2. SMP3: School Library Media Services Overview
Services:
A. Diverse Patrons: The shelving in the Learning Commons is all appropriate height for all
students, even those in a wheelchair. The shelves throughout the learning commons are
also placed at least 36 inches apart to allow room for a wheelchair to pass through. The
circulation desk that is used for independent check in and check out is also at an
appropriate height for all students to reach the tools they need in order to check books in
and out. We also have a small variety of large print books and audio books for students
with visual impairments.
B. Students: Students have access to the learning commons from bell to bell. After they
check in with their homeroom teacher, they start coming to the learning commons to
return and check out books. Students also visit the learning commons with their classes
for various reasons. Sometimes it’s for a class period with the media specialist, story
time, small group work, makerspace work, to visit the LEGO wall, or to use the
Chromebooks available to conduct research or finish classwork. All of these options are
available from bell to bell. The students are required to have a pass to be in the learning
commons to let the media specialist know that they have permission to be in there. Class
time with the media specialist is set up by the teacher and media specialist ahead of time
after they plan what will be taught during this time.
C. Teachers and Staff: Teachers and staff have access to the learning commons at all times.
This is a shared space within our school. If a teacher would like to hold a class in the
learning commons, they can sign up for a designated time on the calendar located in the
learning commons. If a teacher would like a small group or an individual student to
come work in the learning commons, they have a pass that they fill out to notify the
media specialist of what the student(s) should be doing while there and for how long.
D. Parents: Parents are allowed to visit the learning commons to check out a home
collection of books for their family. Each parent may check out up to 10 library books at
a time in addition to what their students are allowed to check out.
The school library media specialist serves in various roles in the media center. As a leader,
the media specialist stays informed by being a member of the American Association of
3. School Libraries. This membership provided the media specialist with access to articles and
ideas shared by other media specialists. The media specialists also attends conferences to
gain knowledge and share information with other teachers and students. Learning is
continual and this learning is then shared with others. Another role is the role of instructional
partner. The media specialist meets quarterly with the other media specialists in the county
to develop policies, practices, and curricula that helps to guide learning. Information
specialist is another role. The media specialists keeps teachers “in the know” with any
copyright information or updates. The media specialist also uses technology tools such as
google forms, google sites, Facebook, and the school website to supplements school
resources and to keep the communication with students, faculty, parents, and community
members active and available. The library media specialist must use the role as teacher to
inform patrons of the resources available and how to use them. Collaboration with teachers
is a must in order for the media specialist to learn how to best plan to teach the students what
they need to know. Then the media specialist provides learning opportunities for students.
Advocating for reading is also part of this role. The media specialist finds and develops
ways to provide students with access to what they need and/or are interested in reading.
Getting ideas and learning the interests of students is vital in advocating for their reading
enjoyment. Program Administrator is one more role of the media specialist. As program
administrator, the media specialist ensures that all members of the learning community have
access to resources. The media specialist may have to borrow resources from other media
centers, find more resources online, or allow part of the library budget to be for resources
needed by their community of learners. All of the roles of the media specialist intertwine and
support each other.
Circulation Policy:
A. Students: Students may visit the learning commons to check books in and out once per
day (unless there is a special circumstance to allow for more than one visit). Students
must have a pass to visit the learning commons. Students may have up to 5 books
checked out at one time. Pre-K through second grade students have a barcode on their
pass that they scan in order to check out books. Third through fifth grade students type in
their student number in order to check books out. All students scan the barcode on their
4. books to check books back in. They may keep the books for up to two weeks before they
become past due. Students may renew their books once to extend their checkout time for
two more weeks. There are no fines for past due books, but having books checked out
will prevent the student from getting up to five more books as they can only have five
total books checked out at any given time. For example, if they have two past due books,
they can still check out three more. We do not currently have any eBooks for checkout.
We do use EPIC books which provides a large variety of free books that students may
read on their devices. Each class in Pre-K through first grade has access to 6
Chromebooks, 6 iPads, and shares a class set of Chromebooks within each grade level.
Each student in grades 2-5 has their own Chromebook. All devices are housed at school.
Students have unlimited use during the school day, but the devices must stay at school.
B. Staff: Staff are allowed to check out as many books as they need. There are no limits as
to how many books a staff member can have checked out at any given time.
C. Parents: Parents may sign up for a library account and check out up to 10 books for a
home collection. This is in addition to what their student(s) are allowed to check out.
Scheduling:
The learning commons is open for all business during school hours. The only exception
to this is when the learning commons is reserved for a special event and there is a slight change
in schedule when the book fair is open. The doors to the learning commons open at 7:15 when
staff is required to report to work. The doors remain open until at least 3:15 when teachers are
allowed to leave for the day. When the book fair is being hosted in the learning commons, it is
open from 7:30-2:00 for purchases. Circulation is open to students from 9:00-1:00 during book
fair week. Teachers, staff, and parents may still check out during the entire day when the book
fair is happening.
