Practicum

S Elementary, built in 1938, today boasts a dandy media center, new windows that fit the building's style, central air conditioning, bright tile floors, and a pretty positive staff. The SubFinder call stated that I should have been "trained in Sirsi," to accept the position. Well, maybe not so much trained as had someone show me how to check out books, about ten months ago. But I am in library school! I can explain why integrated library systems are important and discuss the points to compare when choosing one for your library. . . .

I had a tense few minutes getting logged on this morning. I could get only the menus for searching, not circulation! Eeek! Ms. T's notes indicated that the first half of the day would be full of checking books in and out. I took a deep breath, and carefully re-read all the directions. The handwritten bit at the end provided the new steps I needed for the "workflow station" or some such nonsense. So before I knew it, I was checking out Goosebumps and Encyclopedia Brown stories; books about insects, huskies, and monster trucks. I had bluffed my way in (kids, don't try this at home!).

Just as I got the hang of charging books, a sandy-haired girl asked, "Can you help me?" Sure, I said. "I need a book about the sun. How it works." Well all right. Subject search, narrowed to this school. Jot down the Dewey number. It was busy, and I was on my own, so I had to cut corners. "Let's see, it's a 523. Can you tell me where the 500s are?" She led the way, but I scanned to exact spot and whipped out three books. "Next, we should look at them and see which one will help you with your project." One book did not have a table of contents; impatiently, I closed it. She said, "No, wait, we have to look here, too," and turned to the index. Circle gets the square.

Once everyone had fresh books, I got to read to them. I read aloud from Game Time, and something about a colonial girl on a midnight ride; later, we had a book about Rosa Parks (fab pictures), and one on Columbus.

At the very end of the day, five fourth graders get together to read a novel together. My only directions were to let them take turns reading a page each and to help with challenging vocabulary or "plot points." They stumbled on very few words: qualms and granary stuck with me. I didn't think much of the book, about a mysterious barn-burner, but I enjoyed ending the day with some sharp kids.

Happy Seussentenial!

Thanks, CB, for the present.

Capital City weather: 70 and sunny
At the Byrd: Lost in Translation