During 2009-2010, the Iowa Association of School Librarians (IASL) is sponsoring an ICN class entitled Resource Alignment for School Librarians. We will be working through the Resource Alignment process developed by Karen R. Lowe. Resource Alignment is a library collection development process that includes collection analysis, weeding, curriculum matching, and the development of a 3-5 year library collection development plan.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
October 27, 2009 -- Introduce Yourself
Get to know other people in your class! Briefly introduce yourself. Give your name, school district, and grades served. You may also want to share how long you've been at your district and why you decided to take this course.
Hi, I'm Sandy Norfolk. I'm the teacher-librarian at Excelsior Middle School Linn-Mar school district in Marion, IA. The school is a 6-8 building. This is my 12th year in the district and 19th year as a teacher-librarian. I got the first edition of Karen Lowe's book several years ago when I read about it in Knowledge Quest. Every where I've worked as a teacher-librarian, I've had to weed the collection. I'm taking this class so I can show my principal and the school district the budget needed to bring the collection up-to-date.
Hello, I'm Joy Oldfield, Media Specialist/Teacher librarian at Linn-Mar High School. I work with all students in the high school grades 9-12. I have worked at Linn-Mar since 1998 I have been the teacher librarian since 2002. I replaced Mary Ann Meyerhoff, she had been in the district over 30 years when she retired in 2002. Linn-Mar is a large high school serving 1800 students in the Marion/Cedar Rapids area.I'm taking this course so that I can better serve my school community and align the Linn-Mar collection with the Iowa Core expectations.
Hi, my name is Laura Oberfoell. I am the media specialist at Hoover Elementary School in Dubuque. This is my 4th year in the position. We serve about 285 students in grades K-5. I decided to take the course so that I can be sure I am wedding correctly and making the most of the time I take doing it. I also want to find out which areas I need to concentrate on building up, so I can make the best of the limited funds I have. I have heard good things about the course, so I am looking forward to learning a lot!
Hi, my name is Jamie Noack and I’m the K-12 teacher-librarian for North Polk Schools. I spend most of my time in our secondary building which serves approximately 600 students in grades 7-12. The two elementary libraries are staffed by associates and serve approximately 300 students each. This is my second year as the district’s teacher-librarian. Prior to this, I was one of the elementary library associates for 3 years. I recently completed my masters degree in School Library Studies through UNI. I am taking this class so I will be able to have a plan for improvement following our DE site visit coming up at the end of January.
Hi, I'm Kristi Harper. I am the Teacher Librarian at Kirkwood Elementary (K-6) in Coralville, which is part of the Iowa City school district. I have been a teacher librarian since 1997, first in Cedar Rapids, and now in IC. Just like Sandy, each time I've entered a new position (three times) I've had to weed extensively. This is my fifth year in my current position, and now I'm getting to the point where I will have to weed things that I have purchased; NOT as easy as getting rid of things someone else acquired! I hope that this course will help me to balance my collection well, keeping the needs of our current curriculum in mind.
Hi, my name is Gail Murphy. I'm the teacher-library and technology person at Eisenhower Elementary in Dubuque. We have 565 students in grades K-5. I have been in this position for 15 years and enjoy my job. I have done quite a bit of weeding, but want to get my collection more up-to-date. I also want to make the best possible use of my limited resources to purchase books in support of curriculum, as well as books that will encourage students to read.
My name is Ann Stevens and am the teacher-librarian at Shenandoah High School. I have been here for ten years. When I came, the collection hadn't been weeded for a very long time. I have tried to do a section at a time, but felt as though I haven't made much progress. I saw an ICN presentation by Karen Lowe and knew it's what I need to implement.
Hi my name is Jeanie Bower. I work as the elementary librarian at Murray Community Schools. My job is to take care of the library, I teach seven library classes, ten reading classes, and I have recess duty. I keep very busy throughout the day. I am very excited to learn how to take care of a library better. We do not have an automated library system just drawers with index cards. I am concerned about the amount of extra work I will have but I will do my best. Can't wait to get ideas from everyone.
