LS Library highlights of the 2014-15 school year

1. Meet Lower School
Librarian, Natalie!
Natalie joins the Lower School this
year with a passion for the library's role in
education. A Chicago native, Natalie
earned her bachelor's degree in
elementary education and master's
degree in library and information science
from Loyola University Chicago and the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, respectively. She started her
career as an elementary
school librarian in
Urbana, before she
m o v e d t o N o r t h
Carolina where she
became a middle school
librarian in Chapel Hill.
Natalie also serves on
the Tech Team for the
Lower School.
This school year, the library
transitioned from a fixed, weekly library
class to a FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
designed to allow teachers to collaborate
with Natalie to teach information literacy
skills in current units of study. Students
still visited the library weekly to browse,
read, and check out books.
Guided by student
r e q u e s t s a n d
curricular needs,
t h e l i b r a r y
p u r c h a s e d a
c o l l e c t i o n o f
GRAPHIC NOVELS and subscribed to
the electronic resource PEBBLE GO to
support early literacy and research.
With new books filling the shelves
quickly, the student checkout limit was
increased from one book at a time to
FIVE CHECKOUTS at once. Check
out the Library Collection section to see
how this affected our circulation statistics!
In order to share all that’s new and
happening at the library, Natalie started a
blog at LSLIBRARY.CFSNC.ORG
with helpful project links, recommended
reading, the library calendar, and more.
New at the Lower School Library
Real Estate Watch
JUNE 2015 PREPARED BY NATALIE S. HARVEY LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARIAN
“Any book that helps
a child to form a habit
of reading, to make
reading one of his
deep and continuing
needs, is good for
him.” - Maya Angelou
4809 Friends School Rd.
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 383-6602
The library program is a fine balance of...
literature appreciation - instilling a love of reading and learning in students -
and information literacy skills - teaching students to search, collect, create,
and evaluate information effectively both online and in the library.
What else is new?
Schedules, collections,
and checkouts - oh my!
Lower School Library
ANNUAL REPORT
C A R O L I N A F R I E N D S S C H O O L
2
0
1
4
-1
5

2. T h e L S L i b r a r y w a s
extensively weeded this
school year, as it never has
been before!
After carefully reviewing the
collection, about 2,000 books
were identified for deselection
and donation. As a result, we
have updated our collection
from an average age of 1992
at the start of the school year
to 1996 after weeding was
complete. We still have a long
way to go in order to create a
truly up-to-date collection.
Top 10 Circulated
Fiction & Graphic Novels
10
S i s t e r s b y R a i n a
Telgemeier
Checked out 15 times.
9
Flora & Ulysses by Kate
DiCamillo
Checked out 16 times.
8
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog
Days by Jeff Kinney
Checked out 18 times.
7
Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
Checked out 19 times.
6
Amulet 3: T he Cloud
S e a r c h e r s b y K a z u
Kibuishi
Checked out 24 times.
5
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The
Long Haul by Jeff Kinney
Checked out 25 times.
4
Amulet 6: Escape from
Lucien by Kazu Kibuishi
Checked out 25 times.
3
Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s
Curse by Kazu Kibuishi
Checked out 28 times.
2
Amulet 4: The Last Council
by Kazu Kibuishi
Checked out 30 times.
1
Amulet 1: The Stonekeeper
by Kazu Kibuishi
Checked out 34 times.
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
August 2014 May 2015
Total LS Library Materials
Other
8%
Picture Books
27%
Dewey (mostly nonfiction)
35%
Fiction
30%
Lower School students love to
read!
Students had the choice to check
out more books this year. While
some preferred to take one book at
a time, many students checked out
several books at once. A few
students even became library
regulars, frequently swapping out
their books at recess on days the
library was open.
0
750
1500
2250
3000
2013-14 2014-15
Total LS Library Checkouts
Library Collection
The library collection is curated to
implement, enrich, and support the
curriculum and to meet the
individual educational, emotional,
and recreational needs of students
and staff.
The library collection consists of
approximately 6,000 physical materials.
There are three major sections of the
library collection (fiction, Dewey,
picture books) and several small sections
(early readers, graphic novels, reference,
audiovisual, parent).
Carolina Friends School Lower School Library Annual Report 2014-15 Page 2

