This is the annual report for my library, Creekview High School.

1. 2008-09
Creekview High School Media
Center Annual Report
Woodstock High

2. Annual Report
Media Center: Creekview High School
Media Specialist: Buffy Hamilton and Ruth Fleet
Media Clerk: Tammy Beasley
Submitted: May 29, 2009
Program Highlights: Building Partnerships for Learning
TEACHER ~ (Collaborates with school staff analyzing learning and information needs,
locating and using resources that fulfills those needs and understands and
communicates the information the resources provide)
Collaboration and Research Projects (Teachers and Students)
We served 1027 class visits/sessions between August 1 , 2009 and April 30, 2009 in our media
center. Our peak usage occurred in October 2008 with 181 class sessions.
We operated on a flexible schedule during 2008-09 with library hours of 8:00—4:00 daily.
Students were able to visit with a lunch pass during all three lunch periods; students with a 90 or
better GPA were issued semester long lunch passes as an incentive for good grades. In addition,
students who demonstrated regular library use and good library manners during lunch also
received semester lunch passes. We saw our highest number of student visits during our
morning, lunch, and afternoon hours during October 2008 with 2,540 student visits.
Approximately 15,000 students were served by the media center during non-scheduled class
visits.
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3. For the third consecutive year, we primarily collaborated with members of the English
Department during 2008-09. Highlights included:
Literary criticism of poetry, short stories, and novels
The Elizabethan and Renaissance time periods
The Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties
Hysteria in History/Persecution Throughout History
Role of Women in Classical Literature
Veterans issues
The Senior Research Project
Current and controversial events
British Romantic Poets
The pros and cons of the Iraq War
Nobel Prize authors and their works
Georgia Peach Book Award Nominees
Economic issues
Other topics for collaboration and research pathfinders included:
Linear regression
Science Fair Projects
American Revolutionary Wars and battles of the Civil War
The Cold War
Hot Global Issues
Paris and France
Careers
Genetic disorders
Bioethical issues
Famous scientists
Periodic Table
Stem Cells
Ecosystems
Juvenile Justice
Careers in Law Enforcement
Chemical elements
Principles of catapult design
Presidents
Diseases and Viruses
Body systems
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4. The chart below indicates the degree of collaborative planning with each department.
Department Number of Number of Number of
Collaboratively Collaboratively Collaboratively
Planned Lessons Planned Lessons Planned
2006-07 2007-08 Lessons
2008-09
Social Studies 17 12 14
English 28 42 35
Science 10 3 18
Mathematics 5 3 1
Foreign Language 3 5 3
Career and Technical 10 6 7
(includes JROTC)
Fine Arts 4 1 1
Physical Education 7 1 2
Total Collaboratively 84 73 82
Planned Lessons 9th and 10th grade 9th, 10th, 11th 9th, 10th, 11th,
grades 12th
While the quality of collaboration seems to have improved, we have not seen a significant
increase in the degree of collaboration this year as we had hoped. We have offered to provide
teacher training and provided orientation to all departments during pre-planning, but these
steps have not proven effective in increasing teacher collaboration.
We are hopeful that if more teachers participate in Teach 21 and that if information literacy
becomes a more explicit schoolwide initiative, then we can engage in more effective and
seamless collaboration to facilitate learning and inquiry at Creekview High School. We have also
requested to be able to meet with departments more regularly and to provide some required
training to faculty to improve communication and idea-sharing with our faculty.
