Week 1- Getting to know the ZMS Library

Anyone sick of snow yet? January has given my district, Bullitt County Public Schools, several days of inclement weather! I have a feeling winter isn't done with us for awhile!

I was able to get in a few hours in the library this week to start off my practicum. My cooperating supervisor is Dr. Christine McIntosh, or Dr. Mac, in the Zoneton Middle School library. Dr. Mac is a retired librarian serving as a long-term sub at ZMS for the past year and a half. She is very well-known in Bullitt County as an LMS. She was the first LMS to put together an OPAC with 4 library computers in the early 90s before other OPACs even existed! She has worked in several Bullitt County schools, as well as in Frankfort for state library media organizations. Dr. Mac has many years of experience and I am excited to learn from her expertise in my practicum journey!

While I teach at ZMS, I have only used the library to bring my social studies classes in for research lessons or to complete assignments for this library program. I have never studied the routines and procedures of the ZMS library from the media specialist point of view. To begin my practicum, Dr. Mac gave me a tour of the library.

Entrance of the library, teaching area, rocking reading chairs

Circulation desk for student aides

View of library- 12 computers, nonfiction shelves in the back

Library office (and school psychologist office)

Broadcasting room on left, fiction shelves. 

This week we focused on my practice of basic library routines- circulation and shelving. Students come in with language arts classes every other week to check out books. They were each issued a library card in the beginning of the year. If they have their cards, they receive check ins/out priorities to the front of the line. Other students must find their name on a key ring with their bar code to check out books. I found this to be a really good system. Next week, we plan on working on the collection!