use the library in the fullest way will be for the library workers to pull all books for a unit as requested by a teacher. These books would then be charged to the teacher's card and delivered to them en masse to be used by the individual children in that class.
Here is how it would work in the case of an Ancient History unit: We would search the catalog for subects related to Ancient History such as Roman, Greek, and Bible Times. We would look in fiction, as well as nonfiction, picture books and easy readers - making sure to include books on tape. Picture books are great for illustrations and easy readers are necessary for readers not yet comfortable with the printed word. Reference material will be loaned out as well (only to teachers) with the understanding that Reference works do not leave the school building, These are typically the most expensive of all our books and we so we want to be good stewards. We would also photocopy the appropriate entries from the appropriate encyclopedias and send that along as well. In addition we will point the teacher to useful Internet sites - starting with those available on the Urban Christian School Library website.
permanent link
Given the crowding problems, the collection scarcities, and staffing issues, I think the best way to help the school use the library in the fullest way will be for the library workers to pull all books for a unit as requested by a teacher. These books would then be charged to the teacher's card and delivered to them en masse to be used by the individual children in that class.
Here is how it would work in the case of an Ancient History unit: We would search the catalog for subects related to Ancient History such as Roman, Greek, and Bible Times. We would look in fiction, as well as nonfiction, picture books and easy readers - making sure to include books on tape. Picture books are great for illustrations and easy readers are necessary for readers not yet comfortable with the printed word. Reference material will be loaned out as well (only to teachers) with the understanding that Reference works do not leave the school building, These are typically the most expensive of all our books and we so we want to be good stewards. We would also photocopy the appropriate entries from the appropriate encyclopedias and send that along as well. In addition we will point the teacher to useful Internet sites - starting with those available on the Urban Christian School Library website.
permanent link
