Hi Virtual Friends,
Thank you for all of the responses regarding the opening of a new school!
We have learned from experience that the library media specialist should
be brought on board as early as possible.
Unfortunately, despite repeated attempts to do so, that did not occur in
our district. (Surprise!)
The librarian hired has not had nearly enough time to get the core
collection in order. She did decide to use Mackin, and has been very
happy so far.
*Here are the hits:*
For a school opening in the fall the first thing you need is a budget,
or amount of money that will be allocated for books and AV. If my system
is opening an elementary school that will eventually house 1,000
students, we open the library with enough books and AV media to satisfy
our state standards of meeting 10-12 items per child in the library
collection. That would be a minimum of 12,000 books and AV media
(videos, DVDs), though we usually end up with about 15,000 to 18,000 in
the opening collection. Since the average cost of a new library book is
around $19.00, you can do the math. Begin by contacting the major
venders (Follett, Perma-Bound, Bound to Stay Bound, Thompson Gale,
Davidson Titles, etc-----venders may vary with your area) and ask them
to develop an opening day collection for you for a set amount of money.
I usually split my total money between several different venders. The
major venders are used to doing this and create an opening day
collection based on percentages established by the industry for the
“model collection” . You can give them guidelines, titles and subjects
or authors to avoid (or include). I also have a local representative
that provides me with direct ordering of several non-fiction companies.
I would call on the venders BEFORE April in order to give you time to go
over their suggestions and edit the lists to your preferences. Also
include reference companies like World Book, World Almanac, Gale, etc.
Remember to include professional materials. I usually order more of the
EASY books from Perma-bound and BTSB and more of the upper ranges from
the other companies. I have a personal list of authors and books I want
included in any elementary collection that I make sure is added to one
of the orders if not suggested by the vender. Remember to look over the
title suggestions for books that may be inappropriate to your school
community, or remember to tell the venders beforehand to avoid certain
topics.
I begin my actual book ordering in April. It generally takes anywhere
from 30-90 days for the orders to come in. I would also order the
library circulation system and scanners at that time. Establish barcode
ranges for each company taking care to allow enough for each. Order the
books processed to your system’s specifications. Most will ship shelf
ready and actually in shelf order if requested. This saves time!
A crew of parents or volunteers who can open the boxes, check the books
in against the packing slips, stamp with school identification and
shelve can speed the set up time. Our schools open August 1 or
thereabouts. Usually the new libraries open within a couple of months
more or less depending on the skill of the librarian and the amount of
volunteers.
*****
Opened a new K – 8 library in 1997. Follet’s Titlewave was incredibly
helpful. Follett was the basis of my Opening Day collection. I did the
selections myself but it took A LOT of time, and I had ten year’s
experience with children’s lit, so there was a lot I just ordered
without having to check the descriptions/reviews. The rest of the titles
I had to check individually to be sure the materials were well-reviewed.
Titlewave makes that pretty easy, but it’s still time-consuming.
Important: any vendor you are doing a big order from, find out whether
they deliver into the library or ship to the office or district only.
Most places drop off at the office, then you have to haul them over to
the library. This is a LOT of backbreaking work and potentially
dangerous (we had a dad hurt by a dolley as he was loading). Follett
ships (big orders) and delivers INTO the library for you. Trust me, when
you have 20+ boxes from a vendor, that’s a lot to lift and move,
especially in inclement weather. You appreciate having the delivery guy
put them where you need them. Be sure your building is ready for
occupancy. I would recommend having the books arrive after the shelving
has been installed. Our library was incomplete due to a race to get the
other classrooms done by Sept. Our books began arriving before our
bookshelves in Dec. We finally opened in January.
