SLMS Interview

SLMS Interview with Mrs. Vaughn

 

            I have been at my school for the past eight years and have become very familiar with our library.  We have had the same librarian for the last five years and she does a great job working with the teachers on how to incorporate literature into our lessons.  Our library is well organized and specific areas are labeled so that they are easily to locate.  Our library offers a technology center for our students and she also uses our computer labs when teaching research so that every student can have their own computer.  Mrs. Vaughn also has a mobile lab with thirty iPads that she uses and comes to our rooms at times to teach specific lessons. 

          Our school has created units of study and a pacing guide so we are all on the same page.  Our librarian has access to this and will send us emails suggesting different literature connections that is available for us to use that goes along with what we are teaching.  When asked, “What can the SLMS help me teach?”  She showed me an area in the library that she was working on that goes along with her growth plan.  Her growth plan is to better help the classroom teachers make literature connections within their core subject.  She is in the process of developing a list of suggested books to go along with each of our “I Can” statements.  She has them organized by grade level and subject.  Our school houses grades first through third and she is focusing on math first since it is the most difficult to incorporate literature and she states it is something that the majority of our math teachers do not do. 

          Our policy and procedures are given to us at the beginning of each year and are also included in our handbook.  Mrs. Vaughn also has policy and procedures for the students to follow and they are posted at the check-out desk.  Mrs. Vaughn does a great job in teaching the students how to check-in and check-out books and has student leaders to work the library in the mornings and afternoons.  This goes along with the Leader in Me program that we began last school year.  I asked her about what she does if a book is challenged by a parent or other person and she stated that it has only happened one time since she has been there.  She has a form that she had them to complete and then she pulled the book from the shelf and recorded it for the purpose of inventory.  She told me that the one time it happened that it was just easier to pull the book and not to challenge it and the parent was pleased with the outcome. 

          I went into this interview planning on doing a Q & A session, but our interview quickly turned into a fantastic conversation where she talked to me about the wonderful plans that she has coming for our library.  All of her plans go along with the Leader in Me program and making it more student centered than what it already is.  I always knew we had a great media center, but I learned so much when we just had the time to talk.