Last PCIS post

Mrs. Mac — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:56:46 +0000

This will be my last post as PCIS librarian.

I have started an online search again for a job, and hope to be somewhere in Sept. Thanks for reading.

Our YA collection is growing

Mrs. Mac — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:13:31 +0000

Whew! Today was a very busy day. Students are returning their books for the end of the year sweep, and the YA shelves are full to bursting. That’s good and bad news. Good because we have so many books, bad because I had to find a way to expand the collection to free up the shelves.

The problem was solved by having to move the entire fiction collection for grades 5-6 out of their current location. Shelf by shelf, beginning with the letter Z and working my way to A, I moved about a thousand books to free up a wall of 20 shelves. When that was done, beginning with the letter Z and working my way to A, I moved some of the YA collection to those shelves and spread them out on their current 16 shelves. When it was done, I heaved a sign of relief.

Both collections have room to expand and, with the YA collection enclosing the grade 5-6 collection on 2 sides, these students can be directed to go “on the edge” to find their books. This is a little play on words I made up to describe the types of books the collection has – books that will keep students “on the edge” of their seats.

Picture Perfect

Mrs. Mac — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:13:41 +0000

I just finished reading “Picture Perfect” by Elaine Marie Alphin. I was so mesmerized, that I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it. The author weaves suspense and mystery together in such a way that it becomes a mix of “whodunnit” and “we should’ve known.”

Eighth grader, Ian, is the main character. He struggles to live the life of a perfect son, or face the consequences of being punished by his abusive father. He learns how to survive his dad’s abuses like being locked in a closet, having his toys thrown away, being forced to break the things he loves, daily being told he’s no good, worthless and a disappointment, and more. His mom is no help, as she’s also cowed into silent obedience.

To survive, Ian develops multiple personalities, but this isn’t clear to the reader through half of the story. When his best friend Teddy disappears Luke, the stronger of his personalities, threatens to take over his life. Ian won’t let him, but the readers get jumbled flashbacks of sad and terrible images as seen through Luke’s, school Ian’s, home Ian’s and young Ian’s eyes.

The book has a surprising ending, and leaves the reader cheering, sad, happy yet wanting more.

Mercury Research

Mrs. Mac — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:54:55 +0000

Yesterday, and today, worked with 8th graders from Mercury. I introduced them to some of our databases like eLibrary, Grolier Online and WorldBook Online. Today, we tried one called netTrekker, which had alot of useful information. The student’s task, as assigned by their teacher, was to search for information on whales for their data sheets, for an upcoming whale watch trip and a whale poem they will write. Many students instinctively wanted to drift towards Google, with only limited or no attempt to try the databases, but their teacher and I urged them to stay with the databases. Google has become too much of a crutch for today’s young people, and I hope to help them to see that there are many more reliable sources of information.

Their teacher required them to have an online source (a database), as well as an encyclopedia and non-fiction book source. I felt these were excellent requirements, as it helped students to use these sources and help them to see that not everything they need is on Google. I helped students learn to use the index, table of contents and guidewords to help them find information, as well as showed them how to cite their information for their 3×5 index cards.

The class will return to the library for several more sessions to complete their task.

My article is published!

Mrs. Mac — Sun, 25 May 2008 03:08:29 +0000

Whew! It took a LONG time, but my article on why I love libraries has finally been published on the ilovelibraries website.

I wrote it last year, but it still rings true today, and was the inspiration for the graduation speech I gave last week. Hope you enjoy it and are inspired.

Flipped

Mrs. Mac — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:52:16 +0000

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen is written from the point of view of Bryce and Julie. They are next door neighbors, who’ve known each other since 2nd grade. During that time, Julie has been in love with Bryce, but Bryce will never give her the time of day. The author uses an interesting way to tell their stories: first we’ll get Bryce’s view of what happened, and the next chapter will tell Julie’s thoughts on the subject. I enjoyed getting a well rounded picture of everything.

Time has passed, and they are in 8th grade. Through various circumstances, Bryce realizes he really, really likes Julie. Too late. Julie has decided it’s time to give up on her 6 year crush on him. Read “Flipped” to find out how they handle this unique twist of fate.

Graduation Day

Mrs. Mac — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:53:55 +0000

Today I graduated from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), and also gave a speech at the GSLIS ceremony.

It was a moving and emotional day, as 36 years ago I had told myself I would become a librarian. In those 36 years I spent 21 years as an elementary school teacher and completed my Masters in Education. However, today, I have my brand new Master of Library Science (MLS) and am a full fledged librarian. Whoo hoo!!

Clarifications

Mrs. Mac — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:43:33 +0000

Hmmm. Looks like I’ll have to do a little bit of clarification here. I saw a post that I had written put onto someone else’s blog. It was about cataloging some free books I’d received at the fall AASL conference. I’m guessing the person probably thought I meant I was cataloging ARC’s (Advanced Reading Copies.) No. That is a big no-no. I know that ARC’s should never be cataloged, and that they’re just for us librarians to get ideas for books to purchase in the future.

The free books were real books that book publishers were giving away for free. If you haven’t been to ALA or AASL, most of the vendors make a habit of giving out free books at a certain time on a certain day. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. Try it, you’ll like it.

The boy who owned the school

Mrs. Mac — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:52:26 +0000

Gary Paulsen writes this book from the point of view of Jacob, a geeky kid with no self-confidence who is known for not being known. He slides through life making sure no one notices him. Whenever he is noticed, trouble follows, like being stuffed into trash cans and lockers by jocks, and having kids laugh at him. To make things worse, he has a beautiful older sister who gets all the things he can only dream about, including a car, and anything she wishes from their parents.

Jacob’s life changes when his English teacher insists he help backstage with the school play. He falls in love with the lead actress and, despite all that has happened to him, finds out that life is not what he thought.

Another week is done

Mrs. Mac — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:03:53 +0000

There is much to do in preparation for the end of the year. We figured out how to use our Panther for inventory, and Mrs. Guiney has begun the process. It will be ongoing, and we plan to be done by mid June. Inventory allows me to find out what’s missing, lost, old in the collection so I can replace them with new material in my fall order.

Yesterday, spent a little time with Mrs. Papazian’s 6th graders in Gemini. They have a science project to work on during MCAS week and I spent some time introducing them to nonfiction books, including how to use an index and table of contents. We also talked about how to take notes using note cards and key words, which they would later change into sentences to avoid plagiarizing. I briefly mentioned the Big 6, telling them they would get more information on it next year.

Today was another MCAS day. In between MCAS, I worked on locating books for next year that would match the teacher’s curriculum, as well as beef up existing collections in book, DVD and video format. I’ll work on reference books on another day.