These other blogs are all about libraries and the youth:
http://rurallibraryteens.blogspot.com/
http://www.scasd.org/2497308112594/site/default.asp#
http://schoolconnectreaders4life.blogspot.com
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Successful Collaboration Stories - Posted on 9/27 in this blog is your opportunity to share your success stories!
Here are some examples of successful collaboration. This information was found in the 2001 spring edition of the Journal of Youth Services in Libraries in an article called Hand in Hand: Public and School Library Cooperative Projects by Jana Fine (2001, p. 18-22).
In Bergen County, NJ, “the school librarian and the public young adult services assistant manager plan and facilitate a middle school lunchtime book discussion called “Books & Bites”.
“The Knoxville project was a mini-grant that provided the schools and the public library with the opportunity to assist third-grade students in learning how to publish their own books. The Beginning with Books workshop was a successful collaboration between the schools, the public library, and Beginning with Books. An all day workshop to kindergarten and first-grade teachers was offered on a variety of topics.
“In DeKalb (Eastham, Mass.) a committee of DeKalb County School System library media specialists and public library librarians met to discuss strategies for increasing their ability to share resources and information. It was decided that communication between library media specialists and public librarians about class projects and assignments is key to students’ success in the research process. To facilitate this exchange of information, an electronic School Assignment Alert Form was developed for library media specialists to use in contacting librarians at public library branches. Key components related to the assignment requirements (e.g. objectives, resources needed or recommended, format, length, etc.) are included in the form.
“Youth staff is in the process of inviting all the third, fourth, and fifth grade classes of the local school to come in for a tour.” This is happening at Minneapolis.
In Kansas City, Mo, “By the request of teachers at the local high school, staff presented workshops to the junior class on the Internet/databases, finding books in the catalogs, how to use microform machines, how to find job related information, and other basic library skills.”
In Meriden, Conn, “A fun program that the public and school librarians have planned revolves around fairy tales. The school librarian reads traditional stories, and the public librarian reads fractured tales and discusses similarities and differences. The children then write their own fractured tales. They have an opportunity to read their own stories at the ‘Walter Miller School Night at the Public Library.’ Not only can families sign up for a library card, get a library tour, and see their own children participate in this event, they can also view artwork from area school children on display.” This is most impressive because it teaches the children higher order thinking skills. This is most necessary to be successful as a lifelong learner. Dr. Harold Bloom, a world leading educator and creator of the different levels of learning, would be proud as analysis is considered one of the highest levels of thinking.
In Bergen County, NJ, “the school librarian and the public young adult services assistant manager plan and facilitate a middle school lunchtime book discussion called “Books & Bites”.
“The Knoxville project was a mini-grant that provided the schools and the public library with the opportunity to assist third-grade students in learning how to publish their own books. The Beginning with Books workshop was a successful collaboration between the schools, the public library, and Beginning with Books. An all day workshop to kindergarten and first-grade teachers was offered on a variety of topics.
“In DeKalb (Eastham, Mass.) a committee of DeKalb County School System library media specialists and public library librarians met to discuss strategies for increasing their ability to share resources and information. It was decided that communication between library media specialists and public librarians about class projects and assignments is key to students’ success in the research process. To facilitate this exchange of information, an electronic School Assignment Alert Form was developed for library media specialists to use in contacting librarians at public library branches. Key components related to the assignment requirements (e.g. objectives, resources needed or recommended, format, length, etc.) are included in the form.
“Youth staff is in the process of inviting all the third, fourth, and fifth grade classes of the local school to come in for a tour.” This is happening at Minneapolis.
In Kansas City, Mo, “By the request of teachers at the local high school, staff presented workshops to the junior class on the Internet/databases, finding books in the catalogs, how to use microform machines, how to find job related information, and other basic library skills.”
In Meriden, Conn, “A fun program that the public and school librarians have planned revolves around fairy tales. The school librarian reads traditional stories, and the public librarian reads fractured tales and discusses similarities and differences. The children then write their own fractured tales. They have an opportunity to read their own stories at the ‘Walter Miller School Night at the Public Library.’ Not only can families sign up for a library card, get a library tour, and see their own children participate in this event, they can also view artwork from area school children on display.” This is most impressive because it teaches the children higher order thinking skills. This is most necessary to be successful as a lifelong learner. Dr. Harold Bloom, a world leading educator and creator of the different levels of learning, would be proud as analysis is considered one of the highest levels of thinking.