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5. Involvement on School Instruction and Leadership Teams
None
Professional Development Trainings Attended
Buffy Hamilton and Ruth Fleet, Cherokee County School District Media Specialist
/CHAMPS 2008-09 meetings
Buffy Hamilton and Ruth Fleet, COMO (Georgia Council of Media Organizations)
Conference, October 2008
Buffy Hamilton and Ruth Fleet, Georgia Teen Conference, December 2008
Ruth Fleet: Podcasting, Information Literacy, Smart Board 101
Ruth Fleet, Doctoral Coursework (12 hours), August 2008—May 2009
Ruth Fleet: Kennesaw State Young Adult and Children’s Literature Conference
Buffy Hamilton: Smart Board 101
Buffy Hamilton: GaETC Conference, presenter
Buffy Hamilton: Georgia Council of English Teachers Conference, presenter
Buffy Hamilton: University of Georgia Children’s Literature Conference,
presenter
Buffy Hamilton, BIGGER Conference 2009@ Georgia Southern University,
presenter
Publications
Buffy Hamilton and Ruth Fleet, guest bloggers for the GLMA blog
Buffy Hamilton, appointment to the AASL blog team
Buffy Hamilton, May-June 2009 issue of Knowledge Quest
Service
Ruth Fleet, Book Drive for the Cherokee County Family Violence Center that
collected over 500 books.
Ruth Fleet, Creekview High School Reading Bowl sponsor; team placed third in
the district.
Ruth Fleet, referee, Northwest Georgia Reading Bowl Competition, February
2009
Buffy Hamilton, Judge, Georgia Exemplary Media Program
Buffy Hamilton, guest speaker and presentation on “Avant Garde Cataloging
2.0”, EDIT 6380, University of Georgia, Dr. Mary Ann Fitzgerald, July 2008.
Buffy Hamilton, guest speaker for Dr. Katherine Mason’s English Education
students, Kennesaw State University, April 2009
Buffy Hamilton, guest speaker for Dr. Nancy Everhart, Florida State University
“Leadership in Technology”, May 2009.
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6. INSTRUCTIONAL PARTNER~ (Identifies curricular content, learning outcomes and a
wide variety of resources for instruction) ~
Development of policies, practices related to curricula
At this time, we are not serving on any academic committees, but we have expressed
our willingness to serve to assist as needed.
Design of authentic learning activities
We continued to work closely with the members of the English Department to introduce
and integrate NoodleTools as an essential component of the research process. We
reviewed strategies and skills for citing an array of information sources, including
traditional print materials, database articles, journals, and websites. We also taught
students how to use the electronic notecard feature in NoodleBib; now students can
take advantage of the seamless integration of the entire NoodleBib suite. Students and
teachers responded favorably again to the new notecard feature and felt the electronic
notecards improved the quality of students’ research papers.
We also integrated several Web 2.0 tools into our research pathfinders during 2008-09.
We have continued to use the social bookmarking service, del.icio.us. We regularly
bookmarked and tagged favorite web resources, including specific database articles,
under our del.ici.ous account, http://del.icio.us/creekview_hs_library . We are looking
to add the use of Diigo next year as a part of students’ personal learning networks.
This year we added a wiki (http://theunquietlibrary.wikispaces.com) and a new
platform, LibGuides (http://theunquietlibrary.wikispaces.com) , for creating research
pathfinders. We also incorporated the use of videos from news resources like CNN, CBS,
and YouTube as part of our research pathfinders. We also created several research
pathfinders on topics such as the Presidential Election 2008 and environmental issues
news through our Pageflakes account at
http://www.pageflakes.com/theunquietlibrary/20173160 .
We have added an official YouTube Channel, Friend Feed account, Meebo Instant Chat
for virtual reference service, a Facebook page, and Google Calendar to better serve and
communicate with our patrons. View our complete web presence at
http://theunquietlibrary.wikispaces.com/socialmedia .
