library and technology centre @ South Delta Secondary School

2010 - 2011 Annual Reportcreated June 2011

Our StaffOur library is staffed by Sharon Doyle, Teacher-

Librarian (.86) and Technology Coordinator (.14) and Charlene MacFarlane, Library Technician (SD .50 and DE .50)

The library took on a newly formalized role as the technology centre for the school. This new role has been a GREAT fit for our programme as the library has been the default technology centre for a the past couple of years. In addition, this role has allowed our library to stay open and accommodate teachers, classes and students.

Library FundingOur budget has once again decreased. Since 2007

our budget has decreased by 45%. With each budget cut we are purchasing less and less books for students.

Thankfully, our PAC awarded us a grant for $850.00 this year. We were able to maintain our magazine subscriptions and provide a couple of gift certificate prizes for our reading campaigns.

School Year

Library Funding

French Immersion

Total

2010-2011 4113.00 1797.00 5930.00

2009-2010 4337.00 2501.00 6838.00

2008-2009 9358.00 3125.00 12483.00

2007-2008 9672.00 2826.00 12498.00

Welcome to our Library

Library HoursMonday, Wednesday, Thursday

8:00 - 4:00Tuesday and Friday

8:00 - 3:30

Study BlockThe school library is a popular

space for students in study block. With an increasing number of students taking online courses, the computers and print reference materials are heavily used.

Lunch HourDespite a change in the lunch

time hours students are still lined up at the doors to use the library at lunch.

This year we experimented with altering our lunch time hours. We have struggled with reminding students that there is no eating in the library. Many times we were faced a large mess to clean up when the third

period bell rang. In chatting with the students we learned that students felt compelled to eat their lunch in the library as they rushed to get a table or a seat. We addressed this by closing the library for the first twenty minutes of lunch. This allows students time to eat their lunch in a more appropriate place before they come to the library.

Our Library Monitors and Peer Tutors

We have been steadily building our Library Monitor programme. We now have 4-6 students who regularly come to the library to help shelve books, create displays, and pull resources for library classes.

In addition, this has been our first year where we have been afforded the opportunity to work with a Peer Tutor. Our Peer Tutor has helped us shelve, delete, and pull books. She also helped create the slide shows that run on the hallway monitors. We are very excited to work with another Peer Tutor for the 2011 - 2012 school year.

Learning with the Library

Reciprocal TeachingThe core of our library programme is the reciprocal

teaching I do with classroom teachers. Most times, teachers come to me with research projects they would like students to do in the library.

Together with the classroom teacher I help plan and structure the library lesson. I gather online and print resources to help students access the research they need. The online resources

are posted to our Twitter blog. These online resources include free education, government and research sites as well as our own subscription databases. In most cases, the library’s subscription databases are highlighted over ‘free Google’ searches. Students are shown how to navigate the relevant database. In addition, we emphasize the quality and validity of our subscription collection over the free internet sites.

Bibliographic InstructionAn essential element of any research project is the

documenting and referencing of sources. Students are shown how to reference and document their research resources. These lessons are infused with embedded HowCast videos on our website. In addition, our website illustrates examples of bibliographies. Furthermore, students have access to South Delta’s Style Guide. These guides offer instruction and examples of referencing, creating a bibliography and writing an essay.

Online LearningWhenever possible, I offer teachers some non-print

options for students to demonstrate learning. I campaigned for ‘no more poster projects, please’.

Teachers and students were shown how to access and use the following free online tools:

AnimotoGlogterCapzlesGo AnimateWeebly

Library Collection - PrintStudents at SDSS continue to be avid readers. One

of the contributing factors is the independent reading program established with the English classes. All students in English classes come to the library to learn about our Fiction collection. Our book talks are popular among the students, with readers lining up to get the book of their choice.

Our reciprocal teaching with classroom teachers offer students access to a wide variety of non-fiction research materials. These research materials are heavily used by students and teachers alike.

Library Collection - Online An integral extension of the library collection are the

online subscription databases.

While our online resource access is steady we see a decline in usage of these quality research materials. A contributing factor might be the Technology Coordinator role taken on this year. This portfolio took considerable time to get up and running; hopefully, next year will bring a greater balance between library and technology.