Also, they (Follett) mark the boxes on the outside as to what the range
is (example: FIC AAA- CAB) and they don’t mix the books unless it is the
overlap (end run of Es and beginning of FIC, for example, or a batch
that arrives a little later). Pretty much the books are in the boxes
shelf-ready if you have ordered them pre-processed (which you definitely
want to do!!!!). Other companies don’t do that. There are about 30
fiction books per box to help you plan. You need to have an idea of how
many boxes will arrive and need to be stacked until you are ready to
open and shelve them. On our end we had volunteers stamp the inside
covers with our school name and address (that’s optional since your
school name will be on the barcodes) and add our own (colored) labels to
the spine to distinguish Fic from E, etc. but we had Follett do the
regular spine labels and barcodes on each book. I ordered $50,000 worth
of books from them and we had only a few errors. If you order from other
vendors (especially small ones) find out if your books are sent out to
be catalogued or processed before they come to you. Avoid dealing with
those vendors. I had one that shipped my order to another state for
processing and I had to call long distance different states to track a
missing box down. We never did get it. Be sure they have a toll-free
number and competent service.
Be sure your (furniture) vendor is going to place your shelving in the
stacks for you. It is a lot of work to snap in all the little
shelf-holders and lift the shelving (ours was wood, so they were pretty
heavy too) into place. Be sure the height of the shelves is adequate to
stand all books upright if possible. Check your nonfiction now – I would
guess that shelves placed 13” high/apart minimum would be good for most
books, probably 15” for picture book shelves. You want to standardize
the placement as much as possible so the visual look of it is nice also
(hope that made sense). I was fortunate at my old site to have lots of
extra shelving, so I left the top and bottom shelves open (no stooping
to file books on a bottom shelf!) in the fiction and nonfiction areas
for display and used the center ones (that’s about three shelves if you
have high stacks like mine) for shelving.
Make sure you have a phone with an outside line (or a cell phone) asap
because you will likely need it to check on orders and receive
processing questions from vendors. I had to run back and forth to the
main office for calls! Consider ordering 2 book ends per case if your
cases are 35” or wider. I found using two (one at the end, and one about
halfway) helps prevent a lot of sliding books when the books begin to
circulate.
In addition to Follett, you’ll probably want encyclopedias, magazines
etc. that you’ll need other vendors to order from. Plan now whether
you’ll keep records in file folders or in a big binder with dividers.
You’ll have a lot of paperwork to keep track of. Also, have a master
list of barcode ranges set aside for each vendor. For example, you might
want to set aside 10,000 barcode numbers for Follett, 500 for smaller
vendors, etc. Think of how many books you will likely order from that
vendor over the next ten years, and set aside that many numbers so they
can start the new numbers right after their previous order. If you don’t
order again from one of them, you can always assign their numbers to a
new vendor. I used a spread sheet to track mine. This way you’re sure
your barcode numbers don’t overlap between vendors.
******
This sounds just like our school district.
We are opening up 2 elementary schools and one middle school next year
and no librarians have been hired.
The one that the principal wants to take with her has not completed but
2 classes of coursework and the librarians in the district are expected
to help out.
******
I am still going through the set-up of my new library. I moved in Oct. 30.
You are right to want the MS in place early, but since that isn't going to
happen, let me tell you my experience.
I transferred to the new school from the high school, so I technically WAS
hired before the library was ready, but I was not consulted in any of the
decisions. The results, as you might imagine, were less than stellar. I
have a library full of beautiful but useless furniture. The furniture
includes 2 oak lateral files, an atlas stand, and magazine display racks,
but not a single book truck. I do not have a budget for magazines nor can I
buy an atlas. I re-file hundreds of books daily by carrying a handful at a
time. The principal had me meet with the Tesco rep to help design the room,
but then ignored all of my suggestions. I had asked to be present when the
furniture was set up, but I wasn't allowed to. The results were they
delivered the wrong chairs and the wrong tables. The tables were put
together improperly with the tall legs on the computer tables and the short
legs on the patron tables. The circulation desk was put in the wrong place,
then 12 inch square holes cut into either end of the desk to access the
power and data drops. Unfortunately, there were no data ports put in the
power ports and now my compter, phone, and printer cables are a massive
jumble. Tesco is supposed to come back either this month or next to move
the desk and cut grommets for the cords, but I am not holding my breath
because the rep is fighting my desicion. In the mean time I have almost
tripped at least twice a day over the rat's nest of cables. My suggestion,
don't buy from Tesco, find someone else.
