Frustrating Weekend in Libraryland

I can't believe it, I have SO much school work to do and I'm so focused on my "Things" and I didn't get any of it done because I had to work all weekend at the library. Usually I handle it better than I did this weekend. I have 115 middle school grades to work on at one building and am the test coordinator at the other building. I didn't even get to Cub and am doing the wash as I write.

Here's the change I've noticed at the library in the past 28+ years. When I started @ Brookdale when it was brand new the first time in 1981 all the paperbacks & AV (videos, books on tape) were all shelved on the same shelving. Then as the library grew, we got those twirly paperback racks known as "spinners". They were great for browsing, especially for boys who do contrary to popular belief "choose a book by its cover." I could almost always get boys to choose a paperback off the spinner racks. Time went by and change slowly happened as it does in Libraryland. The AV was not only separated but shelved separately according to it's genre and also had Dewey call numbers. It was easy to find and use. Twenty-five years passed quickly. Then we get a flash in the pan library director who said this was her "dream job." Too bad it turned into our worst nightmare! Anyway she doesn't like paperback racks and wants ALL materials back on the shelf. Great amounts of weeding go on, knowing these materials can't ever be replaced due to lack of budget, too costly to replace or out of print or genre. All spinner racks disappear. I try to buy a few for school. I am scoffed at & refused, so instead they sit in some warehouse. Then the terminology changes. We no longer serve patrons, we serve customers - except they don't buy anything. We are no longer an agency, we are a library, how bizarre is that? So what were we before? a brick building? We no longer take reserves, we place information requests. For example, "Your information request has been successfully placed." When I say that patrons look at me blankly and usually mutter some version of "huh? what did you say?" We no longer carry videos or books on tape. We have CD's and DVD's that are organized by categories such as Drama, Humor, Children's, R&B, Jazz. There are no Dewey numbers, so we have to go through the entire rack rather than just quickly thumbing to the correct call number. After barely 3 years the "flash in the pan" flies to Boston and we are left in a huge mess, dragging another urban library system up the bumpy political economic road - and it's not paved with gold either.
To quickly recap what I did at work: Sat. conducted the last family storytime session, changed the March display to the April display, helped numerous people with tax forms, answered too many questions to remember, took my drycleaning in @ lunch, weeded the 600's with the new weeding list that I made the previous Monday evening & walked around numerous times pushing in chairs, straightening, helping people print, find books, helping with computer log ins, etc. Today wasn't quite as busy, but it was a repeat of yesterday except for the storytime session. I feel like I need tomorrow off to recupe plus the reports aren't done and the testing schedule isn't made not to mention Thing 2 isn't finished either. It's almost too frustrating to bear.

Blog, Blogging, Bloggest!!

Yes here I am desperately trying to work on "Thing 2", but all of my homework/class preparation work gets in the way. I am beginning to become obsessed with Blogging, who would have thought. In the beginning I thought I wouldn't ever have anything to say, much less who could possibly want to read it? Well it just so happened that our daughter & son in law began a blog on July 4, 2008! Hmm...I thought, a blog, blogging how interesting. So I had their excellent blog to think about and get ideas from...but I still can't put pics in my blog. So Karen Lee & I looked at my tabs. I have Template where I should have something else, but I forget what it is right now. Lee seems to thing I need this particular tab in order to add any of the extra things her has. Pls advise. Thx so much!

On the Road Again

I started riding my bike when I got one at age 10. My Mom worked at M. Wards in the midway area; she found one in the bargain basement. My parents were over protective as they were in their 40's when I born, and neither one of them had ever ridden a bike. They felt that at age 10, I was more responsible and wouldn't kill myself. Hwy. 280 was under construction at the time. We could zoom on our bikes all the way down to University Ave. & back to Lauderdale. It was great fun, the new concrete was so smooth and conducive to riding at great speeds, plus there was no traffic. Unfortunately our fun ended when Hwy. 280 opened. In those days if a kid wanted to go somewhere you either took the bus or rode your bike. Your dad had the car at work, so that wasn't an option. We rode our bikes to Como Park for picnic lunches, we rode our bikes to the St. Anthony Public Library for books and then stopped @ Miller's Drug Store on Como & Doswell for a 10 cent cherry coke or phosphate @ the soda fountain. We even rode our bikes to Apache Plaza or Har-Mar to shop. I also had to ride my bike to my first 2 jobs; when I was 16 & 17 years old. I was a shelver for the Roseville Dist. #623 summer reading program for 8 yrs. Each of the 10 elementary school libraries was open 2 hours once/wk for book checkout. My job was to shelve the books back @ each of the libraries. We went to two schools/day, 5 days/wk. Of course I couldn't get into Driver's Ed. until August so naturally I rode my bike that summer! The next summer I started as a clerk typist evenings at CW Transport a local trucking company on Fairview Ave. I rode my bike there as well after the shelver job. Then I begin riding my bike to the U. for the next 6 years and have been basically riding ever since. For college graduation my finance bought me a lovely deep yellow 5 speed Raleigh Sprint from the Bike Shop in Dinkytown. This is the bike I ride today. After all those years of riding the old M. Wards bike (13) my Mom put $5. on it and sold it just like that! I just got 2 new tires and brake pads 2 weeks ago and was able to go for 2-6 mile rides this past weekend on the Raleigh. The guys @ Eric's Bike Shop keep me on the road. They often tell me they wish their Moms would ride bike for exercise. They fill my tires with air and give me a reflector when I lose mine and/or advice as needed. These days and for the past 12 years since my Mom died, I ride laps around the Maple Grove Junior High parking lot as well as the local Catholic church. This is so safe, no sand, no traffic, not much wind and lights at night. What more could a person want? When our kids were young, I rode all over Maple Grove with the three of them, to this practice and that. I started each of them in the baby carrier. The dr. yelled at me when I rode while pregnant after 5 months. Recently, in some of my best years I have ridden 550 - 650 miles, but for the last 3 years I've only ridden about 270-320 miles in a season. You should try it, it's a great free way to exercise plus it clears your head and helps a person focus.

