[CASL-L] FW: Staffing Library Media Center for before/after school hours

[Ava Biffer]

Hi Kristie,

My library is open whenever I'm here.  I get here at about 6:30 and leave around 4:30 - and the kids know that.  If they need resources early in the morning (especially a laptop or a printer), they just scoot in.  The word is also out that I tend to stay late, but they need to check with me to make sure that it isn't the occasional day that I have a dentist appointment, rehearsals for the musical, etc.  Since there is no funding for this, it has to be kept informal: I just happen to be here; the kids just happen to notice; resources are available.

During the summer, I open the library for a day each week.  I show a movie (yes, with popcorn  :D  ), check books in and out, chat with moms, dads, aunties, grandmothers, etc., get my inventory mostly done...  I need to work on the things I can't do during the school year and it makes me happy that the library resources aren't shut away when kids are most likely to fall in with them  :)

It's not a perfect solution - but it works for us.

Good luck getting some staffing help!

Ava

Ava M. Biffer
Library Media Specialist
Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School
Moodus, CT 06469
Voice: 860.873.5081 x129
Email: ava.biffer at easthaddamschools.org<mailto:ava.biffer at easthaddamschools.org>
"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."  John Dewey
"When books reach students, students reach for books."  Penny Kittle
"Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one." Neil Gaiman

________________________________
From: CASL-L <casl-l-bounces at mylist.net> on behalf of Kristie McGarry <kmcgarry at derbyps.org>
Sent: Friday, May 2, 2014 7:33 AM
To: 'casl-l at mylist.net' (casl-l at mylist.net)
Subject: [CASL-L] FW: Staffing Library Media Center for before/after school hours


Thank you all for all of the responses!!!! to my question: for those of you whose library media center is open before and/or after school, how do you staff it? For instance, staggered hours with other staff members? Special before/after school programs run by other teachers?
I am posting responses below:

We are open 7:30 to 4:15 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and until 2:45 on Mondays and Fridays.  My library clerk comes in late on Thursdays so she can cover after school hours.  On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, a paraprofessional from another school comes in to cover the after-school hours. He does shelving and supervising, but he doesn't know how to do other library tasks. It is not the greatest situation.  We used to have a regular library paraprofessional every day after school, but that went by the wayside.

Our library media center is open from 7am to 4pm Mondays through Thursday and from 7am to 3pm on Fridays. We stagger our library staff to cover the hours.



My assistant staffs it in the morning, arriving when the buses do at 7 am.  School gets out at 2:02, but all teachers are required to stay until 2:30. I am usually there until 3pm.


Our library aide opens at 7 am and we close three days a week at 3:30 thanks to a credit recovery program that runs in the library. It's a paid staffing position. We are not open after school Tue or Fri.


I am open before and after school and I staff it.  It is more of a drop in with kids coming in with me in the AM.  In the afternoon I do a computer club one day a week, and I stay after school whenever anyone asks me to during the day.
My assistant likes to come in very early so she can leave early. I stopped keeping us open extra after school. I keep it open a half hour M-Th. I used to keep it open an hour, but it would just be a handful of kids, so I stopped.


I have a really (really really) nice assistant who lives around the corner and gets here very early, and then I come in about 15 minutes later.

I’m always here early so I allow kids into the room as soon as I arrive.  My aide is here for one hour after school every day.  Going through our last NEASC review helped me get an aide to cover that hour.
We open at 7:20 every day and our first class starts at 7:35.  It is a very busy time, mostly with students trying to print.

School gets out at 2:05 and we are open until 4:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesday, 3:00 on Friday, and 8:00 on Monday and Thursday (because our town library is closed those nights).  We have a night person for the evening hours, and we are open to town patrons during that time.  I am here for some of the time, but have another staff member who covers that time.  Our student population is around 700 and we have anywhere from 12- 70 kids any given afternoon.

I arrive around 7- (for students- Contract arrival is around 7:20-7:25) I stay till 3 at least - often much later when working on yearbook (contract departure time is 2:45 ish) It was noted as a commendation on the NEASC report, but there was a suggestion that it be staffed.



I have 2 part-time clerks who stagger to cover the school day and my lunch.

Technically we have another librarian who helps with supervision 4 periods a day, but based in the AV room and floats throughout the day in the district for various tasks.
We are open from 7 am to 3 pm every day;  40 minutes before school starts and 40 minutes after school ends.
Clerical  staff hours are from 7 am to 3 pm.
I am usually in the library from 7 am until at least 3 pm almost every day unless I am at a school related meeting.



Our high school has two full-time library TAs and two full-time LMS's.

We currently have one library TA and an LMS staff the library before school starts beginning at 7am.  After school, our administration hired 2 TA's who run the HW center.  They arrive 15 min after the last bell-- their hours are 2:30 - 4:00.


Our official school day is 7:15-2:00. My clerk's official hours are 7:00-3:00.  She keeps the library open until 3:00 as part of her regular daily duty.
I typically come in around 6:30 so that's when I open.  Officially we open at 7:00 but I am very nearly always here by 6:45 so the kids often come by at that time.