Collaboration/Involvement in meeting subject matter standards
In addition to the research pathfinders and mini-lessons we designed to support
standards addressed in content area research projects, we provided the following
training for faculty to support student achievement:
iGoogle and Google Reader
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7. INFORMATION SPECIALIST ~ (Provides leadership and expertise in acquiring and
evaluating information resources in all formats and models for students and staff
strategies for locating, accessing and evaluating information within and beyond the
media center)
Technology integration/inclusion in instruction
Technology plays a major role in library instruction at Creekview High School. Topics of
instruction whole group, small group, and one-on-one instruction this past year included:
Office 2007 “How tos”
Del.icio.us
Glogster
iGoogle
Google Reader
Google Books
Google Calendar
Advanced Google search tips
RSS feeds
Instruction on how to use all non GALILEO databases
Instruction on GALILEO resources and databases
Turnitin
NoodleTools
Website evaluation
PageFlakes
Evaluation of Wikipedia articles
Use and evaluation of news videos, YouTube videos, podcasts as authoritative sources
of information
Creative Commons licensing/Advanced Flickr Search
Soundzabound
In addition, we continued to tap into the powers of Wikispaces, LibGuides, WordPress,
LibraryThing, and Twitter to communicate with our patrons and to facilitate instruction. Our
media center blog, “The Unquiet Library Blog”, continues to be popular. We use our blog for
posting announcements, favorite resources, podcasts, videos, and RSS feeds to our favorite
resources, including our library del.icio.us account. The chart below shows our blog hits for
2008-09:
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8. Our media center is widely recognized as being on the cutting edge of “Library 2.0”. Both Mrs.
Fleet and Mrs. Hamilton have led instruction on Web 2.0 tools at district media specialist
meetings. In addition, Mrs. Fleet publishes a quarterly Web 2.0 newsletter for faculty and fellow
media specialists, and Mrs. Hamilton is one of the instructors for the Teach 21 “Information
Literacy” course for the district. Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. Fleet are guest bloggers for the
Georgia Library Media Association; Mrs. Hamilton is a member of the AASL Blog Committee.
The Unquiet Library was also featured in Joyce Valenza’s blog in March 2009 as well as the
March/April issue of PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators).
Use of electronic resources
Our databases are invaluable resources for information for our students. Database access
provides our students the opportunity to learn outside of the normal school day. Our GALE
Virtual Library, which features over 300 titles, and our research databases allow multiple classes
to access material quickly and efficiently. Please see the end of this report for more detailed
statistics on database usage.
As the chart below depicts, our GALE databases continue to be very popular for student
research. Our total GALE usage declined slightly from 37, 752 in 2007-08 to 35, 948 hits for
2008-09. Usage of Gale Literature Resource Center declined from 3504 to 1191, reflecting fewer
literary criticism assignments from teachers this year. However, our usage of GALE Opposing
Viewpoints jumped from 4606 in 2007-08 to 7624 in 2008-09.
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9. Ethical use of information in all formats (Teachers and Students)
We used our mini-lessons on NoodleTools and Turnitin as springboards for conversations about
ethical use of information and intellectual property. In addition, these mini-lessons were a
medium for discussing forms of plagiarism and academic honesty.
Our mini-lessons on Web 2.0 tools were authentic and effective vehicles for discussing copyright
rules related to digital images, music, sound, and other creative works. We introduced
Soundzabound and the Advanced Flickr search for photos usable under Creative Commons
Licenses.
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10. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR ~ (Collaborative member of school learning
community defining media program policies and activities, advocate for media program
and leader for school’s vision of 21st century school environment)
Management of media staff, program budget, equipment and facility
Program Budget
Our total budget for the 2008-09 year was approximately $74,000; this amount does not
include our local school account that is set up for monies collected through fines and donations.
Our purchases included:
Additional fiction and nonfiction titles requested by students and faculty (approximately
3,000 + new titles)
Additional research databases and e-books to support learning standards
Four new HP scanners
External hard drives for backing up crucial media center files
2008-09 magazine subscriptions
Renewal of database access fees for GALE Literature Resource Center and GALE Virtual
Reference Library
Bookmarks from ALA
Media Center Staff
Our media center is staffed by two fully certified media specialists, Buffy Hamilton and
Ruth Fleet. Both media specialists have their Ed.S. degrees in School Library Media; in
addition, Mrs. Fleet is pursuing her doctorate degree in Curriculum. Both media
specialists share the responsibility of lesson planning and design, the creation of
research pathfinders, and material selection. Both media specialists are also
participating in the Media 21 program.
