Library Visit #2 - Monelison Middle School

For this library visit, I explored the library at the school where I currently work as a middle school English teacher. I spend time in the library each week when I take my students there for book checkouts. The librarian has all of the teachers on a weekly rotation schedule to ensure that all students can get new books each week. Students are allowed to choose two books at a time. I also take my students there for a full class period once every month for a library lesson. The librarian leads these lessons and I am there to support as needed.

Digital Access

The website for the school library is just a page attached to the middle school's website. It can be viewed here: https://mms.amherst.k12.va.us/staff_directory/library. There isn't much information available other than the name and email address for the librarian and the library hours (which are the same as the school's hours). However, there is a link to the school's Destiny page, which can be seen here: https://destiny.amherst.k12.va.us/cataloging/servlet/presentadvancedsearchredirectorform.do?l2m=Library%20Search&tm=TopLevelCatalog. This contains the school's library catalog, which is accessible to anyone who logs onto the site. You can search by subject or by title to view the library's book offerings. The Destiny homepage also has links to other helpful resources for students, like online book sites, news sites, citation resources, and educational games. I think it's important that the library page encourages students to explore free online resources. According to Rubin and Rubin (2020), "The possibilities of connected learning, enabled by the digital environment, are now a natural part of a teen’s world," (p. 145). Students need to know how to access and utilize those digital tools that will make connected learning possible. There don't seem to be any accessibility tools that I could find, however, so it may be difficult to navigate for someone who had vision issues or spoke another language.

Fleming, S. 2020. Monelison Library [Photograph].

The Space and Physical Access

The library is located inside the school building. The front doors to the library are in the same hallway as the front office, which makes it easily accessible to visiting parents or educators. The school building as a whole is older, but it is well-kept. There is a large parking lot to the left of the building, as well as street parking in front. The library itself is fairly large, consisting of a large room with shelves and books, computers, a printer, and lots of seating. Behind the reception desk are an office for the librarian, a book and movie room, and a tools room. The book and movie room are for teacher checkout only, holding class sets of novels and educational films. The tool room is where a large thermal printer and laminator are located. Our school librarian does the laminating for everyone in the school who requests it, as well as creating thermal posters for teachers to display with anchor charts and key vocabulary. In the back hallway behind the reception desk, there is a door that leads in from the adjoining hallway. This door is referred to as the "Chromebook Clinic" and is even adorned with its very own doorbell. This is the entrance students must use if they need help with their school assigned chromebooks. The portion of the library that is accessible to students is well-kept up but in need of updates. The chairs and tables are rather old. The librarian does her best to make the space cheery by decorating for the seasons and adding book posters. The space seems mostly accessible for individuals with different needs. Some of the bookshelves are a little tall and might be a tad limiting to shorter students. However, the librarian or a teacher can always help students reach items on those shelves. The library's wall is adjacent to the school's outdoor courtyard, which you can see through the windows. The windows are usually kept uncovered. This lets in light and lets students view birds, butterflies, and falling leaves through the seasons.

Fleming, S. 2020. Circulation Desk [Photograph].

Services and Intellectual Access

As stated above, the librarian does classes for all 6th grade students at least once a month as well as weekly book checkouts. There is also the Chromebook Clinic that she attends to, which requires a lot of time and attention as well. The library lessons are usually focused on a specific skill. For example, so far this year, we've had lessons on text features (using a book's glossary, title pages, index, etc.) to find information, finding credible online resources for research, and citations. According to Rubin and Rubin (2020), "Hands-on experiences that enable students to learn by doing cultivate self-awareness and self-reliance while piquing curiosity," (p. 152). This is what the librarian does for our students - creates activities and lessons that help them grow their skills. The library is organized by genre (nonfiction at the front of the library, fiction at the back, and graphic novels/special interest books by the entryway and circulation desk). After genre, the books are organized alphabetically by the author's last name. The library is clearly set up for students, so it seems welcoming for that age range (as much as it can be with older furniture, anyways).

People (Patrons and Staff)

This is a middle school library, so the library serves middle school students and teachers. If you walked into the library at any given time, you'd likely see students checking out books and the librarian and teachers supervising/helping. You might also see the librarian working on a student's chromebook or reshelving returned books. There are two staff members who work in this space: the librarian and her administrative assistant. Both are white women. This supports the common stereotype of librarians discussed by Keer and Carlos (2015), which they described as being "...characterized predominantly as feminine, white women" (para. 4). This is reflective of the area, however, seeing that the school's population is 65% white.

Fleming, S. 2020. Graphic Novels [Photograph].

Collections

The library has a good selection of both fiction and nonfiction books. The librarian usually asks teachers and students for requests throughout the year for her end of the year book order. The most popular books are graphic novels, manga, and middle age series, like Captain Underpants or I Survived. As mentioned above, there are a selection of books that are class sets, available to be checked out by teachers. There are also movies that can be checked out by teachers as well. There are desktop computers in the library, but they aren't frequently used since students have one-to-once devices. There is a printer available for teachers to use, a smartboard, a projector, as well as a pencil sharpener for students and other basic school- type technologies. The resources seem accessible to the library visitors, which are predominantly students and teachers.

Other

This library is very obviously catered towards students, which is great, since that was its intended purpose. However, there are books on the shelves that I myself would read (collections of poetry, young adult fiction, etc.) so I wouldn't say that it's exclusive to middle school aged children. The library needs to be updated (as does the majority of the school) but it is as welcoming as it can be given the circumstances. I wish it offered some flexible seating options, like comfortable chairs or reading corners, but again, that would be a budgeting/space constraint.

References:

Keer, G. & Carlos, A. (2015, October 30). The stereotype stereotype. American Libraries Magazine. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/10/30/the-stereotype-stereotype/

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.