My name is Jane Langholz. I am the teacher-librarian for the North Winneshiek School District. Our library serves students in grades PK-8. This is my tenth year in this position. When I came, the school was a PK-12 building but now our high school students attend Decorah High School through a whole-grade share agreement. This change has resulted in me doing quite a bit of weeding. I'm taking this course so that I can continue to improve and build the library collection so it aligns better with the curriculum.
Hi, I'm Evie Milbrandt at Turkey Valley. It's my 23rd year of teaching and my 5th year as teacher librarian for our district. I'm auditing this class so that I can work to make sure our libraries are in tip top shape. I want/need to do some weeding and I want to get to a point that I feel good about what I have available for students and staff as well as community members.
Hi, my name is Lisa Moldenhauer. I am the half time library media specialist at Irving Elementary School in Dubuque. The LMC has a half time teacher librarian and a full time technology teacher. I teach Reading Recovery in the morning at Lincoln Elem. This is my 4th year in this position. We serve about 485 students in grades PK-5. I decided to take the course so that I can be sure I am weeding correctly and making the most of the time I take doing it. I weeded this spring as we prepared to move into a new space. We should be moving from our small temporary LMC to a new beautiful space in December. Hopefully we will be ready for our students in January when they return from the winter break. Because I weeded a lot, I want to find out which areas I need to concentrate on building up, so I can make the best of the limited funds I have. I am auditing this course due to the lack of time, and the up coming move of our library.
Hi, I am Patty Miles the PreK-12 Teacher Librarian at Iowa Valley schools in Marengo. I teach classes (PreK-6) at the elementary building, while the jr-sr high school is left for collaborating with teachers and working individually with students as needed.
I have no associates and very few volunteers and am taking this class to find out how to weed two libraries with no budget, no time, no automation in one of my libraries, and yet have students and teachers who yearn for books and information.
On a personal note, I love my job, (just not the situation I am sometimes put in.) I have a hard time weeding materials, especially when the funds are not there to replace much needed updates.
Hi, my name is Suzi Burris. I am the teacher librarian at 2 of the 4 elementary schools in Indianola (12 miles south of Des Moines). I am responsible for grades 3-5 at Emerson and Irving Elementary Schools which totals about 430 students. My associates at each building take care of the K-2 classes. I'm currently working on my Master's Degree in Library Science through UNI. This is my second year as a teacher librarian. Prior to this I was a first grade teacher for 4 years in Indianola. I am taking this class to find out how to weed my collections properly and how to align my collections with the curriculum.
My name is Michelle Morey and I am Teacher Librarian at Mark Twain Elementary in Iowa City. I have been here just two years and don't have any weeding stories yet, but I'm sure I will. I am lucky to have a sympathetic and discreet custodian.
Hi, I'm Connie McCain, and I'm the K-6 librarian at Lucas Elementary in Iowa City. I taught 4th grade for 6 years and kindergarten for 8 years before finding my way to the library. This is my fifth year as librarian at Lucas. My Collection Development class in grad school was not helpful at all, so I am looking for guidance in making our library collection the best it can be.
Hi! I'm Dawn Goodale. I am in my second year as the Teacher Librarian at Whittier and Wilder elementary schools in Indianola. I teach library skills to 3-5 grade students. I am currently enrolled at UNI in the School Library Studies program. I hope to finish my MA in the spring of 2012.:)I graduated from Simpson College in 1987 with a BA in education. My first teaching position was at Madison Elementary in Des Moines. I have also taught in the Iowa City School District. I have held several different teaching positions including Youth at Risk, K-2nd grade, Title 1 reading and Reading Recovery. I am thrilled to be a librarian. It is such a complex and rewarding profession. I have so much to learn, at times I'm overwhelmed. I am looking forward to putting into practice the knowledge I gain from this class. One of my libraries has an average age of 1987. :O)
Whew after fighting with the computer and the blocking software I'm finally on. My name is Kim Carlson. I'm the 5-12 librarian in the Monticello School district. I travel between two buildings which is a huge improvement from the last 4 years when I traveled between 4 buildings. This is actually my 17 year in Monticello and as a librarian. They were my first and only job as a teacher librarian. I'm in that transition phase in our school where I'm starting to be one of the old people. It's kind of scary. I have 2 boys at home and I'm also the speech coach for Monticello. I'm hoping to get my collection aligned and up to date since, sad to say, it was neglected when I was doing 4 buildings.