Why Collaborate?
This section primarily deals with the positive reasons why these two institutions need to cooperate in order to create lifelong learners that make positive well educated decisions in their community in the present and the future. This well educated individual will in turn sustain the positive factors that lead to a well rounded community. These positive factors include both the schools and the community’s library. To simplify, individuals may see future tax referendums as a positive toward improving both the schools and the libraries that they saw as so important when they were young. “There has been interaction and a sharing of ideas with other librarians that have made us all feel less isolated and more effective as professionals” (Mummey and Woeste 1995 p. 12). Isolation, especially in rural areas, does not breed success at any professional level. A professional baseball player cannot be successful without assistance from family, coaches, and other players on the team. The library is the same way. As noted before, it is imperative that libraries cooperate in order to be successful and important. But why is it imperative that public schools and public libraries cooperate? Dr. Daniel Callison is a proponent of cooperation between the two. His research suggests that public libraries have eliminated the young adult librarian because of lack of funds and common sense. The public libraries’ belief is that the school library will ‘take care’ of that part of community. “The local schools have libraries with collections to meet the needs of these students, and there is no need to duplicate efforts” (Callison, Fink, and Hager 1989 p. ) is a common response from public library directors. Callison also found that 57% of public librarians surveyed in Indiana could not name any librarians at any of the local schools. He also found that 83% of the public librarians could not name all of the local secondary school librarians. This section of the research paper is to attempt to persuade the reader why the libraries need to cooperate.
Susan Booker did a survey in Kentucky and she discovered that “all teachers surveyed used their school libraries, but only two out of the 76 participants considered their school libraries to be adequate” (Booker 1993 p. ). Although other research has validated that the better the school library the better the school, school boards rarely approve money to be spent on the school library. Usually school libraries depend on grants to update or improve their library. If a school is in this situation, it may need to turn to the public library for assistance. The issue with this, according to Booker, is that the public library is available. “Past presentations for teachers featuring new materials and means of access to and use of the public library have not been well-attended, but might be better received at this time” (p. #). She is referring public librarians mailing information to the schools to advertise their programs for students. This quote verifies that teachers will not show if they don’t have to. The administrators must get involved and include the public library in the professional development program that most schools have. In order to increase collaboration, the teachers must be persuaded that this will benefit them and their students.
The more resources, the more books, the more databases, the more likely the student will be successful. An objective every teacher wants to reach.
An important aspect of this co-operation is picked up in an article ‘Co-operation between school libraries and public libraries to promote enjoyment of reading’. This concludes that because co-operation is well organized, children in the large municipalities of Baerum (Norway) have easy access to books, the school curriculum stimulates reading activities, and its children are much better readers than the Norwegian average (Bundy 2002 p. ).
The public library would benefit with this cooperation as well. “The tax dollar funds both institutions and there are substantial economic benefits in working together to meet young people’s information needs” (Spelman 2004 p. ). This quote lends itself into two benefits. One is that if you meet young people’s needs, they will more likely meet the library’s needs in the future. According to Andy Robinson, a corporate trainer out of Tucson, Arizona, the number one reason why people give money to certain not for profit organizations is because they care about what the organization does and that the organization’s concerns are also the person’s concerns (1997 p. 79). I give to my American Legion every year because as a youth I had more fun and developed into a person of which I am proud because of their awesome leadership skills. I am concerned for the American Legion so it may help positively develop more youth in my neighborhood. This can parallel that of the library. If it concerns itself with the youth of today, the youth will give back with either tax payments or even donations. The other way the public library can benefit is that the more educated the people are in the town in which it is set, the more money is going to be in that town. Hence, the more likely the public will encourage effective, modern libraries.
“It’s sadly ironic that while both schools and public libraries serve the same customer, we rarely communicate” (Borek 2001 p. 30). This quote enforces why the two need to collaborate. In order to reach customer satisfaction, they should work together in order to be successful. Dian Borek continues by saying, “Administrators, teachers, teacher librarians, public librarians and public library children’s resource personnel would all benefit from better communication, cooperation and coordination of information services for young people; but by far the biggest winners would be the students” (2001 p. 31).
