Greeneville Middle: Second Day

Hello again,

Today was my second day at Greeneville Middle School, but my first official day of internship. It was a very busy day because the entire 7th grade class came in throughout the day for Banned Book Week! The class rotation schedule is very interesting, because each class that came in today had only 30 minutes, so Mrs. Morris was doing her best to thoroughly discuss the idea of banned books, give some example of books that have been banned before, answer questions, provide time for students to check out books, and read a banned picture book to the class. Mrs. Morris read "The Five Chinese Brothers" to each class, and they absolutely loved story time!

After listening to the story, Mrs. Morris asked the kids why they thought this book was banned, which prompted a lot of interesting responses. Some of the students mentioned the front cover and how it was racist, and others mentioned the violence that can be found throughout the text. In one of the first classes, one of the kids asked what happened when a parent or someone was upset with a book that was on the shelf, and I realized that the librarian didn't really have a policy for this sort of situation. She did mention that she would take the matter to administration, but that she would ultimately place the book back on the shelf. 

Finally, I was able to learn about the system used in the library, which is Atriuum. This is what the checkout page of Atriuum looks like:

It is a very straightforward system, which I like, and students are asked to type in their number (lunchroom code) in order to access their account. I like this feature because students don't have to say their number aloud and risk having someone else take their information. One thing I do wish was featured on this system was an image of the student after they typed in their code. There are nearly 800 students at this middle school, and although it is only my first day meeting these students, sometimes things can be rushed during checkout and a mistake can be made. Having an image could help the person who is checking out quickly see that this is the correct student. 

The librarian and I had a brief moment to discuss finances and funds in the library, and I quickly realized that she didn't get any money for books this year. She will have to earn all the money from the Book Fair, which she has in November and again in the spring. This broke my heart because I can tell how hard she works to get the books the kids request, all while making every cent stretch to the limit. She has a pretty solid collection even though her finances are limited. One thing I really loved about her collection was the way that she organized it, particularly the fiction section. On the spine of these books, she had:

F

First three letters of authors last name

First three letters of series title

Book number of the series

I thought this was an amazing idea, because checkout time is always very limited for the students. So if they have a series they like, they will know which book comes after without having to waste any time looking that up. Also there are a bunch of book series that have other series, such as 39 Clues, and this really helps keep everything separate and organized. 

Today was a good day, and I am looking forward to experiencing checkout with 8th grade tomorrow!

Best,

Haley

Greeneville Middle: First Day

Hello friends,

My name is Haley Moody Bryant and I am a librarian-in-training taking on my last semester of my masters program. I have just recently moved to East Tennessee after getting married, so I have been working hard to build relationships with schools around town with the hopes that they will allow me to intern with them this semester. After many months of searching and researching for a placement school, I have finally located two school librarians who are willing to take me on as an intern!

Today was my first day meeting with the librarian, Mrs. Nicole Morris, at Greeneville Middle School. We spoke briefly about my expectations and what was required of her, and she was able to show me around her library. This library is stunning because it is literally the center of the school. I always love telling people that the library should be the heart of the town or of the school, and Greeneville Middle Schools library is exactly that. The sides that directly attach to hallways have no walls, so it is open and inviting for students and teachers. While an open library is beautiful, Mrs. Morris discussed some of the downfalls of having no walls, stating that it can be incredibly loud when grades are changing classes while she is instructing a class. She also briefly showed me her collection, which features books for low-level readers, Spanish speakers, and much more. Her collection is mostly hardback books, but she does have a bookshelf dedicated to paperback books that have been donated. Her fiction section is organized by authors last name, but also has the series number on the spine, which has been an incredible help in her library. Finally, she showed me her non-fiction section, which was just as large as the fiction section. Unfortunately, the non-fiction section and reference section are rarely touched.

Mrs. Morris is typically at the school from 7 a.m. to just after 3 p.m., and offers games, homework help, tutoring, and activities for students who arrive at school early. She is one of the first teachers in the school every morning even though she has a 45 minute commute every single day. Her incredible work has definitely been noticed, earning her Teacher of the Year during the 2016-2017 school year.

I am excited to get started on this internship and learn the motions of a middle school librarian!

Best,
Haley