Library Scheduling

[Valued Customer <oakgrove@semo.net>]

Dear Readers,
  I am an elementary librarian at a K-4 school that serves around 400
students.  We use a modified flexible schedule.  Each of the 18 classes
comes in a a regularly scheduled time once a week for 40 min.  Our
library is also open during recesses (when I don't have recess duty) and
30 minutes before school begins.  Students may also use the library
during times when classes are not scheduled.  We use an automated
checkout system and materials are processed at our district library
office.  I just have to file catalog cards and import the MARC records
from a disk.

We have implemented Accelerated Reader in grades 1-4.  Before we started
this program school wide, there seemed to be adequate time to complete
most of my professional duties: ordering new materials, cleaning up MARC
records, preparing bibliographies, etc.  This has become increasingly
more difficult since we began accelerated reader because I never know
when a "rush" of students will be coming.

I would like to know if other librarians build time into their daily or
weekly schedules where no one comes into the library.  My principal did
allow me to set aside the last 45 minutes of the day as my planning time
where no one comes in, but some weeks it's just not enough.  We have
tried using volunteers with limited success.  Most people don't want to
work regularly for free.  I have always believed that faculty and staff
should have as much access as possible, but there has to be a happy
medium here.

I would also like to know when other librarians close their libraries
for inventory.  We have a 9 month contract with an extra five days at
the beginning of the school year.  There are no extra days at the end of
the school year.  In the past, we had all students to return books
during the second week before school was out.  They still came for story
time in the library, but did not check out.  The library was closed the
last week of school for inventory.  Now that we have Accelerated Reader,
we may need to rethink these procedures so that students may read
longer.  Any suggestions?

Kim Miller
Elementary Librarian
Oak Grove Elementary School
Poplar Bluff, MO  63901
oakgrove@semo.net

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