Cool tools for libraries...pdf to Word converter

I may be the last person to know about this, but I just discovered a free tool that is going to make my work life easier.  Have you seen PDF to Word? 

Simply upload a PDF document, choose a file extension, add your email address, and voila!  You will quickly receive an email with the converted document in Word format.  Nice.

It's not technology, it's the way things are...

This morning I again had the pleasure of listening to library guru Michael Stephens.  It's always nice if new learning and real life match up, but seldom does it happen quite as neatly as it did for me today.

The session was over at lunch time, and I stopped at Boston Market before heading back to the office, which is about 45 minutes away.  I say that to tell you that I was out of my stomping grounds.

I ordered a chicken pot pie and water.  They gave me a clear cup for the water, and I expected the usual fountain where you push the little lever next to the lemonade for water.  Instead I found this Jetson-like contraption. 

I'll have to admit I was totally at a loss.  The big circle button said push, so I did.  Ice came out.  So far, so good.  I had no idea what to do next, so I pushed the silver lever and got a cup full of some sort of soda.  I sheepishly sat down, drank my stolen Diet Dr. Pepper, and proceeded to watch everyone else get drinks.

Either I'm slow or everyone else is a regular because no one else seemed quite so baffled as I was.  They knew that the top panel is a touch screen (ooh, cool!) and that there are literally 106 choices of drinks. 

My favorite moment came when a group of middle school-aged boys came in.  They clearly had never seen the machine either, but they did something very different than I had done.  They didn't mind looking like they didn't know what was going on.  They experimented.  They played.  They touched the screen repeatedly and went back and forward many times.  They didn't fill their extra-large cups with just one type of soda.  Oh, no.  They got suicides!

It dawned on me that the middle school boys and I were illustrating Michael Stephens' points on how the library should embrace 21st century learning. With apologies to Dr. Stephens because I won't do his presentation justice, the following are a few connections:

Michael Stephens on today's learners:

• For them, it's not technology, it's the way things are
• They are team-oriented and social
• They are curious
• Play = learning
• It's ok to make mistakes

Today's learners (and me) at Boston Market:

• It's technology to me, but not to these digtal natives
• I was embarrassed to ask anyone; they approached the machine together
• I didn't want to look stupid; they were curious
• I was getting a drink; they made a game of getting a beverage
• I was hesitant to make a mistake; they had no such qualms

How does this translate to the library?  Stephens recommends that we should:

• Break down barriers
• Explore play
• Know it's ok to fail
• Involve kids
• Encourage the heart
• Be human
• Embrace change

So please take a few minutes and check out Michael Stephens.  Play and be curious today.  Be willing to look silly.  And go to Boston Market and get a soda!

What's so special about specials?

Specials rotation.  The very words strike fear in the heart of elementary librarians.  If you're a secondary librarian, a new elementary librarian, or a really fortunate experienced elementary librarian, let me explain.

Specials rotation is the infamous fixed scheduling you heard about in library school.  Specials are the classes where the kids go while their teachers are having conference periods.  Generally the specials schedule rotates between art, music, P.E., and sometimes computers.  In a large elementary or if numbers at certain grade levels are high, the library may be placed in the specials rotation.

What does this mean?  It means that every single day one or more classrooms of students will be dropped off at the library for a 45 minute block while their teacher has planning time with the team. It means that the librarian will not be able to plan collaboratively with these teams.  It means that the library schedule will be driven by these fixed blocks of time.  And it also means that the quality of the entire library program suffers because the librarian is not able to serve students and staff at the point of need. 

If you are attempting to fend off being in the specials rotation, I would suggest that you read the following:

AASL Position on Flexible Scheduling

School Libraries Work

AASL Resource Guides for School Library Program Development

If you have already lost the battle and are in specials rotation, I would encourage you to document instances when the fixed schedule bumps research projects and spontaneous opportunities to meet needs.  Talk with administrators, teachers, and parents about why a flexible schedule is best.  Be sure to frame your reasons in terms of student needs or it may sound self serving.