Teachers may schedule a time to bring their whole class to the learning commons for
story time, research, reading groups, a collaborative lesson, or any other idea that is arranged in
advance. There is a calendar set up in the learning commons for teachers to sign up. The
schedule is a flexible schedule. Teachers sign up for times to come that works with their regular
classroom schedule. Teachers also send small groups and individual students to work in the
5. learning commons. The only requirement is for the students to bring in a pass that lets the media
specialist know that they are allowed to be in there and for how long.
The learning commons has an adjacent room that is used for PLCs (professional learning
communities). Teachers meet in this room weekly and the media specialist meets with them
during this time. This is when most collaboration takes place between the teachers and the
media specialist. Collaboration also happens in face to face meetings after school, email
correspondence, and when teachers can pop in during their lunch break or planning period.
Ethics and Legal Principles:
There is a lawyer from PAGE who visits annually to discuss ethical and legal
expectations of teachers and staff. Although copyright policies are mentioned in this training,
there is not currently a training for teachers specific to copyright policies. The media specialist
is the only person who has access to patron information. This information remains confidential.
Students must all visit the learning commons with their class during the first two weeks of school
before being allowed to use the learning commons. During this visit, the students are informed
of their ethical informational behavior expectations. Students also undergo a digital citizenship
training in the STEM lab with the STEM teacher during the first two weeks of the school year.
Assessment:
The Brooklet Elementary Learning Commons is on the path to becoming a 21st century
functioning media center. We have added some features such as a makerspace, LEGO wall,
flexible furniture, 3D printing, a newsroom, and cooperative learning spaces. There is always
room for improvement. Although we have added some flexible seating, most of the furniture is
still the big heavy wooden furniture that is not kid friendly. Fortunately, we have received some
funding for new furniture and this is going to be replaced this summer 2019. The media
specialist and teachers are attending trainings to continue to learn how to transform our space
into one that is conducive of learning spaces to meet the needs of learners of today.
Brooklet Elementary is also on the path to providing one to one devices to our students.
Currently, second through fifth grades have Chromebooks for all students. Pre-K through first
grade has six Chromebooks per class, six iPads per class, five desktops per class, and each grade
level has a class set of Chromebooks that is shared within the grade level. Students are not
6. allowed to use their personal devices from home since we have enough to offer at school. There
are security limits set on the devices belonging to the school that students may not have on their
personal devices. Our county is working on a plan to allow students to be one to one across
every grade level and then to eventually be able to transport their devices back and forth between
school and home.
After attending the Georgia Technology Conference this year, the keynote speaker made
a point that really hit home with me. He said that we need to be teaching our students the skills
they need in order to be successful at the next level. This really spoke to me at the media
specialist. The learning commons is the perfect place to teach students skills that they can be
using in their classrooms. I then made it a goal to start providing these services in our learning
commons. This is a work in progress as our teachers feel so scheduled in their classrooms. We
have started small with a goal of one session per grading period with grades third through fifth.
In regards to using web 2.0 tools, we quickly learned that not all are available for elementary age
use. For example, I love to use Adobe Spark and this tool was mentioned in several sessions at
the technology conference this year. The teachers were excited to learn that I was familiar with
this program and wanted me to teach their students how to use it. There is an age requirement of
13 to be able to sign up for an account. We changed to a google sites training session instead.
We will have to continue to search for tools that are available to our learners. The learning
commons is used for small group collaboration in grades three through five as well. Scheduling
for this has worked so far, but as we continue to promote and grow this concept of learning, we
will have to get creative with scheduling use of our space. Our school was built almost 25 years
ago for a student population that was less than half of what it is now. Even though we have
added a new wing to accommodate the growth, the commons areas are the same. Sharing the
spaces with so many can be challenging at times.
All in all, I think we are on the right track. There is always room to grow and improve.
We have excited teachers who are eager to use our learning commons space and agree that it is
important for our students to have these opportunities. We do need to have a copyright and fair
use training each year for teachers and staff. We also need to come up with a plan to teach new
students about their ethical informational behavioral expectations. We have new students enter
our school throughout the school year. Library policies and procedures should be clear to all
7. students and staff. “Policies and procedures are essential to assure that the school library media
center operates efficiently and effectively, help the school media specialist deal fairly with
different situations, and provide equitable service to all library patrons” (AASL, 1998).
Scheduling use of the learning commons is also an area that has worked out so far, but we will
need to devise a plan of action for how to best meet the needs of all students and classes. Using
a flexible schedule has worked nicely, but there have been a couple of times when two or more
groups needed to use the available space at the same time. We have implemented a calendar for
classes to sign up for certain times, but sometimes groups will show up and use the space if they
see it is empty without reserving it. Sometimes this works, and sometimes a group who signed
up will show up and the other group has to leave. This has only happened once or twice, and the
teachers were understanding when it occurred. Our school continues to grow and space is
limited. As these changes happen, we are having to adjust as well. All of the services offered in
the learning commons support learning. As a former classroom teacher, I love working with
teachers and students to plan and implement learning opportunities in the learning commons.
This is my first year in this position and I have already learned so much. There is so much more
to learn and I am thankful to be able to work with a supportive staff that is willing to work with
me so that we can provide the best for our students.
References:
American Association of School Librarians. 1998. Information power: Building partnerships
for learning. Chicago: American Library Association.