My name is Kris Gallagher. After 13 years as a parochial 8th grade teacher and 4 years as a severe BD high school teacher, I landed at Dubuque Senior High School where I have been the teacher librarian for 14 years. In that time we traded a second teacher librarian position for a full time technology director and had our staff of 6 cut to 2, my secretary and myself. We serve about 1450 students and growing with the recent redistricting. I am taking this class because I need to weed! We used to be on a regular schedule, but with the cut in personnel I haven't had time. I hope to get a plan in place and get back on track. Hats off to those of you with multiple buildings and those of you who are alone. I don't know how you do it all.
Hi! I'm Deanna Etherington. I work as a Supervisor of Learning Resources at AEA 13 in Council Bluffs. I have worked in this role for 12 years. Previously I was a middle school teacher librarian for seven years. I am taking this class to learn Karen Lowe's systematic method for Resource Alignment so I can apply it to the AEA collection and so I can better assist area schools with the process.
Hi! I'm Rosemarie Hermsen. I have been the Teacher-Librarian and Informational Technologist at Bryant Elementary in Dubuque for 5 years. Before that I taught for 20 years (11 years in the classroom and 9 years as a technologist)in the Parochial School System. We serve about 320 students at Bryant. I am taking this Resource Alignment class with my paraprofessional, Heidi, so that I may learn the correct way to weed my collection, and this will be quite the experience!
Hi! My name is Heidi Marting and I am a paraprofessional at Bryant Elementary School. I have worked with Rosemarie in the Bryant Library for the past two years. Before having children, I conducted Spanish 401(k) enrollment meetings for The Principal Financial Group in Des Moines. I started working in the field of education after my kids went to school so I could have the same hours as they do. Little did I know I'd end up working at their school! I volunteered to take this class with Rosemarie since we will be doing much of the grunt work of weeding together. I'm just glad she has to make the final decision of which books to get rid of :)!
Hi, I'm Sandy Norfolk. I'm the teacher-librarian at Excelsior Middle School Linn-Mar school district in Marion, IA. The school is a 6-8 building. This is my 12th year in the district and 19th year as a teacher-librarian. I got the first edition of Karen Lowe's book several years ago when I read about it in Knowledge Quest. Every where I've worked as a teacher-librarian, I've had to weed the collection. I'm taking this class so I can show my principal and the school district the budget needed to bring the collection up-to-date.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm Joy Oldfield, Media Specialist/Teacher librarian at Linn-Mar High School. I work with all students in the high school grades 9-12. I have worked at Linn-Mar since 1998 I have been the teacher librarian since 2002. I replaced Mary Ann Meyerhoff, she had been in the district over 30 years when she retired in 2002. Linn-Mar is a large high school serving 1800 students in the Marion/Cedar Rapids area.I'm taking this course so that I can better serve my school community and align the Linn-Mar collection with the Iowa Core expectations.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Laura Oberfoell. I am the media specialist at Hoover Elementary School in Dubuque. This is my 4th year in the position. We serve about 285 students in grades K-5. I decided to take the course so that I can be sure I am wedding correctly and making the most of the time I take doing it. I also want to find out which areas I need to concentrate on building up, so I can make the best of the limited funds I have. I have heard good things about the course, so I am looking forward to learning a lot!