We also have a full time media clerk, Tammy Beasley, who helps with all aspects of daily
operation. Mrs. Beasley handles the primary responsibility of circulation, lunch passes,
lamination, and general maintenance of the media center commons area. Her work in
these areas is critical as her efforts keep the media center running smoothly and
efficiently so that the media specialists are free to focus on instruction and
collaboration.
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11. Media Center Program Activities
Our media center patrons have enjoyed many exciting and fun activities this past year.
Highlights include:
Blatant Bibliophiles Book Club
Book Club cookie Decorating Party
Book Club Movie Night (May 2009)
Trivia Days
Ice cream and sundae parties
Pizza parties
National Teen Read Week festivities
Poetry Month celebrations
Additional puzzles and games for student enjoyment during lunch periods
2008-09 Inventory
We have completed inventory of our collection as of Friday, May 22, 2009; the inventory will be
finalized on Wednesday, June 3, 2009.
Future Directions for 2009-10
Expanding our YouTube and TeacherTube video channels with more
screencasts/tutorials and events
Expanding our MySpace presence
Creating a BookSprouts account for book discussions for our Reading Bowl and book
club members.
Expanding our use of LibraryThing and branching out to the use of GoodReads and
Shelfari.
Exploring more ways to use Ning as part of our library program
The incorporation of Mrs. Hamilton’s Media 21 project as a model of research that we
hope to replicate with our teachers. See
http://theunquietlibrarian.wikispaces.com/media21capstone-buffy .Students will be
engaged in more research based projects and will expand their use of Web 2.0 tools to
create personal learning networks for authentic learning. I will be working with my
partner classroom teacher to increase the role of information portals as part of this
effort to create learning experiences that integrate information literacy and new media
literacies. The work of Wendy Drexler
(https://consortium.wikispaces.com/Wendy+Drexler+-
+Shorecrest+Preparatory+Academy) and Dr. Michael Wesch (see
http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=199 and
http://www.netvibes.com/wesch#Digital_Ethnography ) are my models and inspiration
for this pilot project.
Increasing our use of library and student created podcasts and VoiceThreads.
Implementing a “23 Things” learning program for students, teachers, and parents.
Incorporating the use of our new SmartBoard and Qwizdom devices for information
literacy instruction.
Incorporating the use of Diigo for research projects and group bookmarks.
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12. Circulation Data
Our ninth grade patrons continue to show the greatest number of checkouts;
sophomores and juniors were similar in circulation statistics, but seniors only checked
out half the number of books as our sophomores and juniors. Overall, our total
circulation doubled for 2008-09. Each grade level showed significant increases; this
year’s juniors checked out 2394 books compared to last year’s juniors with 879. The
data below shows the monthly circulation statistics for each grade level:
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13. Collection Data
Our collection represents a body of materials that support the Georgia Performance
Standards; the materials in the collection are timely, relevant, and objective.
The chart below compares our collection to the recommendations from Wilson. After
reviewing the data, we are satisfied that the collection reflects the curricular needs and
demands of our students and teachers. In addition, the chart does not reflect our digital
reference holdings.
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14. The following chart represents the percentage of each main classification in our
collection.
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15. The next two charts show the currency of our collection; as you can see, the majority of
our titles are copyrighted 2000 or later:
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16. GOALS FOR 2009-2010 ~
Overarching Goal:
To continue to build a program that will be worthy for consideration as the Georgia High
School Media Center of the Year in 2009-2010, the first year that we will be eligible to
qualify for this honor.
Subgoals
Goal One: To continue to build and maintain a collection that is current and reflective
of the school’s curricular needs and achievement goals.
Rationale:
A growing body of research shows a correlation between a quality school library
collection and higher student achievement.