Reciprocal Teaching Classes with the Library

Reciprocal Teaching Classes with the Library

2010-2011 275

2009-2010 279

CirculationsCirculations

2010-2011 6748

2009-2010 6740

2008-2009 6593

2007-2008 5834

Gale Cengage Learning ResourcesGale Cengage Learning Resources

2010-2011 376 sessions

2009-2010 407 sessions

EBSCO EBSCO

2010-2011 616 sessions

2009-2010 753 sessions

World Book OnlineWorld Book Online

2010-2011 722 sessions

2009-2010 756 sessions

National School Library Day, October 25, 2010

We celebrated National School Library Day in conjunction with our BCTLA (British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association. Classes were invited to Drop Everything and Read for 20 minutes. This proved to be quite successful. Some teachers conducted Drop Everything and Read in all 4 classes. I sat in with Lisa Crump’s English 9 class and took a number of photos; these were displayed on the hallway monitors and in a slide show on our website.

This was our first time to participate in this province wide initiative; we are happy to continue with this project in the coming years.

Freedom to ReadFebruary 20 -26 is Freedom to

Read week. This national initiative is sponsored by the National Council for the Arts. At South Delta, we promote this event to help raise awareness to the censorship of books that exists in public and school libraries. Teachers were photographed reading their favourite book and students were photographed reading whatever they had on hand. The images were displayed on the hallway monitors and in a slide show for our website. In addition, we put together a display of book titles that have been banned or challenged in Canada and the US.

Lastly, we held a contest. Staff and students were invited to tell us about a book that has been banned or challenged and why. Two winners, one staff and one student, were chosen by draw. Our PAC kindly

supported this event with funding for book store gift certificates.

World Book DayWorld Book Day was celebrated

with a staff book exchange in the library on April 21 at lunch. Staff were invited to bring their book and a book to the library. We then chatted and traded books. This was so popular that we hosted one again in June during exam time

Book DisplaysWe strive to display a variety of

reading materials from our collection. In addition to displaying the new arrivals, we promoted our magazine collection and highlighted new editions of the classics. Our book display is prominently featured next to the Mac computers.

New titles are also compiled into a slide show and displayed on the hallway monitors and featured on our website.

A computer terminal has been set up at the front of the library. This unit is quite old and could really not be used by staff and students. We turned it into an OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue). Students do not need to sign in the terminal, so there is easy access to the library catalogue. Whenever possible, we used the Title Peek feature that we subscribe to by bringing up the cover of one of the top ten or new books from the collection. This image is displayed on the screen to help highlight the materials in our collection.

Promoting our Library

2011 Chapter Grant Recipient: British Columbia Teacher-Librarian Association This year I have worked very closely with our Delta Teacher-Librarians’ Association.

I spear-headed our association’s NEW advocacy website. Together with 4 elementary Teacher-Librarians we developed content to highlight our School Libraries in Delta.

This project came to fruition out of a $900 grant we received from our British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association.

Follett Challenge Grant Application For the first time in my professional career I entered a contest. Follett, a North American library resource company invited school libraries to

submit self-produced videos illustrating how their school library was innovative with technology. My submission can be found at http://www.follettchallenge.com/contests/browseallentries/all/all/all/created_desc/3/all/0

This was a large undertaking. I found the process to be quite invigorating as I learned a number of tech tips along the way.

MacBook ProI have spent many hours on

personal directed professional development learning how to use my new MacBook Pro computer. I have used my personal computer to help support the library throughout the school year.

Despite numerous updates, the school issued PC does not allow me to create the digital media I feel is needed for a 21st century school library.

My new MacBook Pro has allowed me to create videos, images and documents for the school library. Most importantly, it has given me the up-to-date tools I need to create our new school library website.

Professional Development 2010-2011

2011-2012 Goals @ SD library and technology centre

SDSS Style Guide ReDuxIn 2007 I worked with a team of

teachers as part of an SEI Grant. We created a Style Guide for South Delta. This guide was based on one I had seen in my previous teaching positions in Richmond and Vancouver.

The document is 61 pages. Using the Style Guide over the past couple of years has taught me that the information needs to be broken down into easily accessible pieces. I would like to convert this all encompassing guide into a series of pamphlets / web pages. Hopefully, this will increase the accessibility for the students who are most likely to benefit.

GrantsI hope to further explore

opportunities for grants for our school library. BCTF offers a number of awards that come with monetary prizes. There are also some grants to be won from private enterprises such as Future Shop.Peer Tutor Programme

We are excited to be working with another Peer Tutor next year. I hope to develop a library and technology specific plan to address the particular needs of learning and working in a school library.

ComputersThe student workstations are at

the end of their lifetime. The units are in frequent need of browser updates and often the machines do not support the web 2.0 technologies that encouraged by the district and used int the classroom. We will explore a variety of avenues to secure funding for replacing these old machines.Audio Books

There is a clear need for audio books. My philosophy is that libraries, in particular school libraries, are a place of equitable access; audio books lend themselves to differentiated learning styles, namely students in Special Programs.