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Jamie Noack and I’m the K-12 teacher-librarian for North Polk Schools. I spend most of my time in our secondary building which serves approximately 600 students in grades 7-12. The two elementary libraries are staffed by associates and serve approximately 300 students each. This is my second year as the district’s teacher-librarian. Prior to this, I was one of the elementary library associates for 3 years. I recently completed my masters degree in School Library Studies through UNI. I am taking this class so I will be able to have a plan for improvement following our DE site visit coming up at the end of January.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Kristi Harper. I am the Teacher Librarian at Kirkwood Elementary (K-6) in Coralville, which is part of the Iowa City school district. I have been a teacher librarian since 1997, first in Cedar Rapids, and now in IC. Just like Sandy, each time I've entered a new position (three times) I've had to weed extensively. This is my fifth year in my current position, and now I'm getting to the point where I will have to weed things that I have purchased; NOT as easy as getting rid of things someone else acquired! I hope that this course will help me to balance my collection well, keeping the needs of our current curriculum in mind.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Gail Murphy. I'm the teacher-library and technology person at Eisenhower Elementary in Dubuque. We have 565 students in grades K-5. I have been in this position for 15 years and enjoy my job. I have done quite a bit of weeding, but want to get my collection more up-to-date. I also want to make the best possible use of my limited resources to purchase books in support of curriculum, as well as books that will encourage students to read.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ann Stevens and am the teacher-librarian at Shenandoah High School. I have been here for ten years. When I came, the collection hadn't been weeded for a very long time. I have tried to do a section at a time, but felt as though I haven't made much progress. I saw an ICN presentation by Karen Lowe and knew it's what I need to implement.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Jeanie Bower. I work as the elementary librarian at Murray Community Schools. My job is to take care of the library, I teach seven library classes, ten reading classes, and I have recess duty. I keep very busy throughout the day. I am very excited to learn how to take care of a library better. We do not have an automated library system just drawers with index cards. I am concerned about the amount of extra work I will have but I will do my best. Can't wait to get ideas from everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jane Langholz. I am the teacher-librarian for the North Winneshiek School District. Our library serves students in grades PK-8. This is my tenth year in this position. When I came, the school was a PK-12 building but now our high school students attend Decorah High School through a whole-grade share agreement. This change has resulted in me doing quite a bit of weeding. I'm taking this course so that I can continue to improve and build the library collection so it aligns better with the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Evie Milbrandt at Turkey Valley. It's my 23rd year of teaching and my 5th year as teacher librarian for our district. I'm auditing this class so that I can work to make sure our libraries are in tip top shape. I want/need to do some weeding and I want to get to a point that I feel good about what I have available for students and staff as well as community members.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Lisa Moldenhauer. I am the half time library media specialist at Irving Elementary School in Dubuque. The LMC has a half time teacher librarian and a full time technology teacher. I teach Reading Recovery in the morning at Lincoln Elem. This is my 4th year in this position. We serve about 485 students in grades PK-5. I decided to take the course so that I can be sure I am weeding correctly and making the most of the time I take doing it. I weeded this spring as we prepared to move into a new space. We should be moving from our small temporary LMC to a new beautiful space in December. Hopefully we will be ready for our students in January when they return from the winter break. Because I weeded a lot, I want to find out which areas I need to concentrate on building up, so I can make the best of the limited funds I have. I am auditing this course due to the lack of time, and the up coming move of our library.
ReplyDeleteHi, I am Patty Miles the PreK-12 Teacher Librarian at Iowa Valley schools in Marengo. I teach classes (PreK-6) at the elementary building, while the jr-sr high school is left for collaborating with teachers and working individually with students as needed.
ReplyDeleteI have no associates and very few volunteers and am taking this class to find out how to weed two libraries with no budget, no time, no automation in one of my libraries, and yet have students and teachers who yearn for books and information.
On a personal note, I love my job, (just not the situation I am sometimes put in.) I have a hard time weeding materials, especially when the funds are not there to replace much needed updates.