Thing 1!

Can you believe it Ann? I'm reading! After my 2nd-6 mi. bike ride today I was determined to get started on "My Things." Having been hit by a brick wall of school work this year, I have been barely able to keep up in an insane double assignment. Even the TAP Coach commented that I have an insane schedule this year. Too bad I was the last to realize it. That said, I immersed myself in the Web 2.0 world this afternoon and evening. I reviewed the 8/08 powerpoint by Ann, I read the New York Times article, "Truth: Can you Handle it?" looked up the ALA site which was no longer available and watched the Teacher Tube video. So here's what I think. I can relate to both the school and public sector of librarianship. For the past 28+ years I have worked as a Reference Librarian with the Hennepin County Library System. I have manned a 24/7 public library information line. I have participated first hand trying to scan the available information on a subject quickly as well as accurately to convey said information to a waiting patron b/f they become frustrated with the wait time & disconnect the transaction. It's not as if we haven't seen "it" coming. By "it" I mean the transformation from book information or knowledge (the correct answer) to the use of online resources. Slowly over the past 3 years reference collections throughout the county have been weeded and not updated. More and more sources are available online. Wise teachers do limit the number of online sources a student may use. They usually come to us for the rest - a book, magazine article and/or encyclopedia or other reference material. I rarely use animal reference books, but I do still use Zoo Books; we don't even have the MN Statutes or any of our business Reference materials. All of it is online. I remember the first time a student told me they got their information from wikipedia! I was in disbelief! Three years ago we began using Moodle in classes from Hamline. It was quite a concept to grasp. Now Moodle is old hat. I feel the same about all of these technologies. I was just too overwhelmed with work to think too much about them at first. Now I am beginning to "see" how all of these "things" fit together - sort of. I'm still not as savvy as I would like to be, but I'm so much further along than I was 3 or 2 or even one year ago. Here I have been sitting @ this laptop since early afternoon, that would have been impossible just one year ago. I would either have to stay very late in the evening @ Jordan Park working on all my school work or sit up at the Maple Grove Library for as much time as I could during the library hours of 10-5 on Sat. & 12-5 on Sunday. I function so much better & with such frequency, it has been life changing. I couldn't exist as I do now w/o my laptop. Albeit, when the computers are down @ the public library, I am usually the only one who knows where the drawing books are (741.5) or can find butterflies (595.7) or whatever. Dewey Decimal still reigns supreme in some cases - it's an information vs knowledge thing.
I appreciated the information in the article. People do believe what they want to. I gather information through my text book, online academic magazine articles and additional required reading. I read it all, highlight the important parts, take notes, synthesize it and then write. I have a tendency to believe students just look something up on Google, oftentimes just copy it into a word document and then turn it in. I teach research, I teach citing sources, I teach how to make a bibliography. I don't think students really care; perhaps they pretend not to be able to comprehend. I make graphic organizers, I use the "Manual or Handbook for Writers" as a guide. At this point I'm not sure if the defn. of Information Literacy is adequate. I have the ability to solve problems and answer questions using information and technology but I don't think students do. I also understand the ethical/legal issues surrounding access and use of information, but even though I teach copyright, I don't think students care. They just want to finish the assignment so they can do what they want to do. Even though students know they are not allowed to play games during media class they are constantly flipping back & forth between the assignment and their email or music. It usually gets worse this time of year. No matter how hard I try to engage students, I find this to be the case for some students, especially the huge double classes of more than 45 students in a class. I want my middle school students to be able to use both print as well as online resources. I will know I have done a good job if my students have a good general foundation from which to build upon in high school. I will continue to work with the definition of information literacy as we continue our MILI coursework. My understanding and attitude has changed greatly toward the 2.0 tools since we have begun our journey. I feel like a sponge, I just can't soak up this new learning fast enough! Sometimes I need to hear it more than once and I can't always remember everything, but I am trying my best! Stay tuned for more posts. Over & out on Thing 1.