The collection is pretty much the same story. I was not allowed to select
the books. My principal basically ordered a "library in a box" from
Follett. It is such a poor collection, I could just cry. In Arizona, the
state facilites board requires that an opening day collection has 10 books
per student based on the capacity of the school. Our school has just over
600 students, but has the capacity for 850 students so we got 8,500 books.
Our budget was $105,000. To make the numbers work out right, we got 18
bibles (we are a public school) and 2 boxes of other religious books
including one titled "Pray Like Jesus." We got a book called "Time to Pee"
with charts and stickers! We are a K-8 school. If they aren't potty
trained by now, a book just isn't going to help. We also got 5 boxes of
various manga and hard bound comic books (the complete set of Donald Duck,
Garfield, and Peanuts!) We got 2 dozen books on Native Americans, but only
3 about Arizona tribes. Native tribes are a huge part of the 4th grade
curriculum and with 21 recognized AZ tribes, you think we could have found a
few more AZ tribe books. I got wonderful picture books illustrating the
lyrics of various Christmas songs and no less than 12 illustrating the Star
Spangled Banner. On the flip side, I got no Animorphs, only 2 Lemony
Snickets, no Laura Ingals Wilder, no Harry Potter, well you get the idea.
Again, either select the books yourself or find someone other than Follett.
I don't know your system for checking out books, but I wish I had asked for
pockets on the books so I have a place to put the due date slip. I wish the
county would open up the budget so I can get color-coding labels for my
reading counts books. I would like little things like an address stamp to
stamp the books, a date stamper for the due date slips, acid free mending
tape for the books that are already starting to rip. Or at least a pack of
construction paper to make signs for the stacks.
It took a week to shelve all the books. My Follett rep came one day, the
lead custodian helped me three days, and some ladies from the district
office came in on Friday when I was just about dead on my feet. Thankfully,
the books came in Dewey order and it was just a matter of pulling them out
of the box and putting them on the shelf. The big problem was that the
delivery man needed his pallet back and piled the boxes up every which way
and left us with a huge jigsaw puzzle.
We have no union here, and the principal was never available to have a
discussion with, so I was on my own. From my experience, I would say get
involved early, be loud and demanding, and make sure the kids are getting
what they need and that the district is getting value for its money.
Vendors will try to push their leftovers off on you if you let them. Don't
let them.
******
Anchorage School District has opened over 25 schools in the last 20
years. Usually it takes nine months to select new resources and prepare
a new expansion of the library index. We have a centralized library
index serving over 100 library centers based on SIRSI software application.
A school librarian is placed on an additional addendum that is provided
for nine months. When the new school opens, that librarian is the
librarian in charge – however selection work for the library has been
done in the past months with the staff assigned to the new school. All
educators are on addendums for the new prep work.
Some newly appointed principals to a new school are creative with
university credit courses for the new team to gain credits for the added
workload as well.
Purchasing pattern is determined by the district’s purchasing office.
Books have generally come from any vender wanted with a bulk of the book
buying either from Follett or Baker and Taylor. Multimedia comes from a
variety of decisions, usually direct with the production company.
******
My information may not be the kind of support that you're looking for,
because I volunteered my time to set up our new library when we moved to
a new and much larger facility in 2000. At the time, I was a part-time
teacher in the middle school and full-time mommy, who saw this as a way
to support my child's school. As a result of this volunteerism, I was
offered the job of librarian (I had about 5 years of library experience
and a Master's in English). I did not have the task (or joy!) of
ordering new books; this is a private school, not public, so funds are
tightly controlled; and there had not been a professional (read: degreed
educator) in the position previously.
** How much time did the librarian need to do the physical aspects of
setting up the new facility? *I worked for about 4 - 5 weeks, unpacking
and arranging 8,000 volumes, setting up an A-V area and a teachers'
resources area. I also had to learn the Athena circulation/cataloging
software system on my own. I also had to unpack and weed
heavily---something that would have been nice to do at the OTHER end,
instead of carrying all of those books over here to be thrown out. The
books arrived around August 10, and we opened for our first visitors
around Sept. 20.
** Was the teachers' union supportive in communicating to administration
the extra demands an LMS needs in setting up a new library? *Not
applicable to my situation.
