Grouper

Overall, the group project experience was a positive one. Just researching and discovering a lot of great children’s books dealing with homosexuality was, in itself, a gratifying experience. Also, trying to learn some basics about PowerPoint with Kate’s help was great. But, concerning how things went with long distance group member…not so great. I don’t think this had as much to do with working out logistics or technical issues as it did with perhaps, expectations we had for each other and work distribution issues.
Of course, in any group project work distribution is never equal. One or two people may end up shouldering more of the burden. But what was frustrating for me in this experience, was that I felt like the Asheville team more than fulfilled our share of the work, but were being criticized by the Boone team member for not doing enough …or something. Honestly, I don’t know what it was she was unhappy with.
I’m not sure exactly what I would change about this process. I think it probably worked really well for most groups, and I could imagine it working well for me if I tried it again. Sometimes issues just come up, but I think there are probably valuable lessons to be learned even when there are problems. One thing that probably would have been helpful was having required set meeting times. This could have helped each member stay accountable for their share of the work.

Powerful Points

It looks like the ole Action Learning Project is winding up. I feel good about what I’ve learned. There is a huge selection of children’s books available that deal with homosexuality in a positive way. That’s the good news. The bad news is when you learn how many of them have been challenged or even burned. But, I, as a future librarian need to become as prepared as possible to deal with these issues.
I read some really high quality and entertainng books throughout this project. I also read a couple of stinkers. Kate allowing me to kind of look over her shoulder, make comments and suggestions, and “help” her do the PowerPoint was invaluable. This was my first experience using the PowerPoint program, and I really appreciated Kate’s patience in letting me in on whole process. On to the Copyright project! Whew.

Blogma

Kate and I worked on the PowerPoint presentation on Wednesday. I think it’s going to look really nice. I scanned all of the books for my core collection, and we put those on the PowerPoint. Kate is working on the anti collection, so we will probably put some of those images on too. I’m so glad Kate let me work with her. I feel like I’ve already learned a lot about PowerPoint just because of our meeting. I sent the email of the librarian I work with to Laurie. I got the librarians official approval and email. She seemed to be happy to do it for us. I think the pieces will come together into a nice finished product.

heavy blog next 3 miles

5010 Blog
It’s hard to believe the semester is almost over! It flew by in a way, but also it seems a small lifetime has passed. I’m looking forward to getting together with Kate this Wednesday to work on our PowerPoint presentation for the censorship project. She knows a lot of the technological side of life, and I’m hoping she can begin to fill me in. For some reason, I’m feeling frightened about the action project, but I’m sure it will come together cohesively eventually. I don’t know why it makes me so nervous… maybe the fact that’s its 20% of out grade! I guess things are moving along.

Project Projections

5010 Blog
I went to Malaprops and Pack Place library yesterday in the hopes of finding some worthy possible replacements for my theoretically weeded books. I found a couple of interesting and very current books on global warming and recycling at Malaprops. One is a child-friendly version of An Inconvenient Truth. The other is a really cool book, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming. It is written in a very accessible way to kids. It doesn’t take Global Warming lightly; however, the tone of the book is positive and often humorous. This approach seems like an effective way to appeal to the young readers in a way that empowers them enough to do something about the problem of global warming. At Pack Place, I found a couple of good possibilities to replace a book from the 80’s about coping with divorce.
As far as the censorship project, I’ve also found some great books for a core collection. I will still need to find a few more to feel like I have enough.
So, I’m moving right along.

Project Projections

5010 Blog
I went to Malaprops and Pack Place library yesterday in the hopes of finding some worthy possible replacements for my theoretically weeded books. I found a couple of interesting and very current books on global warming and recycling at Malaprops. One is a child-friendly version of An Inconvenient Truth. The other is a really cool book, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming. It is written in a very accessible way to kids. It doesn’t take Global Warming lightly; however, the tone of the book is positive and often humorous. This approach seems like an effective way to appeal to the young readers in a way that empowers them enough to do something about the problem of global warming. At Pack Place, I found a couple of good possibilities to replace a book from the 80’s about coping with divorce.
As far as the censorship project, I’ve also found some great books for a core collection. I will still need to find a few more to feel like I have enough.
So, I’m moving right along.

