I brought another box of books into the library today. They were donated from a friend who is about my age, and they are in excellent condition. The only problem I see with them is that they are very dated and look like they are from the 80s, which they are. This is only a problem because kids tend to judge books initially by their covers, so I'm concerned that they won't like them. However, the reading level of the books is right up their alley, so that will be a big benefit.
Today I may remove the Babysitter's Club books because they haven't been checked out since I arrived 2 months ago, and that makes me think that the kids just aren't interested in them. With limited space it is better to remove books they don't like, I believe.
I also discovered today that the program I've been using, ResourceMate, to update the collection, seems to have expired. I can still use it, but searching to import all the information of a book is no longer an option. This is slightly frustrating, but I will continue to update the collection by just putting in a book's title and author, since that is the most important part anyway.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Day 14, 70 hours
I missed a week working at BPCC because I was away, but this past week was one of my most productive since the first week I started!
Before I left I posted on freecycle.org and the SLIS listserve asking for book donations. I had hoped to get some books that are a little more recent than the ones in the library currently because I don't feel that the library has a good selection that the students are interested in.
I got several boxes and bags of books including two world record books (from 2000 and 2001) that the kids seemed interested in. I also received the first 6 Harry Potter books in paperback and all the Twilight books. I now have 2 copies of Twilight, 2 copies of Eclipse and one of the other two. Currently all but Breaking Dawn and New Moon are checked out. They went quickly!
Another project I have been working on is covering the paperback books with clear contact paper. This has been my favorite project so far because it makes me feel like I'm really doing something that will benefit the library in the long run. The books need it because some of them are really falling apart, and others aren't, but I don't want them to be eventually. Even after getting checked out once some of the books are showing wear. This will really help the library in the future, I think. So far I've covered all the books that were donated and several of the most often checked out books. Hopefully I will be able to get a good chunk of books covered before I'm done for the semester.
Finally, the last project I've been working on is cleaning up the library. Because it's in such a small space, it's vital that all the space available be used. I separated the board books from the regular picture books and also the "I can read" books. Both of those are on separate shelves, which I hope will be more helpful to the teachers when looking for a certain type of picture book for a student. There are also several boxes of books that are not appropriate for the library. For example, Finances for Dummies, and East of Eden. These books were donated but will never get checked out by a student and are only taking up precious space. Therefore, every time I leave the library I take a box of books we won't need and bring them to goodwill. This will definitely make the library seem less cluttered, and the books will hopefully be used by someone who wants to read them.
Before I left I posted on freecycle.org and the SLIS listserve asking for book donations. I had hoped to get some books that are a little more recent than the ones in the library currently because I don't feel that the library has a good selection that the students are interested in.
I got several boxes and bags of books including two world record books (from 2000 and 2001) that the kids seemed interested in. I also received the first 6 Harry Potter books in paperback and all the Twilight books. I now have 2 copies of Twilight, 2 copies of Eclipse and one of the other two. Currently all but Breaking Dawn and New Moon are checked out. They went quickly!
Another project I have been working on is covering the paperback books with clear contact paper. This has been my favorite project so far because it makes me feel like I'm really doing something that will benefit the library in the long run. The books need it because some of them are really falling apart, and others aren't, but I don't want them to be eventually. Even after getting checked out once some of the books are showing wear. This will really help the library in the future, I think. So far I've covered all the books that were donated and several of the most often checked out books. Hopefully I will be able to get a good chunk of books covered before I'm done for the semester.
Finally, the last project I've been working on is cleaning up the library. Because it's in such a small space, it's vital that all the space available be used. I separated the board books from the regular picture books and also the "I can read" books. Both of those are on separate shelves, which I hope will be more helpful to the teachers when looking for a certain type of picture book for a student. There are also several boxes of books that are not appropriate for the library. For example, Finances for Dummies, and East of Eden. These books were donated but will never get checked out by a student and are only taking up precious space. Therefore, every time I leave the library I take a box of books we won't need and bring them to goodwill. This will definitely make the library seem less cluttered, and the books will hopefully be used by someone who wants to read them.
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