Hi all,
Here are the ideas that I recieved. Thank you for all of your suggestions.
Pat Westgate
Librarian
Susquehanna Valley Highschool
Conklin, NY
pwestgate@stny.rr.com
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At our high school, the kids cannot take their exams (midterm or
final) unless all the books are in. Actually it includes classroom
books, sports uniforms, band uniforms, etc. Unfortunately at my
middle school, I have only that their report cards will not be mailed
home. They also cannot take out another book if they have an overdue
item. I have kids who take out books the first day of 6th grade and
happily leave at the end of 8th never having returned the book. We
used to hold yearbooks and that worked really well but parents
complained that the kids had purchased the yearbooks and we had no
right to hold them. The administration agreed so we can't do that anymore.
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Our seniors can walk at graduation, but they don't get their diploma if they
have any books or fines of any kind outstanding. That helps, but like you
said, only for seniors. The rest of the year I have a thing called Wednesday
Winner. Whenever students check out a book they fill out an entry form for
Wednesday Winner. Each Wednesday I draw an entry from the jar. If that
person has no books overdue or fines owing, they are the Wednesday Winner
and get to select something from my goodie box of small prizes like neat
pens and pencils, book covers, key chains, locker mirrors, etc., things I
get on sale at Target. I also put the winner's name in the announcements.
That provides a little bit of incentive. Also, I have found that delivering
overdue notices personally and discussing them with the offending students
is much more effective than having them delivered by a teacher. At the end
of the marking period, I can hold report cards for students with overdue
books. Their parents get a letter instead.
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Our students can NOT be exempt from finals if they have overdue books or
outstanding fines. They also cannot participate in early release days if they have
overdue books or ourstanding fines. I round 'em up and keep them in the library
until the busses run. We ended the year with three un-returned books. Since those
kids had sat in the library at the end of the exams they had taken (they wouldn't
have been exempt anyway), I brought them to the computer, showed them I was marking
their books as lost, and I put a note in their record that they can only check out
1 item at a time until they miraculously find this "lost" book. Having them come
to the library when they finish exams is about the best thing that brings in the
books. For some reason they HATE that. I don't do anything to them. I don't even
glare at them. They can read magazines, but they can't use the computers. I just
send the teachers an e-mail, reminding them that Johnny has to take his exam
because he has an overdue book, and asking the teacher to send the student to the
library just as soon he finishes the exam. The teacher is delighted to get the kid
out of the room, and I greet him at the library, ask about the book, and then leave
him to sit out the rest of the period.
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We schedule our yearbook distribution and party 3 days after thel ibrary and
textbooks are due.
If they have books out, I hold the yearbook until the bring the books or money.
Works like a charm.
During the school year,I send out notices that tells them they need to return the
book or pay for it. If they think there is an error, to see me immediately. If a
student is waiting for a book, I call the offender in to talk to them.
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I have just held a grade competition.
Which grade will have fewest overdues by a certain date?
Then I distributed lists of overdues to each home room and exhorted the
staff to encourage kids to return.
On the final day I had a 3 minute spot at full school assembly and built
up the suspence.
First the three (only 3 classes) that had no overdue books... then the
fact that it was very close - 3 grades separated by 2 returns,
and finally...the grade that can expect a visit from the lolly jar
tomorrow is..... Year 7!
It helped. I have only (only) 95 left to collect!
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I'd love to see a hit on this as I have the same
problem. The last four days of school, I sang on the
intercom. Goofy things like the old song by Helen
Reddy. I changed the lyrics to I've been crying and
my oh mying over lost books." I wrote about for lines
per song. Although not a traditional incentive, it
caught their attention much more than overdue notices
and the morning announcements!
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My two aides used to do the chicken dance when a long-overdue book came in. Left
the borrower smiling and scratching his head--and quicker to return the next one.
I don't recall that they ever had to "sing" anyone twice.
On a more technical note, you might explore Library Elf. It didn't work with our
circ system, but it works with the circ system at my public library and I find it
very helpful personally. Library Elf, if the borrower chooses to use it, asks for
his library's online access point where borrowers can check their own circulation,
and for the borrower's password to that information. Then it checks his account
daily and notifies him 3 days before his books are due. This comes across not as
criticism after the fact but as a real help in meeting one's responsibilities. No
privacy problem, because it is not the library that sends this message--the
borrower arranges for it himself, if he wants it. http://www.libraryelf.com
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One thing I do whenever I need incentives: because I'm the IT dept/Technology
teacher as well I let the students have special days when they get to change their
desktop wallpaper, add widgets to their dashboards, take photos of themselves with
photobooth, etc. - computer fun they are otherwise not allowed have. It works well
for me to motivate the whole class to work well together on a project, but I
haven't tried tying it to book return.