Blog 5 Project Updates

I am making headway on the Dewey Decimal weeding project. I spent some time at the Jones Elementary Library perusing the stacks and talking with the librarian about the collection and its weeding needs. Based on this conversation, I chose to focus on the 300s section of the collection. While I understand the project is strictly theoretical, I thought it would be interesting to work on a section that the librarian has already assessed as being in need of weeding. With Ms. Hendrix’s help, I have printed out a shelf list for my chosen section. It contains over three hundred titles. I made some initial notes while in the stacks this past week. I am now revisiting the list, making additional notes and assessments and will return to the stacks this week to continue the weeding process.

For the copyright project, I have been in conversation with the Jones Elementary librarian. I have borrowed the book Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, Fourth Edition, by Carol Simpson. It isn’t exactly an exciting read, but it’s packed with useful and pertinent information, so I’ve begun trying to slog my way through it. It covers everything from the basics of copyright law to specific copyright issues pertaining to the use of audiovisual materials, computer software, and the Internet in schools.

My group project is moving along smoothly. My group members and I have identified three key focus areas and each of us is working on one of them. I am working on developing a “core collection” of LGBTQ-related titles for an elementary school library. I’ve talked at length with the Jones Elementary librarian about this topic and have been heartened to learn that she has prioritized expanding this component of the Jones collection. I enjoyed walking around the library with her as she pulled a range of titles from the stacks including King and King and Tango Makes Three. I was pleasantly surprised to see these titles “mainstreamed” throughout the collection. There is still plenty of room for this collection to be expanded, and I have found numerous titles by researching online. There were also a number of good LGBTQ related titles cited in the article I reviewed last week, “Master Class in Teaching Children’s Literature.”

I got in touch with the Jones librarian last night. Friday is a teacher work day, so she said I could come in and talk with her about some project issues. She also said she could print out a shelf list for me.
I figured, as far as the Collection Development Action Project goes, I would be working within the bounds of the reference section. While doing the Community Analysis, Ms. Hendrix had mentioned a need for the reference to be updated. However, she has been working on it recently, so it looks like it will be another section (I want my weeding and acquisition suggestion to feel based in reality). I'm excited to visit the library once again. I wonder if it will look any different to me, since I've learned so much since the last visit. Oh, but so much more to learn!

controversial issue group project progress

Blog 2 Controversial Issue: Sexuality
Kate, Laurie, and I are trying to get into the groove of our project. I would say we are in the ironing-out state at this point. We have begun to sharpen our focus on LGBTQ issues and materials for children and young adults. I have spoken with an elementary librarian who has some titles in her library’s collection that address lesbian and gay issues, but she warned me this is probably an exception to the other Asheville City School libraries. Honestly, I was shocked she had any titles at all that addressed homosexuality. So, pleasantly surprised is a nice place to start.
We have begun to delegate tasks a little, although we are not sure what all of our tasks might be. Laurie is going to type up a survey to send out to some librarians, Kate will probably do Power Point, and I am going to continue finding titles and do some analysis. It seems like we have the group project ball rolling!

Controversial Issues: First Meeting

When Kate and I met in the “Chit Chat Coffeehouse” in The Commons, we had a preliminary discussion about the issue of sexuality as it relates to library collections. She and I agreed that it is important for library collections to include works relating the range of human sexual identities. We discussed the fact that since Asheville is a politically progressive community with a higher-than-national average of LGBTQ citizens, that one would assume that the school (my focus) and public (Kate’s focus) libraries here would be more open to having a collection that reflects the population. I told Kate that my experience with school libraries, though limited, indicated otherwise: that books addressing LGTBQ issues are not often a part of the collection. My discussion with Kate prompted me to want to ask all of the people I know who work in the public school system to participate in an informal survey. Does their library carry, for example, “Heather Has Two Mommies?” We left our meeting with the plan that we would each snoop around and do a little informal research (I, in the schools, she, in the public libraries).

first blog

initial blogging complete!