** What are some suggestions to consider when talking w/administration
about lead time to setting up? *Ask when they want the library to open.
It may sound funny, but they may be balking at the paid summertime, and
yet not have any trouble with opening the library several weeks after
school starts. This may be one way to get the input and time for the new
librarian.
Another point for them to consider: Each librarian sets up her "space"
in her own unique way. If someone else had set up my library, it would
have taken me many hours to rearrange someone else's hard work. I guess
I have a little obsessive/compulsive "Monk" in me. :)
** Any suggestions in purchasing (vendors, cost etc) the opening day*
*collection? Any difficulties? *I wish I had had this "problem". I also
do not purchase processing. Sigh.
******
I just opened a new middle school library. I was the librarian at the
only middle school in the district, so a great deal of planning fell on
me. I selected all the books (over 8000 titles). I started by
replicating the collection of the first middle school and updating where
necessary. We used Follett to order all the materials. They were a great
help. They took my current collection and created a list for me to work
with. They provided free processing (shelf ready!) and packed all the
books in true Dewey order. They also sent to reps to help me unpack the
books.
I spent months working on the lists of books. This was done while I was
working in the first library. I spent some time over the summer with the
book list, but most was already completed.
As for physical set up, the furniture was installed by the vendor. The
books (187 boxes worth) were unpacked in 1 day by 4 people. It was a
long, tiring day, but very worth it. I then spent 1-2 days fixing
records/labels I didn't agree with (our entire collective biography
section was mislabeled). I did a complete inventory of the books (using
a laptop and a scanner). That took at least a day. I covered the
paperback books with KAPCO covers (that was actually an ongoing process
that went on into the school year).
Of course, the unexpected always happens. The Friday before school
started, my library circulation server crashed and we had to order a new
one. That took 2 1/2 weeks to replace. We were open the first day of
school (as was my plan); we just couldn't check out books. It's almost a
semester into school and my assistant and I are still hanging posters,
rearranging furniture (a little) and figuring out our organizational
strategy. Our overheads and carts didn't come in until several weeks
after school started. In a way, not having everything perfect in the
beginning is a blessing. You have time to figure out how to use your space.
I would say at least 1-2 weeks before school starts would be good to get
everything unpacked and situated. Any extra time I spent in my library
was my own. I didn't get paid for extra days (although I did ask). But
If I hadn't spent that time in the library, the first few weeks would
have been crazier than they already were.
******
I was hired to start a new middle school around Feb/Mar, before the school
opened in July. I had 3 weeks to order new books. I could not have done it
without the help of our Follett vendor. He provided me with an opening day
collection of books for a K-8 school (which will eventually be a middle
school, after the elementary is open), I went through the list with a fine
tooth comb, added my own selections, took out some I did not think we would
use and sent it in. Of course, it's not perfect, but it was a nice start.
I tried also to balance it with percentages that Follett or Wilson's
provides for the numbers in each Dewey section. I ordered EVERYTHING from
Follett (except World Book encyclopedias and World Almanacs). They came in
Dewey order in the boxes. Our rep came and unloaded the boxes and
inventoried them for us. I had a team of helpers come in and we put them on
the shelves in one day. Our rep most just stacked and opened the boxes, we
went behind him and put them on the shelf. I would highly recommend this
way of doing it if you have no support and/or time. I don't think there is
any way you can get a perfect collection, especially if you're ordering
someone else.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have asked for
about 5 weeks or more lead time (the hold up was the budget number wasn't
set yet, so I kept waiting). I probably would have asked if it was OK to
reserve a certain portion for the new librarian to spend after they got in
the facility. I would definitely use Follett again, it was so easy to use
titlewave and they were very helpful. I also would have asked for a stipend
to do the ordering (I did not get one, I think because I was the one moving
to the new library), but if I wasn't, I would ask for one, it's very time
consuming. The bookshelves and tables, etc. were already set up when we
received the books, I did not have to do that, it was relatively painless,
lots of work, but pretty easy.
