Total+Library+Makeover

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 * Developing the WHS Library program...**

A Little Background
Waltham is a diverse suburban/urban community located nine miles west of Boston. The city is home to six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The high school has around 1,400+ students, 125 teachers, and 1 library teacher. That's me! Kendall Boninti. I arrived in Waltham over five years ago, as a recent graduate of the Simmons Library and Information Science program. Waltham’s library teacher had gone on an extended maternity leave and they were looking for a temporary fill-in for the rest of the school year. As luck has it, the library teacher decided to leave her position and I was offered the full time job. YAY!

During my first two years, I made very few changes. I was technically working in someone else's library, so I didn't want to rock the boat too much. I taught classes and did some fun things, like a Favorite Books display. Students and teachers wrote 2-3 sentence reviews of their favorite books and we displayed them around the library (see pic). The library teacher before me had been an avid data collector, so I continued her work by keeping stats on everything from database usage to the number of students that came to the library with a pass. Most of the data was shared with the HS Principal and district Directors in the form of a monthly __//Director's Report//__.
 * Sample Director's Report:** [[file:DirectorsReportMarch2009.pdf]].
 * Data Categories:**
 * Circulation
 * Equipment usage (LCDs, TVs, Video Cameras etc.)
 * Database usage
 * Number of people that accessed the library's website
 * Collection age: What is the average age of fiction? Nonfiction? DVDs? The data is complied into a detailed __//10 Year Report//__ and shared, once a year, with the Director of Library and Instructional Technology
 * Student use of the library: Students sign-in when they enter the library. We have a sign-in sheet for lunch and a separate sheet for students that enter with a pass. The numbers are tallied daily.
 * Classroom teacher use of the library:
 * Total number of classes scheduled in the library.
 * Total number of teachers from each department that scheduled classes in the library.
 * Collaboration data: The number of classroom teachers that worked with me and our level of collaboration (see Director's Report)

Makin' Changes
After two years of collecting data, I saw patterns in who was using the library and it's collection, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the program. The data revealed that the library was popular with the history and English departments, but barely used by the science, math, and art departments. I also learned that the collection was seriously dated. In 2008, only 30% of the books had been published within the last 10 years and the average age of the science and math (500s) section was 1984! I set a goal for myself – get more science teachers into the library. The library paraprofessionals and I started by weeding the 500s. This soon spiraled into the other sections… and before I knew it, we were weeding the entire collection.



How many items were deselected? Around 12,000. Many of the books were outdated, in poor condition, or inappropriate. There were people upset to see so many books leave the library, but over time, most supported the changes. Plus, we always had the data to back up our decisions, as well as the full support of the Library and Instructional Technology Director, Sandra Roby. Some of the books were donated to The Reading Tree, others were offered to the district Directors for their departmental collections (most said no). The Science Director in particular helped make decisions about which science titles to keep, pitch, or purchase for the future. I also kept a box of the most offensive items that we found during the deselection process, as examples of why we need to go through this process.

Waltham is a member of an educational collaborative (EDCO) that gives opportunites to library teachers in and around Boston to share ideas. The group held the monthly meeting in our library and the topic of discussion was school library design! Carolyn Markuson,a school-library planning consultant and current Director of Libraries for Wellesley Public Schools led the meeting. Carolyn was filled with tons of fantastic, low or no-cost ideas for improving the space. Her number one recommendation...get rid of the old periodicals. We had LOTS of periodicals. In fact, when I arrived at Waltham High School, the library was spending around $3,500 annually on periodicals, and most of them were preserved for years in the Periodicals Room. I knew that removing the periodicals was going to be controversial. Many teachers were still using the old Reader's Guides to do research with their students, and getting rid of the periodicals meant having to learn to use the online databases.

Understandably, some people were really upset by the removal of the periodicals. They didn't like the idea of students having to get on to a computer to locate articles and the databases were waaaaaay outside of their comfort zone. It would take a couple of years, but through professional development, most people embraced the databases. After the periodicals were gone, we were left with this great new teaching space - The eLearning Classroom. Getting rid of the periodicals was critical step in transforming the library into a 21st Century learning center.

