Adapting service strategies and the library collection to meet the needs of young adult patrons in a school setting.
What are the best resources?
What are the best practices for delivery of services?
There are no unequivocal answers. 35 librarians will give you 35 answers.
Then, how are decisions made?
It’s pretty much a balancing act.
A school library is like a little business. You have products (books) and services (help finding and using resources). You pay bills, keep within a budget, order books and non-books, fix stuff, pick up stuff and even take out the trash sometimes.
Add in: meet and greet with 520 students. As many as 100 per hour.
Add in: meeting and collaborating with faculty.
And, tailoring the collection for both personal needs (being an adolescent) and academic needs (getting stuff done for class).
But also, instruct in ways to avoid plagiarism, find good sources, use stuff ethically, consider copyright.
Do all of this in a constantly changing environment, technologically speaking.
Throw in keeping good relations with volunteers, parents and administration and you have the makings of a balancing act.
Know your environment.
Who are your students?
Boys, girls or co-ed?
What grade level? K-8? Middle School? High School?
Religious school? Private school? Public School? Special School (eg. High School for the Arts?)
How is your role defined?
Will you be expected to collect, organize and catalog?
Will you be expected to work collaboratively with faculty in developing research projects and writing assignments that involve research?
Will you help students create multi-media creative projects?
Expectations….
What are your administrator’s expectations?
Are they cutting-edge, pro-technology?
Or stuck in the 1950s?
Do they support your vision (or even know what your vision is?) (Do they know what you do every day?)
What are your expectations?
Who, exactly, are your stakeholders? Who do you serve?
Teachers? Students? Staff? Board of Trustees?
Get involved in “the network”
of librarians!
Listserves, blogs, wikis, Nings,
associations (ALA, CSLA, BAISL)
Advantages:
Develop your collection
Find out about trends in curriculum
(eg. History and movement toward experts and primary sources and away from encyclopedias)
What’s new (and sustainable) in technology
eBooks, eReaders,
Jobs!
Changes in educational philosophy
Copyright, fair use,
plagiarism (avoiding it, policies about)
And all manner of questions (and answers) about best practices and resources
Resources, links: at the end of this post.
Building a collection: it’s not like it used to be…..
Podcasts
Streaming video
DVDs
Books
Databases
eBooks
eReaders
Tutorials
LIBguides
Once you know what is appropriate for your setting:
Look at reviews
Start a book club (interest driven and exchange of ideas)
Look at other librarian’s blogs
Websites with teen reviews (and teen writing)
Non-fiction: need both interest driven reading (hobby, career) and life topics.
Consider each fiction genre: realistic fiction, horror, mystery, memoir, science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy.
Service strategies
- Advocacy
Find out what the student, faculty and staff needs are. “What would make your life/job easier?”
Get the word out that you are there to help. “You dream it, we do it.”
Get your sound bite ready: you have 30 seconds
Communicate actively with Administration: send articles, studies, anecdotes (sparingly)
Get students involved
Advantages: they are passionate
They are in the moment of being students and they know what they need
- Visibility
Market your library
Show up at events
Tutorials: make ‘em or “borrow” them
Target groups: LIBguides
Be approachable (get out from behind the desk)
New is fun. QR tags
Blog (regularly)
Join stuff. Groups. Go to local meetings. Just ask.
Resources:
Listserves
LM_Net (all purpose school librarian’s group)
CALIBk12 (another school librarian listserve with good advice and suggestions)
BAISL (independent librarian’s group, active and interesting -can get digest of listserve)
Blogs:
Blue Skunk Blog Doug Johnson
Librarian in Black Sarah Houghton-Jan
Associations with good (or great) conferences, workshops and materials:
American Library Association (coming to Anaheim in June 2012)
AASL – the school librarian’s division of the American Library Association
California School Librarian’s Association (coming to Pasadena this November!)
Pasadena City College: sponsors a local librarian’s group
Book Reviews:
A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
ALA’s teens top picks from YALSA (chosen by teens)
Printz Award from ALA (literary excellence in young adult literature)
Best Fiction for Young Adults from ALA
Good article:
Joyce Valenza and Doug Johnson: See Sally research: Evolving Notions of Information literacy
Herdin' the Stacks 
Welcome back! Great to see you in the blogosphere again. Very thought provoking! Thanks for all the great resources!
Well done!
Glad to see you blogging again.
I love the thought that went into this post, and hope that you continue to write. I’ve enjoyed the insight into a part of the library experience that has always been opaque to me; I’ve only been a user of libraries, never one who contemplated what made them work, not work, or what made them great.
I am pre-mourning libraries and bookstores as I have known them, but your post gives me hope that there are other thinkers out there as nimble as you, Meryl, that can find ways to continue the concept of a “collection” in an increasingly virtual world.