In the meantime, what should you do during specials rotation?

Be positive and professional.  Don't make the kids pay for a scheduling issue.
Resist the temptation to kill time with arts and crafts or worksheeets. 
Ditto (double ditto) for library lessons such as learning about Dewey, how to use the almanac, etc.  ICK!!

Ok, so that was what NOT to do.  How about some things TO do...

If it were me, I would implement Reader's Workshop.  The goal of reader's workshop is to foster a love of reading, and tons of research supports the fact that the more kids read, the better readers they are.  Reader's Workshop is something meaningful that students can do during specials rotation, and it has the added benefit of requiring little planning from you.  DEFINITELY prefererable to busy work.

Set the tone for reading each day by reading aloud.  Read a chapter a day from a novel that will hold the attention of your students.  If you need suggestions, try Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook.  Alternate the types of books you read but make sure they are ones that your students will enjoy.  Have fun with the reading and avoid the temptation of "making a lesson" out of everything.  Just have fun with the book and your kids.

After reading aloud, each student should settle down with a good book(s) to read.  Kindergarteners and other students with limited reading skills can enjoy all types of books with illustrations and photographs.  You should always model reading.  The importance of this can't be overstated.  If you're up doing something else, it tells the kids that reading isn't important. 

You can find all kinds of information about Reader's Workshop online.  You won't need to take grades, of course, but tips on managing RW may be helpful. 

If you'd like an occasional change of pace, you could intersperse I-Search research projects.  Again, even the youngest of students can choose and research a simple topic with assistance.

Although specials rotation isn't what's best for kids, you can make the best of the situation with meaningful learning in a positive environment. 

The future of reading and libraries

Things I believe...

1.  Nobody knows the future of reading and libraries.
2.  There will always be people predicting doom and gloom.
3.  Budget woes come and go.
4.  Libraries date back to hundreds of years BC and will likely be around many more centuries.
5.  Reading is more important than the format of the book.  If printed books eventually get squeezed out in favor of digital formats, we'll still be reading.
6.  Education is slow moving and school library budgets are slim.  So while school libraries may move toward online and digital formats, especially for reference and nonfiction, traditional printed books will be around a long time.
7.  There's a difference in libraries merely surviving and libraries being vital.
8.  Librarians are that difference.
9.  A few critical things to vibrant libraries:  relationships, service, willingness to share knowlege, meeting students and staff where they are, and keeping current.
10. If we hold on to the 20th century model, we'll be alone in our quiet libraries!

The "c" word

I was a brand new MLS student during my last year as a classroom teacher.  One afternoon I remember waiting in line for the copier behind one of our math teachers.

She slammed her teacher's edition down on the copier and fumed, "I wish I could be a librarian.  What a cushy job.  Either the library is closed or she's sitting back there reading.  I wish I could close MY classroom whenever I felt like it."

I gotta tell you that made a huge impression on me.  I'd never thought about it much before, but it made me look at the library from a new perspective.

Some librarians will tell you that reading is their job.  No argument there.  But there's a giant difference between reading being your job and reading ON the job.  Reading is your homework.  If the library isn't busy, get out there and drum up some business!

As for the library being closed, remember my math-teaching friend and avoid the "c" word at all costs.

The library is a shared space that belongs to the entire school.  And as such, there will be hearing and vision testing, Coffee with the Counselors, TAKS testing, PTA board meetings, and the like that can shut the library down for more time than you'd like.

During one of your early scheduled visits with the principal, mention that you'd like the library to be open as much as possible because you want to impact student achievement as much as possible.  Is there another place that some of these meetings could be held?

Some closings are beyond your control.  Others rest squarely on you.

Always be open the first day of school and ready to go.  Can kids check out books?  You bet.

