Group meeting 09/15

 Productive group meeting today. My project went through some major evolutions. At first I was going to do a catalog returns promotion study but I kept encountering issues with being able to tie technology into the thesis. Then I went the route of building a blog to help teachers better understand and work with new technologies, only to run into the issue of exactly how to tie that into the library. However after a visit to my school's website I discovered that they are in dire need of an overhaul for the library page. The page literally consists of a single page with a paragraph on it and little little little information about anything, including the school's new librarian this term. I decided this is an issue that is in need of attention so I decided to run with the idea of buffing up the library site! This way I can include more features (educational links, information about the new librarian, book reviews, book fair info, suggestion boxes, surveys, contact info, images etc.) to truly put the media center online and make it useful to teacher and student patrons alike. Plus this would be good experience for myself as I've never created a webpage before!

Librarian Interview

I met with Ann Eddens, the new librarian at Moravian Falls Elementary School, yesterday afternoon for my interview. I came into the library noticing instant improvements since I had done my interim there last Spring. Miss Eddens had weeded out all the haggard texts, re-organized the circulation desk, and even painted over the former hideous green motif of the south wall of the library. While this was Miss Eddens’ first term at this particular school she has been a practicing librarian for three and a half years after obtaining her masters degree through ASU. It was clear from the immensely improved setup of the media center that she knew her craft well and even found enjoyment in it. My first tech question for her was what technologies were utilized in the library. She provided this list:

Follett Circulation Catalog
1 - Smart Board
1 - Inventory Scanner
1 - Checkout Scanner
1 - LCD Projector
1 - Document Camera
4 - Student Computers

Granted, Moravian Falls is a small school, but I next asked if she felt this technology was adequate enough for the students needs. Miss Eddens said she felt that it wasn’t quite enough. She would prefer that there be at least ten more student computers, along with space in which to place them. Miss Eddens told me that much of the student body was made up of bi-lingual students and that the library catalog contained a large selection of Spanish and bi-lingual books for the students. I asked if the students ever had difficulty working with the media center computers. According to her, only around three out of every five students had enough knowledge to work comfortably with the computers. Among these skilled students, most were upper grade children in the fourth and fifth grade levels. For the Kindergarten through third grade levels she said that she used a visual OPAC with images to help them with the catalog system. Miss Eddens said it was her opinion that technology was extremely important to libraries and that she often kept up with the advancement of new technology through monthly district media meetings, professional literature, and word of mouth. It’s also her opinion that self checkout is a myth, my sentiments exactly! Thinking back to our weekly reading I asked her if she thought that librarians were in danger of becoming obsolete. Her quick answer was no, someone will always be needed to teach new technology to learners.

Meeting

Our group meeting mainly consisted of our members bouncing the ideas of our projects off of each other. Sara and Mary’s were particularly impressive as they both are seeking to teach school instructors about new technologies - which is actually providing a credit to the instructors. These will definitely go over well because it gives an instant benefit to the learners. As for my own project I’m encountering some hurtles with. I want to work on the issue of getting better circulation returns; as this was a major issue at my school last year. The problem I’m having currently is the question of just how can I apply technology to this issue? I would like to conduct some kind of survey with the school’s teachers to get their thoughts on promoting returns, but I’m not sure what tool to use for this. Any thoughts comrades?