Mystery, Destiny & the Economy

I have been running a mystery book club for senior citizens at the Champlin Library for four years now. It has been a delight; in addition to reading 8 mystery titles annually we have our fall kickoff with a guest speaker; William Kent Krueger, the Crime Wave, Erin Hart, the editor of Mpls. Magazine who wrote the book about the T. Eugene Thompson murder of his wife to name a few. The last meeting in May we discuss that month's selection over dinner at various restaurants in the area. For the past 3 years I also arrange a field trip to the Show Boat, or Theatre in the Round in July or August to view a play with a mystery theme. I also host a Mother/Daughter book group at the Barnes & Noble in Maple Grove. I have conducted this book group for either 5 or 6 years. We've also had alot of reading good fun with lots of treats from the Cafe. Luckily &/or sadly, this book group is disbanding after our May meeting. It seems the girls are all 14 now and just have other interests. This is totally fine with me. We all enjoyed the book group while it lasted. Previously to that I ran M/D book groups at the Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park & Champlin Libraries for approximately 3 years during the summer.
All the Media Specialists in Mpls. have been learning and working with our new checkout system "Destiny" from Follett. We are much more used to it this year and keep diligently learning new things about this system. Thanks to Diane W-R who is like the energizer bunny when it comes to keeping us all up to date; she continually teaches even more about the system so we can become a "community of experts" when it comes to Destiny.
We as Media Specialists are a blessed and lucky group. For the most part we have full time positions but the parents of the students we serve, do not. I have always supplemented my teaching with the "extras" I have needed to make my lessons go over the top with the props, food, music I have needed. This past year seemed to be no exception: I spent $1,415. which is down from the $2,100. I usually spend and have spent in the past. What's so amazing to me is that during this time of recession or whatever they are calling it, is basically no different from how I have lived my entire life. My parents were in their 40's when I was born so I was raised with those same depression era values from the 30's. Nothing ever changes, it seems our generation will always be the generation of hard work and no money!

Podcasting is Fun!

We had alot of fun tonight making our school podcast! It has been SO interesting to view everyone's blogs. I'm really enjoying reading them, too bad I am having trouble with mine. Tonight HIA Mathman was helping me. We discovered that rather then having a layout tab I have a template tab. We tried changing my background thinking this was the cause of the problem, but my problem still remained after we had changed it. So now I am left wondering how to fix this .

Yes, I agree the Mpls. staff blogs are really taking off! We thought we wouldn't ever have anything of interest to blog about - well I here I am chatting away. I guess we midwesterners are a tight lipped bunch, but once we feel comfortable with a new skill, we are ready willing and able to fly with it. I remember feeling the same way about Moodle 3 years ago. I just need some quiet time to work on this.

I also really appreciate what Karen said in her Friday MILI wiki. The seeds are planted, they are germinating and will blossom and grow next school year. The tasks won't seem as daunting as they currently do. I can understand that. I would really like to create blogs with my 40-6th graders, my 46-7th graders and my small 27 student 8B class. I think they would enjoy it. They are constantly surfing the net and listening to Hmong music during our assignments. They may as well put their skills to constructive use. Thx again for a great class tonight!

Barbie Turns 50!!

On a lighter note, my mother didn't allow me to get a Barbie doll 50 years ago because they were too mature for me and now 50 years later I missed the $3.00 price @ Target again!!! I guess it wasn't meant for me to own a Barbie. She's still too mature for me. I was just reading a blog from a Mpls teacher who is having 112 students blog! If we finish spreadsheets and before we go to efolio I think we should give it a try. I do need to become more proficient/confident before I attempt this, Mr. Thao and Jeannie could assist if need be. I just didn't want Barbie to be forgotten.

Yikes, Not Again! Where does the TIME go????

I can't believe I haven't blogged since February 4th! First I couldn't get into my blog for 2 weeks, then every time I sit down, I fall asleep! This is incredible, so one flat tire later, midquarter grades, TAP, IGP's, lesson plans, PD and POL, CALT testing I can't keep up!!! Now on top of everything both my schools want me .6 next year! What to do, what to do. I have spoken with one principal who is willing to put me @ .5. I have emailed the other. I have been with the program of one building for 5 years and love the staff and students. I am new to the 2nd program, but I feel a great need to be there. I know what happens won't matter 100 years from now, but it is the here and now that concerns me. I have had incredibly wonderful support from IT Services at every level from every person involved this past year. Without their support life would have been much more difficult - almost impossible at times. It seems this process of decision making comes earlier every year. It is so difficult and heart wrenching. Even though I know it is all about the position, and not the person in the position, change is difficult. Students at both schools have been asking me if I will be back. Students in the 7th grade at one building tell me I must be back for their 8th grade year. At the 2nd building K-3rd graders look at me adoringly and with so much trust telling me about the little things in their lives and what they liked about the book they checked out last week. This too shall pass. And then there's my blog. I just don't have the time to devote to it that I would like to. My co worker in this class has made so much progress! We are so busy we hardly have time to greet each other in passing. He tells me adding things is easy. So he says. I guess I am more the type of person who needs to be shown things, but I am good at following directions. I just need some uninterrupted time. I will have to carve some out from somewhere! Goodnight.