“The library media program is essential to learning and teaching and must be fully
integrated into the curriculum to promote students’ achievement of learning goals”
(Information Power, 1998, p. 58).
Action Steps:
1. Purchase young adult fiction that will appeal to a wide range of reading levels
and interests. Sources for selection of these materials may include but are not
limited to:
Wilson’s Senior High
Reputable library journals, such as School Library Journal
ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association Booklists and Awards
books, including Best Books for Young Adults, Margaret Edwards Award,
Michael Printz Award, AASL Outstanding Books for the College Bound, and
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. These lists are available at
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.htm
Georgia Peach Teen Readers’ Choice Award nominees.
Titles suggested by faculty and students.
2. Purchase new reference and non-fiction materials that are aligned with each
department’s curriculum maps and Georgia Performance Standards.
Administer a needs assessment to faculty and students to determine
areas of need.
Meet with department heads and faculty prior to and during the school
year to determine topics and concepts that will be targeted for research
and project based learning.
Work with representatives from reputable and approved vendors to select
materials for accuracy, relevance, and interest to patrons.
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17. 3. Purchase equipment and technology devices to serve the instructional needs of faculty.
Administer a needs assessment to faculty to determine areas of need.
Meet with department heads and faculty prior to and during the school year to
determine what pieces of equipment and technology will be needed for
instruction.
Work with representatives from the approved vendor list from reputable and
approved vendors to select materials for reliability, ease of use, and cost-
efficiency.
4. Continue to maintain and acquire research databases that meet
the research needs of our students and teachers.
Work with representatives from the approved vendor list from reputable and
approved vendors to select materials for reliability, ease of use, and cost-
efficiency.
Evaluate effectiveness of databases using surveys and anecdotal feedback from
students and teachers.
Review database usage statistics monthly and annually to
determine if the service meets instructional needs.
Goal Two: To establish and increase collaboration between the media center and
teachers. The target goal is to collaboratively plan a lesson, project, or unit with every
teacher at least once per semester.
Rationale:
“Effective collaboration with teachers helps to create a vibrant and engaged community of
learners, strengthens the whole school program as well as the library media program, and
develops support for the school library media program throughout the whole school”
(Information Power, 1998, AASL, p. 51).
Action Steps:
1. Promote and explain collaboration at teacher orientations and faculty meetings.
2. Meet with each department monthly and share collaboratively designed lessons at
department meetings.
3. Invite teachers in to the media center for treats and communication, including
discussions on curriculum mapping, project-based learning, and materials acquisitions.
4. Maintain a web page of collaboratively planned lessons and units for teachers on the
media center website.
5. Create, share, and promote a collaborative planning form with teachers.
6. Provide staff development activities for teachers (real time and digital) that will help
faculty become familiar and comfortable with the array of resources available for their
use.
>Web 2.0 technologies
>Research strategies and end products in the content areas
>Scaffolding effective research tasks
>Emerging sources of social scholarship
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18. Goal Three: To cultivate new media literacy and enhance existing information literacy
skills for students.
Rationale:
Social networking and social media are responsible for these shifts in which any author may be
valued as an “expert” in the production of scholarly knowledge. What does this mean to us as
school librarians and our interpretation of “information literacy”? Laura Cohen says, “We can no
longer be content to train students to understand the difference between peer-reviewed
journals and popular magazines, to appreciate the value of books, newspapers and reference
sources, and to understand how to evaluate garden variety Web sites” (Cohen 2007).
Action Steps:
Mrs. Hamilton’s Media 21 Project will be the driving force in creating a new model of
collaboration and learning to help students become truly immersed in authentic research.
1. Create their own personal learning networks that have relevance and meaning for their
research projects.
2. Collaborate and connect with their fellow students through their journey as student
researchers in a course.
3. Give students responsibility for their learning and help them become engaged learners.
A complete action plan is available at
http://theunquietlibrarian.wikispaces.com/media21capstone-buffy .
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