My principal was very enthusiastic about the library being open after school, so we arranged it that my para works from 9-4, so we can stay open until 4:00 M-TH. We have a sign up sheet, with a limit of 26 students.
I get into school by 6:40.  We open the media center at 7:15.  By that time I have one of my para's already in.  My other para comes in at 7:45 and keeps the media center open until 3:15. (school is over at 2:07)
Our school has 3 days of late busing so we are open till 3:15 on those days. My 2 - 29 hour a week paras cover those 3 days. Students come in to the cafeteria in the morning & are released at 7:30. We open then with myself & at least 1 para.
No special staffing. Lone Media Specialist.
I receive a small stipend for staying until 3:30 p.m. each day beyond the contracted teacher contract hours.
We are open from 7:00-5:30 everyday (faculty hours are 7:30-3:00).  They used to pay another teacher an hourly rate to cover the morning (7:00-7:30), but they just recently changed my hours to 7:00-2:30.  My assistant comes in at 11:00 and stays until 5:30.  So, it is just the 2 of us that run it all day.

We are 'officially' open from 7-4 M-F. In reality, we're open whenever I'm here [usually from 6:30-5]. We've also got two paras with staggered schedules, one of which is here until 4pm every day.
Our library is opened at 7.  Both myself and my coworker are in at that time.  We have an aide who stays until 3.  Our contract hours are 7:25 until 2:50.  Recently, the administration has created an after school tutorial that is based in the library, so the tutors keep the library open until 4.



I open 30 minutes before homeroom as my only "duty" of the year - no bus duties or lunch duties.
My library is staffed beyond our regular hours (7:15-2:30) with certified teachers paid by the admin. They man the facility until 5 pm.

Our Before School hours for our School Library are 7 a.m to start of first period (which starts at 7:27) and afterschool hours start at the end of last period (which is 1:54 p.m.) and we close at 3:00 p.m. Our Library Staff, 2 Paraprofessional Library Staff, have staggered hours. The 2 Library Paraprofessionals are contracted for 6.5 hours a day with a duty free 45 minute lunch period.  And Teachers/Certified Librarian hours are contracted at 7:12 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. at the High School. So, one Library Para opens the Library at 7 a.m. and works until 2:15, and the other Library Para, starts at 7:45 a.m. and locks up at 3 p.m. As the Certified Teacher Librarian, I often have meetings at 2 p.m. or later so am often not able to be in the Library after school. There have been issues when there was only 1 PARA or no Paras, for long time periods over the past several years, when we had vacant position(s)/not filled and we shorted our official hours to compensate for this by closing at 2 or 2:15 p.m. And if I am not in a scheduled meeting or setting up Audiovisual Equipment for our Auditorium evening use, I have often covered some of the before and after school coverage for staff illness, or leave/time periods to allow students fairly consistent access.  And often, if the opener is able to notify me ahead of time, I will open the Library at 7:00 a.m.  There has been no support for funding or compensating for these times of lack of staffing. While recommendations have been made at various times for alternative programs and NEASC always asks if we have any extended or evening access, no one has developed any after school programming or staffing beyond what has been in place for years.



This year my principal has staffed the library with an English teacher who arrives late and stays late (periods 2-"8" instead of the standard 1-7).  Not sure what'll happen when we move to a more progressive rotating schedule.

I have no coverage before school.  I open the door as soon as I arrive
I have two full-time aides (we are very fortunate here). One works 7-2:30, and the other works 7:30-3:00. We all take turns covering lunch, prep, etc. My contracted hours are 7:10-2:15. I used to get here early and stay late but now that I have an infant I rely on my aides to keep the library open 7 to 3. Honestly that's probably for the best because it discourages eliminating aides and relying on the media specialist to volunteer time. There are also tutors here who stay until 3 as well.

I staff the library before school, starting at 7:15 when students are allowed throughout the building.  The library paraprofessional comes in 1/2hour later and  works extended hours until 3:00.  We are open 3 days until 3:30 to accommodate students who take advantage of the late bus.  The paraprofessional is relieved at 3:00 by an administrator.  Most days I am here until at least 3:00 anyway, but am not responsible for supervising student use of the library.
We're open 7-4 everyday. We have an aide open at 7 and she leaves at 3.  From 12:30 to 4 another para works from our office overseeing the library and doing district office work.  I come in at 7:30 and am usually here way after we've closed. The kids' day is 7:45 - 2:35.  Teachers' day is 7:25 - 3:50.

My situation is a little different since I'm at a private school. I get in about 7:30 and stay until 4:30ish, Monday - Friday. Sometimes, I go in on Saturdays too.

From: Kristie McGarry
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 7:24 AM
To: 'casl-l at mylist.net' (casl-l at mylist.net)
Subject: Staffing Library Media Center for before/after school hours

Good Morning! Quick information gathering question: for those of you whose library media center is open before and/or after school, how do you staff it? For instance, staggered hours with other staff members? Special before/after school programs run by other teachers? Etc…?

Kristie McGarry
Library Media Specialist
Derby High School
8 Nutmeg Avenue
Derby, CT  06418
Direct line: 203-446-2612 ; School line: 203-736-5032 www.derbyps.org/dhslibrary<http://www.derbyps.org/dhslibrary>

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