You'll need to get the books back in the last few days of school and do inventory, but let your campus check out books until the last two weeks of school and hold off on inventory until the last couple of days.  Even then, there's no need to close the library.

And yes, it's semantics, but choose your wording carefully when you're emailing the staff to let them know that the library is closed or when you're putting a closed sign on the door.

"Open after the meeting" sounds much friendlier than "closed."  Avoid the "c" word, both in philosophy and in practice.    The math teacher and I may be watching.

Self checkout for beginners

After I posted the piece about self checkout the other day, I remembered this picture of my two grandsons, ages six and four, successfully checking out books at our fabulous Frisco Public Library by themselves.

Yes, Virginia, kindergarteners CAN use self checkout!

And yes, I realize most grandmas don't take pictures of their grandsons checking out books.  You gotta love librarians, right?

More things I didn't know OR the first week of school

Although it's just the middle of June, I know that many of you (especially new librarians) are thinking about the start of school (at least in a tiny corner of your head).

As I mentioned earlier, there were an awful lot of things I didn't know as a new librarian.  Like what to do the first week of school, for one.

As a teacher, I knew what to do.  Collect forms.  Play get acquainted games.  Write the dreaded "What I Did this Summer" essay.  Review rules and procedures.  Collect more forms. 

But as a librarian, none of this applied.  The bell rang that first morning, and kids scurried to their first period classes.  The library--empty!  Ditto day two and three.  Where were my classes?  Weren't teachers supposed to come sign up to bring their kids to the library?

I quickly realized that most teachers weren't going to come to me.  I had to hunt them down and ASK them to bring their classes to the library.  Who knew that being a librarian involved cold sales calls?

And I didn't actually have a lot of ideas.  Hmm.  We could check out books.  And...wasn't I supposed to be doing library orientation or something?  Geez.

I'm guessing you're not as hopeless as I was, but in case a few ideas will help, I'll offer a bit of advice for the first week of school...

1. Don't assume that teachers will come to you.

2. Don't assume that teachers are too busy to come to the library the first week of school.

3. Figure up how quickly you can see every kiddo in school if you compress the schedule.

4. Make the rounds BEFORE school starts to every team in the building.

5. Let the teachers know that your goal is to get a book in the hands of every student during the first week (nine days, or whatever) of school.

6. Ask if they would be willing to sign up to bring their kids as soon as possible.

7. DON'T do library orientation.

8. Yes, you read that right.  DON'T do library orientation (more on this in a minute).

9. Check out books to kids.  Make an effort to learn their names.  Start building relationships with students and staff.  Encourage kids to come on their own any time they have permission.

10. Do something fun and flashy the first time kids come to the library.  Book trailer? QR code scavenger hunt? You Tube video about libraries or books or the latest version of Did You Know? 

11.  Be SURE to schedule the teacher's next visit to the library but DON'T let them book more than the first six weeks of school.  Otherwise, you'll have an instant fixed schedule.

And about library orientation...

Library orientation is boring.  Orientation presents facts in isolation that no one (but the librarian) cares about or will remember.

Do NOT show a PowerPoint that "teaches" kids how to use the Dewey Decimal system, how to use the online catalog, or about the parts of the library.  Refrain from telling kids all the RULES (shudder) of your library.

Is this really the first impression you want students and staff to have?

Instead, do something fun and welcoming.  Keep it short.

Afterward, simply let them know they can check out X number of books for X number of weeks.  There are no fines.  If you have an overdue book, the Mafia will not be called, but you'll need to return it before you can check out another book.    

That's it.  NO orientation.  NO rules.  NO long, dry speeches or handouts they'll leave on the floor.

Instead, tell the kids,  "This is YOUR library.  You are welcome any time.  I'm here to help you find books you'll enjoy reading and information you may need.  I hope to see you often!"

Cool tools for libraries...QR codes

You know about Stickybits (see older posts), and I'm betting you'll find cool uses for QR codes in your library as well.