In conclusion, to prove the benefits of collaboration and its importance, one must look at the P.J. Jacobs Junior High School’s forced collaboration with the Portage County Public Library in Wisconsin. The junior high school, during the 2005 school year, was without a library because a new one was being built. The children were bussed everyday to the public library. The mandated collaboration had a lot of positive lessons taught to the students. One tidbit to add to this story was the extensive planning done by both parties before the school year began so the students could experience this obstacle positively. The experience sounded positive.
They [the students] were glad to learn how to do research and use the on-line catalog effectively. They were especially happy to find out the public library is not a stuffy place where they had to keep totally quiet. They liked being able to work in groups and talk quietly. Some were amazed to discover the library had things that teens wanted, like their favorite musical groups, computers for typing papers or playing games, study rooms, and teen oriented magazines. They became comfortable in the library, and because of their experience, the will probably be back (Vollrath 1996 p. 198).
Mummey, Emily & Woeste, Marianne. (1995). Cooperation Between School and Public
Libraries. Ohio Medium Spectrum, 47, 11-12.
Callison, D., Fink, J., & Hager, G. (1989). A Survey of Cooperation and Communication
Between Public and School Librarians in Indiana and Beyond. Indiana Libraries,
8, 78-86.
Vollrath, Elizabeth. (October, 1996). The Junior High School Comes to the Public Library. Journal of Voice of Youth Advocates, 197-198.
Susan Booker did a survey in Kentucky and she discovered that “all teachers surveyed used their school libraries, but only two out of the 76 participants considered their school libraries to be adequate” (Booker 1993 p. ). Although other research has validated that the better the school library the better the school, school boards rarely approve money to be spent on the school library. Usually school libraries depend on grants to update or improve their library. If a school is in this situation, it may need to turn to the public library for assistance. The issue with this, according to Booker, is that the public library is available. “Past presentations for teachers featuring new materials and means of access to and use of the public library have not been well-attended, but might be better received at this time” (p. #). She is referring public librarians mailing information to the schools to advertise their programs for students. This quote verifies that teachers will not show if they don’t have to. The administrators must get involved and include the public library in the professional development program that most schools have. In order to increase collaboration, the teachers must be persuaded that this will benefit them and their students.
The more resources, the more books, the more databases, the more likely the student will be successful. An objective every teacher wants to reach.
An important aspect of this co-operation is picked up in an article ‘Co-operation between school libraries and public libraries to promote enjoyment of reading’. This concludes that because co-operation is well organized, children in the large municipalities of Baerum (Norway) have easy access to books, the school curriculum stimulates reading activities, and its children are much better readers than the Norwegian average (Bundy 2002 p. ).
The public library would benefit with this cooperation as well. “The tax dollar funds both institutions and there are substantial economic benefits in working together to meet young people’s information needs” (Spelman 2004 p. ). This quote lends itself into two benefits. One is that if you meet young people’s needs, they will more likely meet the library’s needs in the future. According to Andy Robinson, a corporate trainer out of Tucson, Arizona, the number one reason why people give money to certain not for profit organizations is because they care about what the organization does and that the organization’s concerns are also the person’s concerns (1997 p. 79). I give to my American Legion every year because as a youth I had more fun and developed into a person of which I am proud because of their awesome leadership skills. I am concerned for the American Legion so it may help positively develop more youth in my neighborhood. This can parallel that of the library. If it concerns itself with the youth of today, the youth will give back with either tax payments or even donations. The other way the public library can benefit is that the more educated the people are in the town in which it is set, the more money is going to be in that town. Hence, the more likely the public will encourage effective, modern libraries.
“It’s sadly ironic that while both schools and public libraries serve the same customer, we rarely communicate” (Borek 2001 p. 30). This quote enforces why the two need to collaborate. In order to reach customer satisfaction, they should work together in order to be successful. Dian Borek continues by saying, “Administrators, teachers, teacher librarians, public librarians and public library children’s resource personnel would all benefit from better communication, cooperation and coordination of information services for young people; but by far the biggest winners would be the students” (2001 p. 31).
