So, I have this adorable little library intern that’s working on her Masters of Library Science from SHSU. She’s so cute and she has worked so hard this semester. One of the things we did in planning how to get more teacher collaboration was to send a survey out to teachers. She created the survey as a Google Form and I emailed it out. She put some really good questions in. Here are some results:
- My favorite was that overwhelmingly the comments said their favorite thing about the library was the staff! I am all about customer service and helping teachers. I want to serve them! They have such a tough job so I am glad to see that part is working! Here are a few of the comments that warmed my heart:
- “I like that they are there when I need help or advice and would exhaust all resources to get me to where I need to be. I also like that they aren’t intrusive. They allow me to incorporate new concepts at my own pace and provide the best encouragement.”
- “The kids know they can find help in there and it is welcoming!”
- “That we have a knowledgeable and innovative librarian/media specialist”
- Most teachers have students use the library in small groups or individually because so much of our schedule is booked with ELA classes; although we do try to bring in classes doing research. That has happened less this year with the implementation of Chromebooks.
- There was a general like of the library and the library program. A few suggestions to find ways to bring math in (I am working on that) and wanting to do more book talks with students (I need more time). The one comment that stuck out to me was from the question regarding why you don’t use the library more — this comment broke my heart, but I know what teacher wrote it and have already reached out to her to let her know that we can work together next year we just might have to plan further ahead than she is used to doing!
- “The one time that I was asked about bringing my class(es) in for a research training, it was not a good time and I was emailed a ppt. (which I appreciated) to share with the class. From that point forward I thought that the library was too busy with ELA classes, etc. to have science class(es) come in, as well.
I feel like we have a good library program, but there is ALWAYS room for improvement. We are trying to find ways to make it a more collaborative space for students to work on projects and to draw them into checking out books and reading! 🙂
I am grateful to my intern for all of her work this year. It’s been amazing having her. I have no doubt she will be an amazing librarian! I hope I get to work alongside her one day.