QR (quick response) codes are two-dimensional barcodes that have been around in Japan since 1994. You can generate your own codes on such sites as Kaywa and then read these barcodes with your smartphone.

Text and URLs may be attached to QR codes.  They're not quite as flashy as Stickybits, but the QR codes themselves are awesome looking and are beginning to pop up in U.S. advertising. 

Start to look for QR codes on movie posters, ads, and in magazines.  Scan them with your phone using an app such as Inigma, and generally you'll be taken to the URL associated with with product.

I learned about QR codes at the recent TASLA conference, and several great ideas for library use were generated by folks in our group.  How can you use them in your library?

• Post them around your campus to advertise for your upcoming book fair.  The code can bring up text with dates for book fair.
• Generate interest in your reading program such as Read it Forward or One Book.  Text associated with the code can offer pertinent information about your event.
• Print QR codes on labels and place them inside the covers of books so that the code takes you to the author's website.
• Put a QR code on your business card.  When the code is scanned, it can link to your blog or website.
• Host a scavenger hunt around the library or school with QR codes providing clues when scanned.

Have you scanned the QR code above?  If so, I hope you are Shelf Consumed!

Self checkout basics

Self serve is a common concept.

We pump our own gas.  We dish up our own soft serve at the local buffet. We scan our own groceries.  We're used to making our own sodas at fast food restaurants, and in fact, it's annoying at the few places without self serve where we have to stand in line to get a refill.

Why self serve?  It's efficient.  It saves time. It decreases waiting. It takes fewer employees. 

Self checkout is effective for the same reasons. 

Our local public library has self checkout, and it's great.  A few clicks, a swipe or two, and I'm on my way.  No standing in line.  No waiting. 

I encourage you to implement self checkout in your library for these very reasons.  While it takes a bit to get students and staff trained, it is worth the payoff. 

The main advantage is that someone will no longer need to be chained to the circulation desk.  I'm guessing you don't have a full-time library aide, if you have one at all, or as many volunteers as you'd like. 

So that probably leaves you spending lots of time checking out books.

Not only is this a huge waste of an MLS, but I maintain that the more clerical duties librarians do, the less that we're viewed as professionals. It's not that we MIND doing clerical duties, but wouldn't we serve our students and staffs better by getting out from behind that desk and doing reader's advisory?

Self checkout is fairly common in elementary schools, and yes, kindergarteners regularly do just fine checking out their own books.  Next year I'm excited to say that ALL our elementary libraries will use self checkout.  Woot!

Self checkout is not as common in middle and high schools, but if you're a secondary librarian, I encourage you to think about it.  One objection I hear is that librarians are afraid they will lose too many books.

Our elementaries librarians who have used self cko for years report that they don't lose any more books than when they checked out themselves.  High schools have security systems, so really there's no reason for them not to go for it.

"Oh, but secondary kids are different," you may say with a sad and knowing shake of your head.  Won't the kids check out books to each other as a joke?  Won't they have overdue books and just use someone else's number so they can get more books?

To me this is a little like the dreaded internet filter that we all regularly rail against in schools.  How many times have you wanted to show a You Tube video for a lesson or access an educational blog or use Flickr to create book trailers?  Aargh!  It's all blocked! 

Why don't they trust us, we say?  They should open the filters up more and deal with the problems individually as they come.  The good kids outweigh the ones who will try to find things, we say indignantly.

Yep.  Ditto for self checkout in secondary schools, I contend.  Trust kids.  Train them.  Tell them your expectations.  Take care of the few exceptions individually.

Ok.  Sermons are over!  If you're willing to give it a try, you may have some questions.

1.  Should I use library cards or have kids type in their ID numbers?

That's personal preference.  Some of our elementaries create library cards using the Dymo printer and blank Dymo business cards.  Others have Targus keypads (available at most any office supply store for under $30) and ask all students to key in their ID numbers with good results.  Still others create library cards for younger students and ask older students to key in their numbers.  Secondary kids probably have IDs already.

