LM NET Response-time constraint/balance circulation with instruction

"My school board voted last week to completely eliminate elementary school library assistants in our district due to budget issues. We'd been preparing for a 50% reduction but the complete elimination was a surprise.My program has always been flexible except for seeing kindergarten on a fixed schedule.I'd like to hear from others who run a flexible program on their own. How do you balance circulation and instruction? What is the role of volunteers in your library? What things do you "let go" due to time constraints? I realize I can't do alone the work that two full time people have been doing!"



In response I would agree that it would be scary and frustrating to lose the help that one had become used to. However, it seems that all I have become used to IS change, and figuring out ways to address peoples needs through periods of change.

I would offer uplifting insight to this person and let them know that it is still possible to run a flexible program on ones own. I have never had help from an assistant and have managed to keep it together. (I think)



A big part of creating time for oneself is to get up from behind the circulation desk and relinquish control of this job to the students themselves. Teaching them how and slowly letting the reins go the more capable they become. I have 3 stations for student sign out and allow students to come and go during instruction time if they are able to complete their own circulation tasks quietly. I also get students to re-shelve their books IF they know where they go and this saves a bit of time.

Also, scheduling student monitors to come in and help with circulation for classes that might require it. I often send monitors to go around to classrooms to collect books to be returned ahead of time. This way, I am more present during their class visit to assist them in locating resources. I use my monitors heavily and celebrate and thank them heavily by hosting them for pizza lunch and a movie 3 times a year. It is amazing what little reward those students appreciate. They actually just work for the love of being in the LC.

 Volunteers shelf read which is always very appreciated. Pick a shelf any shelf. Or if I know that I will be accessing certain non-fiction areas, I sick monitors on them ahead of time to make sure they are in good order. I also have the grade 5 and 6 classes come in when they are working on ordering decimals and place value and they work in the LC to get a hands on experience for where we use decimals in real life. Part of their assignment is to check a shelf for order of decimals and to make any adjustments. This helps keep order.

  Sometimes when I have large jobs to do I will schedule them on a week when we are having a fun activity relating to a holiday, Halloween for example. This next coming week I am playing Halloween Bingo with all my classes. It serves a few purposes. We can take a break from the projects we are working on and the students can run it while I am working on a job.  My job this week will be creating a way teachers can visually be able to identify Reading Power books.