In conclusion, to prove the benefits of collaboration and its importance, one must look at the P.J. Jacobs Junior High School’s forced collaboration with the Portage County Public Library in Wisconsin. The junior high school, during the 2005 school year, was without a library because a new one was being built. The children were bussed everyday to the public library. The mandated collaboration had a lot of positive lessons taught to the students. One tidbit to add to this story was the extensive planning done by both parties before the school year began so the students could experience this obstacle positively. The experience sounded positive.
They [the students] were glad to learn how to do research and use the on-line catalog effectively. They were especially happy to find out the public library is not a stuffy place where they had to keep totally quiet. They liked being able to work in groups and talk quietly. Some were amazed to discover the library had things that teens wanted, like their favorite musical groups, computers for typing papers or playing games, study rooms, and teen oriented magazines. They became comfortable in the library, and because of their experience, the will probably be back (Vollrath 1996 p. 198).
Mummey, Emily & Woeste, Marianne. (1995). Cooperation Between School and Public
Libraries. Ohio Medium Spectrum, 47, 11-12.
Callison, D., Fink, J., & Hager, G. (1989). A Survey of Cooperation and Communication
Between Public and School Librarians in Indiana and Beyond. Indiana Libraries,
8, 78-86.
Vollrath, Elizabeth. (October, 1996). The Junior High School Comes to the Public Library. Journal of Voice of Youth Advocates, 197-198.
Issues with lack of cooperation between schools and public libraries.
“When both types of libraries are well supported, they can team up to provide a seamless information and enjoyment resource” (Spelman 2003 p. 4). When a library is not well supported, how is that seamlessness to occur? Research seems to validate that libraries, especially in rural areas, are not well supported. Ann Herold-Short, a librarian at Rushville Public Library in rural Indiana, states, “we don’t have a bookmobile for our rural patrons, and we can’t afford many other methods of outreach” (p. 96 1989). Rural libraries throughout the nation deal with this financial constraint. Herold-Short is not alone. Without financial backing, the rural librarian is trapped between her job description and what the job entails. She must wear many hats and often those hats are not part of her job description. Because of low funding, she may have to be at the reference desk, then the front desk, then vacuuming the carpet, or perhaps cleaning and organizing bookshelves. The low funding has put the library in a situation in which they cannot hire an assistant or another full time librarian. Because of this dilemma, Herold-Short must work extra hours to fulfill her job description. She strongly believes that this job description includes “cooperation with local organizations, especially the school system” (p. 97). She understands, like most librarians, the value of youth both sincerely and financially in the future. Not all librarians, deservingly so, are willing to sacrifice that extra time in order to keep that collaboration between the public school and public library.
Public librarians have always complained about the lack of communication from teachers and school librarians concerning assignments which bring hordes of students or their parents in the public library over a busy weekend in order to complete the assignment by Monday morning (Callison, Fink, Hager 1989 p. 79).
Although picayune, this attitude does understandably frustrate the librarian and the objectives of the library. These hordes of students and parents present the library in a bad light. Perhaps some students are not getting the help they need because there is not enough staff to assist all students. Perhaps students cannot get the material they need because others doing the same assignment beat them to it. Perhaps now the students and the parents are not happy with their local library and view it as a ‘waste of time’. Something no library wants a taxpayer to believe.
Having touched upon two major reasons for the lack of cooperation between public schools and public libraries, this next section will briefly touch upon the plethora of reasons why these two libraries do not cooperate as much as this researcher believes.