2.  Will I need extra computers to do self checkout?

Our elementaries use two computers that they already have for checkout.  The computer on the circulation desk is used for checking OUT books.  Because this computer will often be used for other purposes, many librarians have niftily put the monitor on a lazy susan so they can easily spin it toward the kids when needed for checkout.

The computer for checking IN books is most often in another location to separate the two processes.  Librarians place a shelving cart near this computer so students may place their books on it once they're checked in.  This cart is compartmentalized and labeled by Dewey sections to speed reshelving.

3.  How do I train kids to do self checkout?

Really it's just like you would teach them to do anything else.  Model it, let them do guided practice, then move to independent practice.  Be sure to train teachers as well. 

4.  Any advice?

*Don't get too hung up on procedures. 
*Don't make it more complicated than it is.
*Allow all ages of students to self check.
*Expect the best of kids and you'll likely get it.
*Encourage teachers to send small groups of kids any time.
*Encourage teachers to bring their whole class to swap books any time, even if you're working with another group.  They won't need to schedule YOUR time to swap books anymore.

Go for it, librarians!  I'm betting your circulations stats will go up, and you'll have more time for professional duties.  And in this economy, it's always great to prove that we're invaluable as professionals.

Talking to your principal--Advocacy 101

I definitely appreciate your suggestions for blog topics!  Christine asked for ideas of what a librarian could share with her principal, either during the year or at the end. 

The principal can be your best advocate, and I would encourage you to regularly schedule time to sit down with your administrator to talk about the library.  Once a month or six weeks is about right.  Be sure to respect your principal's time by limiting this visit to 10-15 minutes, tops.  While newsletters and emails are fine, don't underestimate the power of regular, brief, face-to-face chats.

If you're new, definitely meet with your principal before the year starts.  Ask your principal what his/her vision of the library is.  What is important? 

Ask plenty of questions.  Articulate your vision and goals.  Don't assume that your principal knows what a good library program looks like. 

Several years ago, I very nearly turned down a job because the principal told me in the interview that she wanted me to do "library lessons using the almanac, for example."  YIKES.  Library lessons?  In middle school, no less?

I really wanted the job, so when she called to offer it to me, I worked up my nerve.  I told her that I thought we shared the same goal of a vibrant library program centered around students, but I thought we might have different views of how to reach the goal.

She asked me to explain, and I mentioned the library lessons. The principal laughed, and said, "Oh, I have no idea what librarians DO.  I'll leave that to you.  I just remembered my librarian doing almanac lessons."

Thank heavens I asked.  Otherwise, I might have turned down the job, or worse, I might have done the dreaded "library lessons" thinking that's what she expected.

The following is a short (random) list of topics you may wish to discuss.  Does your principal:

• Share your philosophy and vision of the library?
• Know your goals and how he/she can help you reach them?
• Understand the importance of flexible scheduling?
• Support the selection process and student access to materials? 
• Pave the way for you to collaborate with teachers?
• Provide adequate budget support?
• Know what a good library program should look like?

A few pieces of advice:

• Principals have crazy busy schedules.  Email the principal's secretary and make an 15-minute appointment for a convenient time.  Let them know the purpose of the visit.
• Principals don't have time to wade through tons of stuff.  Limit written information you give them to one page.
• Principals think in terms of student achievement.  School Libraries Work (Scholastic 2008) can provide good support, but remember the one page rule. 
• Principals are data driven. Stats are nice. 
• Principals hear it all.  As a result, they appreciate positive staff members who are team players.  Don't always ask for things!
• Principals are people too.  Take time to develop a professional relationship.  Say thank you.  Tell him/her how much you appreciate their support. 

A brief end-of-the year report is nice but not required.  It may include stats for the year, summarization of major programs and accomplishments, and progress toward goals.

Your principal = your best advocate!