I created this movie for a Horseheads District Board presentation on March 29, 2012. Last year, we lost one of our library clerks to cutbacks, and there was some talk of cutting the librarians from two to one this year (awful budget situation) I wanted the board to know what a vital and active program they would be losing and thought that creating a video would be the clearest way to present it. (Click on photo above to view!)
Other staff members involved are Maureen Frei, librarian and Beth McKaig, library clerk. We are a 9-12 high school, with about 1400 terrific students.
In addition, I included the following information in a fact sheet for the board:
HHS Library fact sheet:
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75 student-use computers (27 desktops, 25 laptops, 23 netbooks)
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Approximately 16,500 print books and 200 audiobooks
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2,800 videos and dvds (for teacher use)
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8 BOCES databases: e.g. Proquest, Opposing Viewpoints, etc.
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Multiple state (NOVEL) databases
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2 librarians (both have Syracuse University MLS degrees!)
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1 library clerk
2010-2011 student access:
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8,000 activity period sign-ins
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6,500 individual sign-ins (students down from classes or out of phys ed)
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1,091 classes (includes all English classes for at least one research project, and research by science, math, and social studies, as scheduled by teacher)
Librarian duties:
Select, order, catalog and process print and non-print material.
Select, subscribe and instruct in databases.
Assist teaching staff with resources, lesson design and technical issues.
Maintain website/visual catalog.
Maintain resources for assisting staff/students with ethical information use (e.g. copyright information, citation examples and instructables).
Plan, implement and review library curriculum (with English Department). Instruct and evaluate English classes on their bibliographic citations.
Inform staff of new resources and developments; educate new staff.
Keep current on library issues (read professional material, attend conferences, communicate with print and database vendors, attend Mandarin training).
Keep current on education issues (follow NYSED developments and attend local training).
(Peg Weidemann is a member of Horseheads Teachers Association.)