“The barriers to cross sectoral cooperation cited in the literature are numerous and include funding, staff and governance issues, poor cross sectoral communication practices, resistant attitudes and a lack of knowledge about other’s roles, organizational purpose and practice” (Spelman p. 10). During a survey in 2001, Dr. A.L. Bundy received more specific reasons why these two community services do not cooperate as much as they should. He found that public librarians believed that teacher librarians are often too defensive of their role and act as ‘gatekeeper’. He also discovered that initiatives for collaboration come from the teacher and not the librarian. Also, schools are busy with their own problems and seem to see public libraries as more of a threat than a help. These are valid reasons. One can imagine a school librarian struggling with the fact that their library is ‘not good enough’ so now he or she must resort to the public library for help. The school librarian should be proud of his or her library and wants to believe that everything in the school library is enough for all the students and teachers in the school. Unfortunately, that pride can lead to hindering the full educational experience that the youth so deserve. During Bundy’s research, he discovered some of the attitudes from the school librarian. He founded that school librarians believe that they don’t need to interact with the public library. They have a very well resourced library… all the online databases we need. School librarians believe that public librarians find school students with research requirements are a nuisance and public librarians tell them to go back to the school library to get the help needed. School librarians have also stated that public librarians need training in PR (public relations). The last interesting find from Dr. Bundy was the belief that if students start using the public library more, the school library may lose its funding. These attitudes are important to note to see what obstacles libraries are up against in order to achieve collaboration.
These freedoms of expression that Dr. Bundy verify the ultimate reason why there is a lack of cooperation between these facilities. “A lack of coordinating bodies at federal, state, and local levels and a lack of policy and legislation means that there is no tangible support for library staff to participate in cross sectoral cooperation” (Spelman p. 12 2004). In other words, there is nothing in the teachers’ or school librarians’ curriculum that requires them to contact, work with, and communicate with, the public librarian. And there is nothing in the public librarians’ job description that requires them to do the same with the public schools. There have been great examples of collaboration which will be discussed later in this paper, but these efforts remain at an individual level and always will unless curriculums and job descriptions change.
Institutions that work with young people need to decide the value of cross sectoral cooperation and the value of providing young people with access to a community’s entire resources. They need to assess the impact that the comprehensive service provision will have on the quality of young people’s whole lives and not just the time they spend in their institutions” (p. 12).
To deny students the entire resources available is unfair. As education moves more and more away from teacher centered instruction and more toward student centered instruction; it is going to be vital to teach the children how to use the libraries in his or her community. Student centered instruction gives students the freedoms to choose a research topic. The teacher is there to teach them how to do the research, and then the student is assessed based on his or her research skills on a specific topic. With this movement “one wonders just how much greater the co-operation between (Australian) school and public libraries would be if it were mandatory, rather than largely the outcome of individual initiatives as it is at present” (Bundy 2002 p. 55). To take this a step further, one must wonder how appalling it is to deny our children the great opportunity of the collaborative effort of two buildings that sustain more resources than any others.
Short, Herold. (1989). Small Public Libraries Can Cooperate Too! Indiana Libraries, 18 96-98.
Bundy, Dr. Alan. (February 2002). Essential Connections: School and Public Libraries for Lifelong Learning. The Australian Library Journal, 47-70.
Public librarians have always complained about the lack of communication from teachers and school librarians concerning assignments which bring hordes of students or their parents in the public library over a busy weekend in order to complete the assignment by Monday morning (Callison, Fink, Hager 1989 p. 79).
Although picayune, this attitude does understandably frustrate the librarian and the objectives of the library. These hordes of students and parents present the library in a bad light. Perhaps some students are not getting the help they need because there is not enough staff to assist all students. Perhaps students cannot get the material they need because others doing the same assignment beat them to it. Perhaps now the students and the parents are not happy with their local library and view it as a ‘waste of time’. Something no library wants a taxpayer to believe.
Having touched upon two major reasons for the lack of cooperation between public schools and public libraries, this next section will briefly touch upon the plethora of reasons why these two libraries do not cooperate as much as this researcher believes.