******
Jackson has gone through this three times in 5 years! Current librarians
generally do the orders. I used Bound to Stay Bound and Follett, with
shelf ready processing. The district tried to give us substitute
teachers while working on this. Also, a substitute teacher taught
library a la carte while we were putting things together, usually 2-3
weeks. We had trouble not getting into the building much ahead of time,
although I was allowed in prior to the other teachers. We got help from
the PTN. Fortunately some of them could do heavy lifting. It was tough.
Good luck!
******
I am the librarian at a new K-8 school. I come from the perspective of
having been a classroom teacher for the past 8 years, and (though I had
contemplated switching at some point in my career) didn't switch from a
classroom position to the library until about a month before school
started. Also, I passed our state library test (a month into the school
year) to earn my library endorsement, but I do not have any library
coursework, grade-level or otherwise. Having said all that...
I'm in a rapidly expanding district, with two K-8 schools being built
every year, and a high school planned every other year for a while. One
main challenge to getting my collection in place was that construction
wasn't finished until about three weeks before the students started.
Since our school had no librarian for a while, our district's (half
time) library coordinator ordered the first 40% or so of the collection.
Her personal preferences led her to order from a number of different
sources. That's been a frustration to me, as it's hard to figure out
what's coming from who and when, and doubly hard to try to avoid
ordering duplicate copies of books. I've entered the details of orders
from other companies as lists in Follett's Titlewave service so I can
try to avoid duplicates. I've been able to order the rest of the
collection, which is a process that's still in progress. It's been a
great deal of fun for me to choose much of the collection, but the flip
side of that is I've had deliveries trickling in off and on all year,
and realistically it may be springtime by the time I have all my books.
If you had a way to create the whole order at the beginning it would be
better. I've been very happy with Follett since I do my ordering online.
Their website seems to be more detailed and extensive than others.
(Granted, I can't say I have a great deal of experience with other
companies, and the deals you get will be a prime factor in your
decision.) Whether it's Follett or not, ordering the vast majority of
your collection from one vendor seems to me to be the way to go. You
likely know this already, but I'd suggest having your "must-have" books
in a separate order rather than part of a massive one. This way they
won't get dropped as part of a do-not-exceed situation. For me, this
would have included Shel Silverstein, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry
Potter, etc.
As far as physical setup, our contractors installed all the shelving and
the circ desk. The only (!) physical work to be done by district
personnel was the arranging of tables, etc. and the stocking of books.
The ordering itself has stretched into many hours - I'd suggest getting
the union involved in arranging extra pay for the extra work the current
LMS's will do in preparation.
I haven't really dealt with the union as far as needs. My principal and
AP have been extremely supportive, and I've voluntarily come in a few
evenings to shelve new deliveries just out of my "Woo-hoo! New books!"
excitement.
******
It took me 6 weeks to get the library ready to open after the books
arrived. And I had a couple of very faithful volunteers who helped.
Everything wasn't processed on day 1.
I started planning in the Spring for a Labor Day opening. Many cooks
spoil the broth- Someone will need to be "in charge" to make sure a
complete collection is ordered. I created an Excell file with Dewey
number (rough number), author, title, publisher, ISBN, cost so I could
sort by Dewey and make sure I had a balanced collection.
Ordered books in April and May for a July delivery. The books don't just
"appear".
Books arrived- they may come "processed" but you still need to check the
order list to be sure they sent what you ordered.
The books need to be stamped with the school name
I also wrote inside the book the call number and the barcode number
(just in case the barcode slipped off).
The MARC records need to be loaded in the circulation software.
The books placed on the shelves.
I'd encourage you to do an inventory before the library opens- I
discovered that I had MARC records but no book, books but no MARC records.
I used Follett for the bulk of the opening day collection. BUT you still
need videos/DVD's, encyclopedias, Databases, etc....
******
Our district opened 4 new elem. schools about 2-3 years ago with new
libraries which are now closed due to failure to pass an operating levy.
I digress. They were run by library aides. Their supervisor and the
district curriculum director decided to go with Follett's new library
collection. What they found was there were a number of too easy books.
One grandmother thought they were better for a two year old.