Movin' Stuff Around
After the EDCO meeting, we went crazy! I spent a lot of time developing the library's online collections and beefing up the website. We bought new materials, an LCD TV and some netbooks with a generous $5,000 grant from the Waltham Education and Beyond Foundation. We also had students take a survey where they were asked about how they use the library and their experiences working with the library staff. OH MAN were they honest. Many students mentioned the desire for friendlier, more approachable staff, as well as a more relaxed atmosphere with less restrictions. One student even wrote: “FOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!” Here are some of the questions that were asked and what we did to address the student responses.
 * Sample Student Survey: [[file:LibraryStudentSurvey.pdf]]**

A: “//A little more freedom. A library should be a place to get away from the rest of the school and enjoy your time in peace with people you like or to yourself, not a place where rules are more strictly followed than anywhere else.”// They were sooooo right! We were //really// strict. Students were only allowed to borrow 5 items at a time and signs around the library screamed...NO EATING! NO HEADPHONES! QUIET! We took a hard look at our policies and decided that most of the rules were impossible to enforce and created a divide between the students and the library staff. Nowadays, students are allowed to eat their lunches in the library and can borrow as many items as they like. We checkout headphones and try our best to be approachable and not sweat the small stuff. A: “//The librarians should make a better effort to go out and ASK the students if they'd need help instead of the students having to ask someone else. Not every student will have the guts (possibility of being shy) to ask someone for help, so they should reach out to them."// Say goodbye to the circulation desk! The Library Staff didn’t wait behind the bank tellers “help desk.” Rather, colorful stations with big ASK! signs were set up in different locations around the library with staff working out on the floor. The atmosphere changed from, you’re here to research..SHH!! to we’re here to help!
 * Q: What would make you go to the WHS Library more often?**
 * Q: How helpful are the library staff when you need assistance?**

//A: “To make room for people to sit an socialize with their friends.”// In fact, 65% of students wanted a lounge area for socializing. The way we used our space did not reflect the students' needs. We had fiction in the back of the library, DVDs shelved in the faculty only section, and study carrels, where students would hide (or make out with their girlfriends). We decided to switch it all up and get rid of the carrels, move the fiction and DVD collections into the high-traffic zone up front, and reorganize fiction into genres (Adventure, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Realistic Fiction, Romance, SciFi/Fantasy, Urban Fiction). The old fiction section was turned into a collaborative area with a Smartboard (formerly housed in a back classroom), and the two offices in the middle of the library were reconfigured into small collaborative rooms for teachers and students. We also rearranged the seating to make it more of a relaxed atmosphere.
 * Q: What would you change about the current WHS Library?**

Who we are today...
The library makeover was a huge success. The number of students and teachers using the library increased (see Student Usage graph), as well as the circulation of fiction. Our collection of online resources is reaching a larger audience of students and teachers and is making our collection accessible 24/7. Best of all...science teachers are now some of my most frequent collaborators.

Of course...the work is never really done. Recently, I've been able to move past the improvement of the physical space, to a more concentrated effort in assessing the learning that is taking place in the library. This past fall, 9th grade students took an information literacy pre-assessment survey as part of their library orientation. The survey contained questions about evaluating online sources, developing keywords, and creating research questions. I'm hoping to have the students take a similar exit survey at the end of the school year. This data will be shared with classroom teachers and administrators and will provide a foundation to build upon as we plan future lessons and projects.

The Introduction to TV Broadcasting class recently showcased the library during a recent broadcast. Thanks to Mr. Whiteley and his students for doing such a great job. Check us out! media type="custom" key="11321256"

One more thing!
The story wouldn't be complete without mentioning the team of people that helped make all of these changes possible. The WPS Director of Library and Instructional Technology, Sandra Roby. Sandra provided the vision and lots of guidance and support during the renovation. The wonderful library staff: Debi Guelli, Joyce Guelli, Betty Rots, and Keri Martin. Allan Macleod, our knowledgeable and very helpful Instructional Technology Specialist. The amazing custodial staff. The former Principal John Graceffa, and our new fantastic Principal Greg Demeo. Thank you!