1. Nancy Sievert
Franklin at Alma Resource Center Specialist
October 17, 2011
Summary of the Practicum Project
LBT 270
The focus of the practicumprojectwill be a large display featuring the 100th year
birthday of Arizona. This display will incorporatethe new collection of Arizona
animal books that were purchased for the library last year using my ECA funds.
Posters, visualaides and artwork will be part of the Arizona display. Also, included
will be a new lesson on the 100th
Birthday of Arizona for all the grades K thru 6th
.
This lesson will be taught on week 25 in February 2012.
The three objectives that I hope to accomplish will be:
1. Students become awareof the 100th
birthday of the state in which they
live. This will be accomplished by the visual posters and art work.
2. Students will become familiar with the wonderfulcollection of books on the
history of Arizona and Arizona animals. This will help them become more
educated about the Arizona desertand the resources of our state.
3. Finally a new library lesson will bring all of these items together especially
for those in grades 4th
thru 6th
.
This projectwill fit into the overall framework of my job as a ResourceCenter
Specialist by engaging students in the display and helping the students find a love
for the Arizona desertand its history. Itwill provide a wonderfulcollection of
nonfiction and fiction books on Arizona. Also, it will provide an educational lesson
on the Centennial birthday of our state, February 14th
1912. Sharing information
and helping students with book choices during this time will be fun and exciting.

2. The students respond well to the visual posters that I display so this will be a
welcomed challenge.
Outline of the time frame:
1. I will start working on this display at the end of the month. This will include
collecting information through our databases, books, posters and making
visualart etc.
2. The display should be available to view and check out books beforethe
Thanksgiving break. At first, I didn’t want it out too early becausethe 100th
birthday is not until February 14th
2012. I now think it is fine to have it out
before Thanksgiving becauseMrs. Roland’s second gradeclass at Eagleridge
justfinished a unit on the desert. Eagleridge and Franklin are my patrons
here in the media resourcecenter and it is important to look at the needs
of both schools.
3. The available work time will be on Mondays and Thursdays herein the
library because I do not haveregular classes on those days.
4. The library lesson is approved by the Franklin Principals and will be taught
by all Franklin ResourceCenter Specialists in February.

3. Practicum Project
Brief Summary of the PracticumProject
In the summer of 2010, I was hired as the new Resource Center Specialist for the
newest and fifth Franklin Elementary School in the Mesa Public School District.
The library resourcecenter was in need of a major overhaulto become an
appropriateFranklin Resource Center. That process entailed weeding books,
rearranging shelves, moving the circulation desk, processing hundreds of
literature sets and textbooks, and making the environmentappealing and
attractive.
I have found that the environmentof the library is quite important in the
circulation of books. WhatI have done in the last year as a Resourcecenter
Specialist is make author posters and posted them on the walls of the Easy
Section of the library which helps the students find their books. I haveplaced
historical figures on the walls above the Biography Section. The Teacher Resource
Corner is new for all teacher materials to be checked out. The Reference Section
displays our founding documents of the country and the Nonfiction Section has
posters which help students find their topics more easily. Lastyear a large display
featuring Presidents Day and President Ronald Reagan’s 100th
birthday was
created. This year I will created the display for the 100th
birthday of Arizona. This
display and PracticumProjectwill encourageknowledge of the state of Arizona
and increasecirculation of all nonfiction and fiction books aboutArizona and
deserts. A new one-time library lesson will be taught the week of the 100th
birthday for all grade levels. This lesson will be a titled Arizona’s Centennial

4. Birthday. See the following Library Lesson Plan attached. The display will feature
posters, artwork and books on Arizona animals, deserts, history, sports and
fiction. The project came out exactly as I had envisioned and did not change from
the original intention.
Integration
The Practicum Projectcontributed to my overall knowledgeof the field of Library
Science by learning that displays in the library can be a fantastic way of promoting
public relations with the special Centennial Birthday of Arizona. Enticing new
patrons to read materials on their state and publicizing the library services that
we provide. Transforming theArizona library collection into a fun and inviting
place to learn, read and promote was really fun.
Displays need to be planned well ahead of time so that time can be implemented
with a schedule and the purchaseof materials. The firstthing that needs to be
decided is where the display will be and I chosea long book shelf with glass
windows behind to be my display area. The next thing that needed to be decided
was whatto display and how to use every nook and cranny with the materials.
The display should always bekept neat and clean when using props, books and
posters. You want to be able to capturethe attention of your patrons without
drawing away the attention fromthe merchandiseor materials to be checked out.
I purchased posters as well as finding free posters to highlight the display.
Colorfulschool paper and props wereused to make the back drop of a sunset.
The large scale display has a big eye-catching effect for the patrons. Creating high
interest, book talks, a lesson with a video on the state of Arizona and creative
book displays was my strategy for creating a fantastic display. I found that doing
this Arizona Display will help students comprehend, analyze and evaluate
nonfiction books and hopefully develop and interest in the Centennial Birthday of
the state of Arizona.

5. I feel that all the classes that I havetaken through Mesa Community College as
well as my 5 years experience havehelped me with this Practicum Project. My
fellow peers have been instrumental in the development of my library resource
skills. Hopefully by implementing justa few simple strategies on book or theme
displays I will create a buzz and a love for nonfiction and fiction books.
Bibliography
MLA Format
Gallo, Erminia Mina. “Attractive Displays for Teen Spaces.” Young Adult Library
services 6.4 (2008): 32-34. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web 18 Oct. 2011.
McAbee, Pat. “MoreIdeas fromA to Z.” Library Media Connection 22.4 (2004):
44-45. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.
Schmidt, Aaron. “User Experience on Display.” Library Journal135.18 (2010) : 26-
27. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.
Vent, CherylT., and Julie A. Ray. “More tips and Tactics.” Teacher Librarian 34.4
(2007): 42-44. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Oct2011.