2012 by Frank Bonilla on Flickr

As Mrs Robinson is now running a Library Service across both our Senior and Junior Schools (working with Mrs Enston at our Junior School), she has decided to write a full Progress Report at the end of each term. You can download and read it below:

1)  Checked off the new books from Peters Bookselling Services.
2)  Labelled and covered some of the existing stock.
3)  Put staff details on Junior Librarian.
4)  Assembled some new shelf guides for the Fiction section.
5)  Started a simple user guide to the basic systems of the Library to be kept on the desk.
6)  Started the process of developing management information and evaluation of the Library: inclusion in the Annual Report, finance documents, Library Development Plan, Library Policy and Library Procedures Manual etc.

Stop Press!

Great news! We can now borrow books for the Junior School from LSE – our local Schools Library Service. Mrs Robinson will talk to the teaching staff to find out the topics they would like resourcing during the second half of this term and then she will go to LSE and choose suitable books. These can then be used either in the classroom or in the Library.

At the end of Week 7 (2 September) Mrs Robinson has:

1) Catalogued 1549 books.

Fiction complete, picture books complete, non-fiction almost complete. Some books need to be labelled and the labels covered.

2) Labelled 1400 books.

Approximate figure.

3) The Junior Librarian (Library Management System) has been set up with all of the students’ details.

Staff details still to be added.

4) The Library has been left neat and tidy.

There are signs on the shelves to show what work needs to be done next.

5) Mrs Robinson and Mrs Enston have visited Peters Booksellers in Birmingham and have spent £4000 on some lovely new books!

These will be delivered next week and then Mrs Robinson will start cataloguing and processing them ready for shelving.

Mrs Robinson is discussing with the school management to see when she will be working at the Junior School during the Autumn Term. We are hoping that this will be on a regular as there is a lot of work to do!

1)  Finishing cataloguing and processing the existing stock – there is a small amount of this to finish.
2)  Cataloguing and processing the new stock when it arrives.
3)  Making a wish list on the Library Online website to encourage students and staff to suggest new stock.
4)  Putting staff details on Junior Librarian.
5)  Setting up the borrower rights on Junior Librarian and testing to ensure stock can be issued and returned.
6)  Signs and guiding for the new layout.
7)  Displays.
8)  Writing a simple user guide to the basic systems of the Library to be kept on the desk.
9)  Teaching Mrs Enston the basics of Junior Librarian. More advanced training to be done at a later date.
10) Teaching staff how to use Junior Librarian – they will need to know how to issue and return books for their classes and also how to conduct basic searches.
11) Teaching student Library Helpers how to issue and return books and how to conduct basic searches.
12) Making a list of suitable jobs for Library Helpers and training them how to do these.
13) Making a list of suitable tasks for Parent Volunteers and training them how to do these.
14) Opening discussions with staff and students as to their wants/needs in terms of library use so that we can come up with a plan for possible future refurbishment.
15) Talking to staff about their resource needs so that we can purchase suitable stock in the future.
16) Starting the process of developing management information and evaluation of the Library: inclusion in the Annual Report, finance documents, Library Development Plan, Library Policy and Library Procedures Manual etc.

I think that is enough to be going on with!

So, by the end of Week 5 (19 August) Mrs Robinson has:

1) Catalogued 1361 books.

Fiction complete, picture books complete, 900s, 800s and 700s (Non-Fiction) also complete. 600s catalogued and awaiting labels.

2) Labelled 1221 books.

Mrs Enston has been helping with the label covers and we have nearly cought up.

We have also done a lot of general tidying up, cleaning and re-positioning of shelving, planning for the future, talking to teaching staff about how the library can support their work and more…

Plan for Week 6

Mrs Robinson will be on holiday during Week 6 and will resume after the Bank Holiday.

Back again at the end of Week 7!

So, by the end of Week 4 (12 August) Mrs Robinson has:

1) Catalogued 1127 books.

Fiction complete, picture books almost finished, 900s and 800s (Non-Fiction) also complete.

2) Labelled 1152 books.

Most of these also have the label covers on too – looking very smart! These are taking longer to do than anticipated.

Plan for Week 5

As the Junior School is closed on two days, Mrs Robinson will be working there Tuesday to Thursday. She hopes to make good progress towards cataloguing the rest of the Non-Fiction.

We have also organised our book-buying visit for 2 September, which will be great!

This slideshow will give you an idea of how we are progressing – the newest photos are first:

1) Catalogued 862 books

That’s almost all of the Fiction now done! Picture books and Non-fiction next…

2) Labelled 825 books

They do look nice!

So, during this week (Week 4) what is going to happen?

Mrs Robinson will carry on cataloguing as quickly as she can and she hopes to get most of the existing books on the system by the end of Week 5. Her son, Mark, is coming in to help put label covers on each book. Then we will finish cleaning off the shelves and put on guiding so that the pupils, and staff, can find the books. Many of the books will not be in the same places as they were before.

Also, Mrs Robinson and Mrs Enston are going to have fun buying loads of new books for the Library. These will also have to be catalogued and labelled before they are ready to be borrowed. This might take us into the Autumn Term. Mrs Robinson will then put all of the Junior School pupils and staff onto Junior Librarian and start teaching Mrs Enston and the Pupil Librarians how to use our new system.

We have lots of other plans too – keep watch on this site to find out more!

1) Catalogued over 360 books

This is not going as fast as it should because we have not had internet access at the Junior School all week, so Mrs Robinson is having to type all of the details on by hand!

2) Labelled around 200 books

This is so that pupils and staff will be able to find them easily.

3) Sorted out and weeded books that are damaged, out of date or unsuitable for the Library

This is very important so that the Library will meet the needs of the school and to make room for lots of new books!

4) Begun to make a “wish list” for new books.

Mrs Enston has compiled a list of the topics that are taught in school and Mrs Robinson is matching that against what we already have. She is also looking to see where there are gaps in our stock so that we can buy lots of new books to fit with what the pupils and staff need!

5) Started a list for new equipment needed for the Library.

We need lots of things that will help us to run the Library smoothly.

The photos below show you what the Library has looked like this week. (Yes, it is a bit of a mess! Check back each week to see how it goes):

Then, Mrs Robinson and Mrs Enston are going to buy loads of new books to add to the stock. Parent volunteers have already been giving us loads of help – many thanks to them!

Mrs Robinson will put regular updates on this site to show progress (as she does with the Senior School Library). Her first Assessment Report can be seen below: