The Count Down Begins…

Eleven days before I go back to work. I’m feeling the pressure of everything I didn’t get done over the summer and everything I need to get done in the next few weeks. In my school district, students come back on August 14, and we hit the ground running. So I need to start getting my head in the game. I really want this to be a calm year, so planning is key. If I’m lucky, I can at least get started on my to-do list while still enjoying the last few days of summer!

Beginning of Year To-Do (not necessarily in order of importance):
1. Create engaging orientations for 6th, 7th and 8th grades (I’m looking into Goosechase.com for an interactive approach)
2. Finalize first book order to be ready when budgets open (I’ve been working on this all summer)
3. Set up new excel sheets to track budgets/file PO’s from last year
4. Turn on automatic overdue emails in Destiny
5. Print and laminate new lunch passes
6. Lesson plan for at least the first couple of months
7. Create a schedule of library visits for LA classes and send calendar invites to teachers
8. Plan my Readers Advisory Club (new this year)
9. Decide what to do about a Makerspace (I’m leaning towards Maker Mondays during lunch periods)
10. Create a system for students to check-out magazines
11. Create new Genre signs with my Cricut
12. Cover the metal bookshelf I rescued with pretty contact paper
13. Rearrange furniture to create a reading nook with the free carpet and chairs I scavenged this summer
14. Decide on 8th grade curriculum-I’m leaning towards either social issues (social media, teen anxiety, teenage brain) or digital literacy/citizenship
15. Learn about the latest update to Follett Destiny

I’m sure I will add to this list once I get back in to my library, but this is a good start. These last few days of summer vacation are always bitter-sweet for me, but I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine and seeing all my teacher friends. Stay tuned for posts about how some of these to-do’s actually turn out!

Paired Fiction/Nonfiction Display

I am always looking for new ways to get little-known books into student’s hands, but I have no spare shelving to create some of the amazing and creative displays I see on Pinterest*. Even metal bookshelves are in high demand at my school. But at the end of the school year, while hunting down lost equipment and books, I found one in a utility closet! I wasted no time dragging that baby into my library, wiped off the dust, and started dreaming of what I could use it for. I have several ideas for displays that I will probably rotate each year, but for next school year, I plan to do a fiction/nonfiction book pairing display.

At first, I thought I would change the books each week, but I have some students who only come to the library during library classes, which for 6th grade is every 3 weeks, so I’m thinking I’ll change the display out on the same week I have 6th grade classes. (7th and 8th grade comes in once a month for classes, so they won’t miss any of the displays either).

My categories are broad, so you can adapt them to the books in your collection. I’ll create a sign for each to place on the top and sides of the bookshelf (I’ll post as I create them) and promote the books heavily during class times:

~Nonfiction WWII with WWII era historical fiction like Boy in the the Striped Pajamas
~Nonfiction dog books with dog fiction like A Dog’s Purpose
~Nonfiction hunting and survival books with fiction books like Hatchet
~Cookbooks with fiction books centered around cooking like You’re Bacon Me Crazy
~Nonfiction weather books with fiction books like Storm Runners
~Nonfiction football books with books by Mike Lupica and Tim Greene
~Nonfiction books on diseases and disorders with fiction books like Turtles all the Way Down and Wonder
~Nonfiction mythology with fiction books by Rick Riordan
~Nonfiction environmental books with fiction books like Flush and Hoot
~Nonfiction planets and solar system books with science fiction about space travel or other worlds
~Nonfiction country books with fiction books set in other countries
~Nonfiction books about virtual reality and video games with fiction books like Heir Apparent and The Always War

That’s 12 categories, one for every three weeks. There are so many other possible categories, such as ship wrecks, Civil War, Civil Rights, Immigration, Fairy Tale adaptations. You get the idea. It will be interesting to see which topics the students like best.

If you have any other ideas for nonfiction/fiction book pairings, please post!

*Follow me on Pinterest! http://www.pinterest.com/caitlinhooker

Summer Planning Part 1: The end of year student survey

My last day of work was just over 2 weeks ago. Yes, I am already starting to think about next year. No, I am not crazy. Yes, I really do have a life-a very busy one, in fact, caring for an adult son with mental health battles. No, I am not spending a lot of time on this right now. But I am starting to at least think about changes I want to make. This is really quite fun-just thinking, planning, but not doing any real work yet. That’s what late July is for!