******
We opened our school 7 years ago. They hired the principal and
secretary to work one school year before the opening. I was told that
my transfer was approved in January before school opened in the fall. I
kept the job I had through the end of the school year. They paid me by
the hour to prepare the opening collection order, equipment, and
computers. I also worked with our district media and tech director and
the technical people to develop the LAN.
I can't remember exactly, but I think they paid me for about 90 hours.
I worked more than that.
I used Follett for the opening day collection. I chose all the books myself.
******
I would invite you to follow this link for an overview of what Brodart
can do to assist with your new school. I am NOT in sales, but I am a
professional librarian in the Collection Development Services dept.,
with 20 years experience in school libraries, and have helped produce
selection lists for lots of new school openings. This is a HUGE task
for your staff, and we see lots of districts with the buildings in
place, but not the staff. We can do anything from prepare selection
lists for your present librarians to choose from, to doing a complete
vendor select collection based on your specific needs (I just did a
vendor-select project for a HS and MS in Oklahoma).
I would be happy to converse with you more on what projects look like
from my side if that will help. I will not have any sales people from
here contact you unless you ask me to do so. Best wishes on this huge
undertaking!
http://www.books.brodart.com/schools/newschools.htm
******
Contact Alice Booth Sawyer at Baker and Taylor. She is the Curriculum
Specialist and Collection Development for them. I worked with her when
she was with Follet and Sagebrush. She assisted me in the opening day
collection of three schools...one middle, one elementary and one
alternative high school. She is an experienced librarian of over twenty
years. She can probably help you more than anyone else in the business.
*******
Hello! I saw your posting on LM_Net and thought I might be able to help
you with some of your details regarding the new school opening.
Setting up the new facility is going to depend on a lot of factors, but
one area in which you definitely need to get started early is the
furniture/shelving ordering. You need several months advance notice in
order to get things in on time since most items are custom built to the
space. You should talk to furniture vendors to find out what their lead
time is. I'm an Opening Collection Coordinator for Mackin Library Media
and have worked with over 400 schools on their collections. In my
experience, the shelving being late is second only to construction
delays as the biggest reason for a delay in the library opening on
schedule.
The time required for purchasing the library collection itself is going
to vary, but I can give you a typical scenario. We generally start
working with a customer at least four to five months before the library
will open. We start by helping them to develop a unique core collection
of titles. We ask the staff for specific details about the school, their
demographics, their goals for the collection, their budget, and
curriculum needs. We then put together a custom core list that takes all
of those details into account. Then, the librarian or team of people
working on the collection will review the lists and maybe add in their
own ideas and take out titles they feel aren't necessary, etc. They may
ask us for more titles in a different section or have us revise things.
Usually, they'll allow about two months for this whole process before
they finalize the actual list.
Most vendors like to have at least 60 days from the date of purchase
order to get the shipment to you, although the more time given, the
better. I usually recommend to people to get their orders in to us 90
days before the library will open. This ensures that even things that
might be temporarily out for awhile and need to be reprinted, will have
ample time to arrive.
Setting up the library itself, once you actually get in, depends on a
lot of factors such as which vendors you are working with, and what they
have agreed to do for you. For example, when you work with Mackin, we
actually send shelving help for you so that all the books can be put on
the shelf in a day. If you aren't working with a vendor who does that
for you, then it all depends on how much help you have and if the books
are presorted for you. It can take anywhere from two days to two weeks.
I, of course, would also be delighted to send you some information about
Mackin's services for Opening Day Collections. In fact, if you have an
interest, we could even start putting together a suggested core list as
mentioned above. There is no need to commit to Mackin in order to have
us prepare a core list and proposal for you. It's simply a good way for
us to show you the quality of our service and what we can provide. Would
you be interested in having us pull something together for you? At the
very least, I could send you a packet of information that tells more
about our services. Just let me know if that would be acceptable.
Thanks, and please don't hesitate to contact me with other questions. As
I noted above, I've worked with an awful lot of schools and have
encountered just about every situation you can imagine, so I'm happy to
share some of the things I've learned in that time. You can reach me at
800-245-9540 or via email.
Good luck with everything!
******
Susan Kirby-LeMon
Skano Library Media Specialist
Clifton Park, NY
slemon@nycap.rr.com
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