Hi, my name is Suzi Burris. I am the teacher librarian at 2 of the 4 elementary schools in Indianola (12 miles south of Des Moines). I am responsible for grades 3-5 at Emerson and Irving Elementary Schools which totals about 430 students. My associates at each building take care of the K-2 classes. I'm currently working on my Master's Degree in Library Science through UNI. This is my second year as a teacher librarian. Prior to this I was a first grade teacher for 4 years in Indianola. I am taking this class to find out how to weed my collections properly and how to align my collections with the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Michelle Morey and I am Teacher Librarian at Mark Twain Elementary in Iowa City. I have been here just two years and don't have any weeding stories yet, but I'm sure I will. I am lucky to have a sympathetic and discreet custodian.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Connie McCain, and I'm the K-6 librarian at Lucas Elementary in Iowa City. I taught 4th grade for 6 years and kindergarten for 8 years before finding my way to the library. This is my fifth year as librarian at Lucas. My Collection Development class in grad school was not helpful at all, so I am looking for guidance in making our library collection the best it can be.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm Dawn Goodale. I am in my second year as the Teacher Librarian at Whittier and Wilder elementary schools in Indianola. I teach library skills to 3-5 grade students. I am currently enrolled at UNI in the School Library Studies program. I hope to finish my MA in the spring of 2012.:)I graduated from Simpson College in 1987 with a BA in education. My first teaching position was at Madison Elementary in Des Moines. I have also taught in the Iowa City School District. I have held several different teaching positions including Youth at Risk, K-2nd grade, Title 1 reading and Reading Recovery. I am thrilled to be a librarian. It is such a complex and rewarding profession. I have so much to learn, at times I'm overwhelmed. I am looking forward to putting into practice the knowledge I gain from this class. One of my libraries has an average age of 1987. :O)
ReplyDeleteWhew after fighting with the computer and the blocking software I'm finally on. My name is Kim Carlson. I'm the 5-12 librarian in the Monticello School district. I travel between two buildings which is a huge improvement from the last 4 years when I traveled between 4 buildings. This is actually my 17 year in Monticello and as a librarian. They were my first and only job as a teacher librarian. I'm in that transition phase in our school where I'm starting to be one of the old people. It's kind of scary. I have 2 boys at home and I'm also the speech coach for Monticello. I'm hoping to get my collection aligned and up to date since, sad to say, it was neglected when I was doing 4 buildings.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kris Gallagher. After 13 years as a parochial 8th grade teacher and 4 years as a severe BD high school teacher, I landed at Dubuque Senior High School where I have been the teacher librarian for 14 years. In that time we traded a second teacher librarian position for a full time technology director and had our staff of 6 cut to 2, my secretary and myself. We serve about 1450 students and growing with the recent redistricting. I am taking this class because I need to weed! We used to be on a regular schedule, but with the cut in personnel I haven't had time. I hope to get a plan in place and get back on track.
ReplyDeleteHats off to those of you with multiple buildings and those of you who are alone. I don't know how you do it all.
Hi! I'm Deanna Etherington. I work as a Supervisor of Learning Resources at AEA 13 in Council Bluffs. I have worked in this role for 12 years. Previously I was a middle school teacher librarian for seven years. I am taking this class to learn Karen Lowe's systematic method for Resource Alignment so I can apply it to the AEA collection and so I can better assist area schools with the process.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm Rosemarie Hermsen. I have been the Teacher-Librarian and Informational Technologist at Bryant Elementary in Dubuque for 5 years. Before that I taught for 20 years (11 years in the classroom and 9 years as a technologist)in the Parochial School System. We serve about 320 students at Bryant. I am taking this Resource Alignment class with my paraprofessional, Heidi, so that I may learn the correct way to weed my collection, and this will be quite the experience!
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Heidi Marting and I am a paraprofessional at Bryant Elementary School. I have worked with Rosemarie in the Bryant Library for the past two years. Before having children, I conducted Spanish 401(k) enrollment meetings for The Principal Financial Group in Des Moines. I started working in the field of education after my kids went to school so I could have the same hours as they do. Little did I know I'd end up working at their school! I volunteered to take this class with Rosemarie since we will be doing much of the grunt work of weeding together. I'm just glad she has to make the final decision of which books to get rid of :)!
ReplyDelete