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Records are held, diplomas are held, report cards are held, etc. if they have not
returned books or paid fines. We also sell parking spaces to juniors and seniors
who can't buy one of those if they haven't cleared in the library either.
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Good morning all! I've been enjoying this thread--but also am in a secondary
school. I had moderate success this year in retrieving overdues during the last
week before finals by offering a "bounty" ... one popsicle for each overdue
returned. It was inexpensive--I figure I could buy a couple of hundred for the cost
of a single book! You see, we have NO recourse if the student does not return a
book. We can have the office include it in the senior bill & we can deny further
checkouts to underclassmen, but the school does not deny a diploma to any student
with an unpaid senior bill. I was hoping to see the return of some of the MANY
titles that turned up missing in our inventory--the good stuff that walks. I think
we got two or three.
My predicament, though, was the reaction on the day I announced the bounty--I
immediately received an email from the admin offices regarding our district
wellness policy that "specifically discourages the use of any type of food
incentive from staff to student". Oh well, I figure I can't win 'em all!
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I have not read everything in this thread, so I don't know if this has been
suggested yet. I am in a middle school, but this might also work in a high school.
We are on four nine week quarters. Near the end of each quarter, we send out fine
and past due notices. The teachers tell the students that they will not receive
their report cards until fines and past dues are cleared. This helps a lot, but
does not get every student in. However, at the end of the year, students and
parents really wanted those report cards, so they were willing to pay. We took in
about $1000.00 from fines and lost books in the last 2-3 days of the year. Most of
the parents were pretty decent about it, putting the blame on the child instead of
us. It also helps to have the backing of the administration. This was only my
second year in the media center. The first year we had a different principal and
there was no real pressure on students to clear their accounts, but this year we
had good support from the principal, who absolutely refused to release report cards
until all accounts--lunch, library, textbook--were cleared. Unfortunately, we're on
to principal #3 next year, so who knows?
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I recently started at a MS where policies were already in place. They do charge 5
cents a day for
overdues (not counting weekends, holidays, field trips, etc.). Things seem to work
pretty well.
Overdue notices are sent out every week. Students are not allowed to check anything
else out if
they have an outstanding overdue or fine. If a teacher wants them to take
something for a class project,
that's usually a pretty good incentive. I don't think kids are stigmatized by it,
it's just a responsibility thing,
in our school. We don't make a federal case out of it, and we try to just be
matter of fact.
Every marking period we hold report cards for students who have outstanding fines
or overdues. There are occasionally students and parents who don't respond to
that, but for the most part, it works.
The best thing we did this year was hold their yearbooks. Worked like a charm.
(almost
everybody in our school gets them.) Again, there may be one or two, but that's a
number
I can live with.
Normally, we call them down to the library with a notice or over the loudspeaker
(so and so please
come to the library...). For for those who still don't show up we call the
classroom wherever
they are and ask the teacher to send them down. We remind them what they have out,
and
ask them when they are going to return it, or pay the fine. We give them lots of
chances, but
get a little more adamant when an overdue or fine has been outstanding for a couple
of months or more.
Occasionally (if we know the home situation warrants it, or we are cutting a kid a
break, for example),
we will waive the fine as long as we get the book back.
We also have amnesty for National Library Week -- fines are waived for anything
returned that
week. It is well publicized, but not too far in advance! LOTS of things come back
in then.
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I am also high school (gr. 8-12) and find that it is difficult to get books back
from teens. Like you, Barb, our "wellness police" have curtailed any food -at all -
being offered to students. Plus, philosophically, I don't want to reward the
chronic late returners, as I'd much rather wring their neck!
What seemed to work well this year, were a couple of things. First, we contacted
teachers who had assigned projects at the end of the year to tell the students they
had to hand in their materials when they handed in their paper/project. (The
teacher had a list & collected items or sent kids down from class).
Random students who had overdue pleasure reading were called to the library during
homeroom during the last week of classes. We made them call home and leave
themselves a message on their answering machine -or to their own cell phone.
Or - we asked them to bring back a buddy. This buddy was asked to call their friend
that night or before school to remind them to put the book/item in their backpack.
This may sound corny, but out of a collection od 10,000, we circulated more than
5,000 books and only had 8 students on the arrears list. Of course, 38 hardcover
and 15 paperbacks "walked" away - but, that's less than usual for me.
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The high school was having a can drive for a local food pantry. There was a
competition between classes. As we have a dress code, the winning class
received a free jean day.
There was a special sale on small tuna cans at a local store. I bought some
and announced that students would get a can for the food drive if they met
all library obligations on a certain day. Offer good while supply lasts.
Books were returned, fines paid and canned goods were donated. It was a
win/win situation.
Of course, not everyone participated, but the canned food give-away made a
good dent in my year end overdues.
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