“The barriers to cross sectoral cooperation cited in the literature are numerous and include funding, staff and governance issues, poor cross sectoral communication practices, resistant attitudes and a lack of knowledge about other’s roles, organizational purpose and practice” (Spelman p. 10). During a survey in 2001, Dr. A.L. Bundy received more specific reasons why these two community services do not cooperate as much as they should. He found that public librarians believed that teacher librarians are often too defensive of their role and act as ‘gatekeeper’. He also discovered that initiatives for collaboration come from the teacher and not the librarian. Also, schools are busy with their own problems and seem to see public libraries as more of a threat than a help. These are valid reasons. One can imagine a school librarian struggling with the fact that their library is ‘not good enough’ so now he or she must resort to the public library for help. The school librarian should be proud of his or her library and wants to believe that everything in the school library is enough for all the students and teachers in the school. Unfortunately, that pride can lead to hindering the full educational experience that the youth so deserve. During Bundy’s research, he discovered some of the attitudes from the school librarian. He founded that school librarians believe that they don’t need to interact with the public library. They have a very well resourced library… all the online databases we need. School librarians believe that public librarians find school students with research requirements are a nuisance and public librarians tell them to go back to the school library to get the help needed. School librarians have also stated that public librarians need training in PR (public relations). The last interesting find from Dr. Bundy was the belief that if students start using the public library more, the school library may lose its funding. These attitudes are important to note to see what obstacles libraries are up against in order to achieve collaboration.
These freedoms of expression that Dr. Bundy verify the ultimate reason why there is a lack of cooperation between these facilities. “A lack of coordinating bodies at federal, state, and local levels and a lack of policy and legislation means that there is no tangible support for library staff to participate in cross sectoral cooperation” (Spelman p. 12 2004). In other words, there is nothing in the teachers’ or school librarians’ curriculum that requires them to contact, work with, and communicate with, the public librarian. And there is nothing in the public librarians’ job description that requires them to do the same with the public schools. There have been great examples of collaboration which will be discussed later in this paper, but these efforts remain at an individual level and always will unless curriculums and job descriptions change.
Institutions that work with young people need to decide the value of cross sectoral cooperation and the value of providing young people with access to a community’s entire resources. They need to assess the impact that the comprehensive service provision will have on the quality of young people’s whole lives and not just the time they spend in their institutions” (p. 12).
To deny students the entire resources available is unfair. As education moves more and more away from teacher centered instruction and more toward student centered instruction; it is going to be vital to teach the children how to use the libraries in his or her community. Student centered instruction gives students the freedoms to choose a research topic. The teacher is there to teach them how to do the research, and then the student is assessed based on his or her research skills on a specific topic. With this movement “one wonders just how much greater the co-operation between (Australian) school and public libraries would be if it were mandatory, rather than largely the outcome of individual initiatives as it is at present” (Bundy 2002 p. 55). To take this a step further, one must wonder how appalling it is to deny our children the great opportunity of the collaborative effort of two buildings that sustain more resources than any others.
Short, Herold. (1989). Small Public Libraries Can Cooperate Too! Indiana Libraries, 18 96-98.
Bundy, Dr. Alan. (February 2002). Essential Connections: School and Public Libraries for Lifelong Learning. The Australian Library Journal, 47-70.
Some articles about library collaboration:
Title: School/Public library co-operation
Author: Jamal A. Tameem
Journal: Aslib Proceedings
Year: 1988, Volume 40, Issue 3, P. 87-99
This is a dry article that does end with some "case studies" of school and public library cooperation.
Title: School and Public Library Relationships: Essential Ingredients in Implementing Educational Reforms and Improving Student Learning.
Author: Shirley A. Fitzgibbons
Journal: School Library Media Research , v 3 2000
Explores successful collaboration and delineates factors that need to be included when trying to collaborate.
Author: Jamal A. Tameem
Journal: Aslib Proceedings
Year: 1988, Volume 40, Issue 3, P. 87-99
This is a dry article that does end with some "case studies" of school and public library cooperation.
Title: School and Public Library Relationships: Essential Ingredients in Implementing Educational Reforms and Improving Student Learning.
Author: Shirley A. Fitzgibbons
Journal: School Library Media Research , v 3 2000
Explores successful collaboration and delineates factors that need to be included when trying to collaborate.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Use this section to share your own stories of successful library collaboration
Use this section to share your own stories of successful library collaboration:
The Importance of Library Collaboration
In a world of budget cuts and economic concerns, libraries could be in danger. Now, more than ever it is important for rural libraries to work together to develop strength and unity to make it clear to the public that libraries are still important.
Here is an article that discusses the cooperation between a public school and a public library:
http://familyplacegrantstuff.googlepages.com/librarycooperationarticle
Here is an article that discusses the cooperation between a public school and a public library:
http://familyplacegrantstuff.googlepages.com/librarycooperationarticle
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