Seven Pines Elementary School Library<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The school\u2019s library website is colorful and fun. It is kid and family friendly to use. While the school library site is not extensive, there are links to the main library site for Henrico County Public Schools. You can click to contact a librarian or borrow books via the Sora app. Links are provided for the school systems catalog as well as to the Henrico County Public Library system. Book lists and recommendations can be found in both of these locations. Website users can also find access to digital resources such as PebbleGo, Imagination Soup, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our school library staff is not listed on the Seven Pines Library page, however, they can be found on the HCPS library page. Contact information for library staff can be found on the main webpage for the county. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Space & Physical Access:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our school underwent a major renovation a few years ago. To be completely honest, I think they could have done a better job with the library. There is an open, carpeted space near the back which was intended for class lessons with the librarian. However, this space is as far away from the circulation desk as possible. If the librarian was working with students in the back and needed to speak with the assistant at the circulation desk, she must either walk away from the class or yell. It is not an ideal setup. Our current librarian does not use that open space for lessons. It is designated for the daily broadcast of our school\u2019s morning announcements. Students sit at tables for library lessons and our librarian simply stands in the stacks. The shelves are low so she can see everyone and they can see her. But again, the setup is not ideal. There is a large Promethean board on wheels that is utilized daily for lessons. However, with the crowded furniture arrangement, the Promethean blocks one of the library\u2019s three doors. This particular door is not used at all as a result. There is a large office for the library staff. They admit that it is nice, but they also admit that it is not necessary. The office space could have been much smaller to allow more room for students. Individuals requiring a wheelchair would have difficulty maneuvering the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Seven Pines Elementary is a campus style school with all hallways being outdoors. There are enormous windows running down both sides of the building where the library is housed. These windows allow for tons of natural light and are brightly painted with characters from popular children\u2019s books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Penguins are the school mascot. A small area with comfortable seating has been set up for students to read in an \u201cigloo\u201d with Penny the Big Penguin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the shelves are short so students can access materials easily. Reference materials (dictionaries, thesauri, atlases) are available for student use but do require some teacher assistance. There is a section of professional resources which are for teacher use only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Services & Intellectual Access:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of my observation Seven Pines Elementary was in the midst of a One School, One Book program (One School, One Book – Read to Them<\/a>). However, we were partnered with another school on the other side of the county so we revised the name a bit and called it One Book, Two Schools. Every family at both schools received a copy of Fenway and Hattie by Victoria Coe. A website was developed for families to stay on schedule with the nightly chapter reading. There were daily trivia questions, a pet supplies drive to help support the local animal shelter, a \u201cFenway\u201d giveaway and more. Our school librarian was involved in the planning and implementation of this program. In the moments she had between classes during my observation she was staying on top of tasks as related to this reading program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the day of my observation some classes were involved in selecting a winner for the Virginia Readers\u2019 Choice program (Virginia Readers\u2019 Choice Program \u2014 VSLA<\/a>). The students had been listening to all of the stories for several weeks and it was finally time to choose a winner. Ballots were completed and turned in to the librarian for final submission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All shelves were marked to indicate which books could be found on them. The Dewey Decimal system was used for nonfiction books. Fiction titles were organized by the author’s last name. I did not observe that the catalog was accessible to the students but only via computers belonging to the library staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Book baskets could be found on top of the lowest shelves. These contained books grouped by popular characters or authors. For example, there were baskets for Fly Guy, Biscuit, Pete the Cat and Dr. Seuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two large shelves had been arranged in such a way as to display Saint Patrick\u2019s Day books and books about women in celebration of Women\u2019s History Month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n People – Patrons & Staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This library is clearly meant to serve students in grades PreK through 5. Student interactions with staff were similar across grade levels. I observed lessons for kindergarten, first grade, and fifth grade. All classes began with a lesson and ended with book check out time. The school librarian hosted each lesson then assisted students with finding titles either through the catalog or on the shelves. The library assistant worked the circulation desk but also assisted students with book selection when she did not have a student to serve at the desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our library has two staff members. Both are white females. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collections:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Seven Pines Elementary School library has a large selection of picture books in the easy section. It also offers a significant collection of nonfiction books and chapter books. Teachers are able to check out big books, puzzles, games and DVDs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As I mentioned before, there is a large touch screen Promethean Board on wheels where lesson materials can be presented. Some laptops and iPads are housed in the library, however, I did not see them in use during my observation. Hannah Byrd Little mentions in her 2021 article regarding the post pandemic library that \u201ceven with in-person learning, the number of public-use computers in the library was greatly reduced this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our county every student has his or her own device that is used on a daily basis in the classroom. Little (2021) goes on to say that since the pandemic forced everyone to spend so much more time online, many students are gaining a new \u201cappreciation of time offline\u201d. If I am being totally honest, I find it refreshing that the students were NOT using devices in the library on the day of my observation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If students do not return their library materials, they are still able to check out an \u201cOops Book\u201d. These are books that have been pulled from circulation because they have not been checked out for several years, they have old copyright dates, or they are on the recommended weed list from the county. Ideally these \u201cOops Books\u201d would be returned and shared again and again. However, if they do not come back to the library, that\u2019s okay, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our school librarian has many responsibilities with regard to student devices and repair of said devices. As she was teaching a lesson, a student came in to request a new device since his old one was broken. Obviously our librarian could not accommodate this request in the middle of a lesson. Truthfully, I found the interruption somewhat annoying, although our librarian rolled right along easily. It would be nice if there were another system in place to minimize these types of interruptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I had a great time during my observation in my school library. I am most definitely leaning towards elementary school librarianship so this observation was very informative for me. It was nice to get a glimpse at what my future days at work could be like!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Little, H. B. (5 April 2021). 7 library changes I hope remain post pandemic. Knowledge Quest. <\/em>https:\/\/knowledgequest.aasl.org\/7-library-changes-i-hope-remain-post-pandemic\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read to Them: One School, One Book. https:\/\/readtothem.org\/programs\/one-school-one-book\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rubin, R. E. and Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science<\/em> (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seven Pines Elementary School: Virtual Library Learning Commons. https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vTt9x9WP3FSS2BSwTSnni2YMR4oQPKIJV5AyDAcRQVVhxfiLSk4sqBIEKD9xACN8iyNLIGDExlWmY7Y\/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.p<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Virginia State Literacy Association: Virginia Readers\u2019 Choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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