3. With so many collaboration opportunities, time slipped away from these potential projects...
• Engaging in the complete research process with 3rd/4th year classes
• Nonfiction writing process with 1st/2nd year language group
• Story sequencing with 1st/2nd year language group
• Book soundtracks in Music
• Mexico research in Spanish
• Bibliography for gifted readers
• Summer reading program
and more?
“School librarians provide the all-important human connection between students and information, as well as
between teachers and information.They promote a love of reading and learning.They curate collections that
support a sense of wonder at the breadth of possibility in the world.Their human touch lifts information access
from a rote and random activity to purposeful, meaningful learning.”
Abarbanel, Elisabeth, et al. "The New School Library:The Human Connection to Digital Resources and Academic
Success." Independent School Magazine. Summer 2013.
Teaching & Collaboration
As a teacher of information literacy skills, Natalie co-taught and supported a variety of projects
throughout Lower School this year. Here’s a sample of those activities and collaborations:
Teaching Collaboration
•How to choose a book using
the I-PICK strategy
•How the library is organized
and how to find books
•How to find the right book
to support nonfiction writing
•How to use the Pebble Go
database for research and
learning
•How to navigate and use
Google Drive
Forest - Animal research
•Using the library catalog
•Using the Dewey Decimal
System to find nonfiction
•Creating a bibliography
Mountain - Newscasts
•Creating storyboards
•Finding copyright-friendly
images
•Filming green screen scenes
Carolina Friends School Lower School Library Annual Report 2014-15 Page 3

4. Special Events & Programs
Deborah Wiles Author Visit
North Carolina
Children’s Book Award
David Baron
Nugget Designer Visit
Carolina Friends School Lower School Library Annual Report 2014-15 Page 4

5. Want to see what new books were added to
the Lower School Library this school year?
Check out our Shelfari at:
shelfari.com/cfslslibrary
To help raise funds for the new
Lower School Library and to share
our Interest Group program with the
world, we entered the $200,000
Follett Challenge, hoping for a
chance at one of the 13 prizes that
would be awarded to recognize the
best in K-12 innovation.
Though we did not win, we were
able to showcase the Lower School
Interest Group program. The
support we received from the CFS
community was overwhelming and
heartwarming.
You can view our video entry at:
https://youtu.be/5rp4fVbm-pA
LOWER SCHOOL BUDGET COST
Author visit $1,200
Pebble Go subscription $500
Books & Supplies $300
TOTAL $2,000
LIBRARY BUDGET COST
Books $2,442
Library circulation software $398
Supplies $307
Professional subscriptions $114
TOTAL $3,261
Grant Opportunity
Library Expenses
Pro
3%Sup.
9%
Software
12%
Books
75%
The library purchased 220 books to
add to the collection this school year,
nearly two books per child.
The Lower School supplemented the library budget this year,
increasing the total funding by 60%, which allowed for the
purchase of necessary research resources and made our author
visit possible.
Inventory
For the first time in 12 years, a complete inventory of the
Lower School library collection was performed.
319 items were not found and therefore marked as Lost.
The total value for those items is approximately $5,600,
nearly twice the annual library budget.
What does this mean?
When items are missing from the inventory, this means that they
appear as available in our library catalog even though they are
not on the shelf. The discrepancy could be caused by books
being taken from the library without being checked out (and
never returned) or errors in discarding books. The results remind
us of the importance of library stewardship and being diligent
about implementing an annual inventory to better track and
care for our shared resources.
Carolina Friends School Lower School Library Annual Report 2014-15 Page 5

6. North Carolina School Library Media Association
Annual Conference
North Carolina Association of Independent Schools
Divergent Thinking Summit
Friends Council on Education Librarian Peer Network
Saying goodbye to our current space...
and getting ready
for our new
Learning Commons!
Carolina Friends School Lower School Library Annual Report 2014-15 Page 6
Professional Growth