At the end of each school year, I give all my students a survey to see what they liked or didn’t like about their time in the library, as well as ideas they have to make it a better space. Bless their pretty little preteen hearts! Here are a few suggestions I got:

*get an xbox and replace all the books with video games
*maybe an escalator for us to move around on
*a sleeping area in the back room
*a vending machine
*put in a fridge
*add a cafe and pet tarantulas
*a petting zoo
*a pet goat, bunnies in the back, a class pet
*TV’s, and have refreshments

These students were joking (I hope!) when they gave me those answers, but they weren’t too far off from what I read over and over again. Students wanted a cozier space, a hangout with even more books that were easier to find, dimmer lighting, background music, some sort of pet, and a place to socialize that didn’t feel like the classroom.

So initial summer planning includes how to create this new space with what I have to work with. I found a free 8×10 area rug online for a nice reading corner. Cheap pillows with fun pillow cases can be used as floor cushions. A Betta tank or two will fit on the circulation desk, and I am on the hunt for cheap fairy lights to create that cozy feel. Background music is easy, if I can just remember to turn it on each day!

It’s been encouraging to reread the survey answers a few weeks removed from the chaos of the last few weeks of school. Then, it was easy to focus on the silly and ridiculous responses I got, but looking at the answers again, I realize that most of them are positive. My students like the library, but they want a calmer, cozier, more personal space. So do I.

The Perfect Middle School Reading Program isn’t a Reading Program at all!

The perfect middle school reading program. Does it even exist? When I worked in an elementary library, reading programs were so easy: track reading by pages or minutes read, create a fun theme and hand out pencils or bookmarks and certificates at the end. Done.

Middle schoolers are a different beast. Too cute and they feel it is beneath them. Too plain and they don’t even notice. Two years ago, I tried a Reading Bingo program. What could go wrong? I gave them plenty of free choice and handed out free books as the prize. Kids could complete Bingo as many times as they wanted throughout the year. Only 15 kids out of nearly 1200 turned in a completed bingo card. The reasons I heard: I forgot, I don’t like to be told what to read, I didn’t have time.

Last year, I created a lunch time book club. Once a month, kids could bring their lunch to the library and just talk about what they had been reading. I had a suggested genre each month, but I wasn’t turning any kids away. I averaged between 5 and 10 for each of the three lunch periods. The reasons I heard: I forgot, I don’t like being told what to read, I like to eat lunch with my friends.

Hmmm…I’m seeing a pattern here. The whole point of a library reading program is to encourage more reading and have some way to track it. Clearly, my programs weren’t working. So, I have decided to go in another direction completely to reach as many students as I can: Reader’s Advisory Club.

Once a week, during our designated club time, students who have signed up for the Reader’s Advisory Club will help me spread the word about great books and get the student body excited about reading. They will create book reviews, both in our online catalog (Follett Destiny) and by using Flipgrid to create video book talks that can be posted on our library website. Students will create posters of their favorite books to display around campus, help brainstorm and create library displays and of course, they will get time to read.

It’s not a reading program by any means, but if the goal is to get more kids reading, then a student-led initiative to spread the love of books just might work. Check back with me in May!

Who is the Authentic Librarian?

Hello! My name is Caitlin Hooker and I’ve been a librarian for the past 20 years. I have always strived to be the best I can be, but I have to admit I sometimes feel that I fall short. I love to read library blogs and often feel overwhelmed by the programming, maker spaces, collaboration and even just the fancy blogs of others.

But it’s time I stopped comparing myself to others. What works for some librarians may not work for everyone. I have many challenges outside of the workplace, as many others do also, so this blog is all about creating a wonderful space for your students with the resources and energy you have right now.

I know I’m a good librarian. I’m servicing the students on my campus and meeting their needs where they are. I’m doing the best I can with where I am in life and with the resources I have available. And that’s okay. It is real and authentic. And I’m betting there are more of you like me.

So please join me on this authentic journey through my middle school library-keeping it real! Follow me for weekly updates on what I am doing, and please leave comments and tell me what works in your library.