Tales from a Loud Librarian

Find pic online here Today is Mardi Gras. I am not in New Orleans right now to enjoy it because I am taking advantage of the week off from school to visit my father in Maine. At school last Friday, we had our annual Krewe of Taylor parade, and I thought it would be fun to share some pictures and videos of the day.  6th grade's streetcar rolls down the street driven by our mascot, a white tiger The juniors portray Shrek The class of 2016 and the dancing toys of Toy Story After the parade, each class put on a performance tied to the theme of their float to try and wow the judges. At the end of the day, awards went to the middle school and then to high school for the best float design, best theme, and most spirit.  8th grade rocks out as the Wizard of Oz Class of 2016 as dancing toys in the toy box Here are the freshman dancing their hearts out

There are still some details left to be completed in the new library, but it has been open and running full speed for the last few weeks. There have been author visits, classes taught, books checked out, studying done, and meetings held among the many activities held in the space since the library first opened on August 22nd. On Thursday there will be the first faculty meeting ever held in the school's library.  I created this video so you could see the space for yourself. The president of Bookmarked gives you the grand tour.  PFTSTA Library Tour from Elizabeth Kahn on Vimeo

Some students have already been using the new library since school opened on August 9th, but it wasn't really ready to provide full services like checking out of books. On Thursday, August 22nd, we had the grand opening. Not all the books are on the shelves, and not everything is in its place as of yet, but enough is done for students to use the space and find resources. Please visit the library's new facebook page here  and like us.   A happy student checks out the first books of the  2013-14 year Students visiting in the morning try to put together a puzzle Many heads are better than one Members of senior project visit for a presentation on library resources New middle school students are excited to find good reads on the shelves 

I have been officially at work at the new school for a week and two days. The students have been at school a week. Though there are still lots of little things still needing to be done all over the building, the classrooms are very useable. The library not so much.  The other day they finished the circulation desk.  I didn't even know it was finished because there was no storage as you can see in the picture below. The blue box that you see is a special box that lights up.  There is one in the office, too. It doesn't serve a practical use. It is just there for looks.  After a day of panic, when I couldn't imagine how the new space is going to function as a library, I went to school today with a different attitude.  I decided it was time to start emptying the boxes and get the library organized and ready for use. I had students help stock the shelves and set up the computers.  I am going home this weekend dete...

Just Finished Loading the Vehicles Today I had to pick up 97 boxes of new library books from a school 15 minutes away from the new PFTSTA. The boxes weighed anywhere between 20 and 50 pounds. I wanted to make this move in one trip, but I wasn't sure it was possible. On our school's brand new Facebook page, I put up a notice asking for help.  I had parents, students and even alumni offering to give me a hand. I didn't know how many vehicles and muscles would actually show up. The plan was to meet early this morning with our hand trucks to try and avoid the heat of the day. With seven trucks, vans and SUVS and about 15 people and 6 dollies, we got the vehicles loaded in less than hour. We got to the new school and repeated the process of moving the boxes into the new library. I love working at Patrick Taylor. When you need help, the cavalry arrives. Now we have 2400 of brand new books to add to our collection. They aren't processed.  Anybody available to volunteer ...

New school is almost there, but ready or not school will open in August. There are workmen everywhere completing the last details. All of the teachers' boxes are sitting in the classrooms ready to be unpacked. All the new furniture is stacked up ready to be used by students on the first day of school.  As you can see by the picture above, all of my stuff is there ready to put away in the new library.  This is going to be the teaching area in the library. The interactive white board is going to be placed on the wall where you can see the electrical drops. There are shades that will block out the sun on the windows.  The rows of shelving take up the middle of the library. In front of this screen wall will be the library computers.  Behind it will be study carrels.  This is going to be the circulation desk area.  The open door is the storage area, and the door on the left is my office. The office is c...

It took many days of heavy lifting and moving to get all 6700 volumes packed away as well as all the other equipment, computers and supplies. I had lots of assistance, and I hope that I can enlist some of that aid on the unpacking end, too.  The picture above shows you the old library as the books get packed for the move. At this point in the process, I didn't think that it would ever get done. I was doing my yearly inventory while I packed so it was slow going. Lucky for me, once I finished inventory, I could corral some alums who were finished with college for the semester and were willing to give me some time to help with the packing.  This is what the library looked like after everything was packed Once the boxes get sent to the new site, I don't think that I will be looking back with any fondness for the old place. The building was not suited well to the school, and the library was grossly inadequate in size. At the end, I literally had books pile...

Looking good in the picture above are the new officers of Bookmarked, the high school library book group, for 2013-14. The group has always had sort of a love/hate relationships with officers. The current members decided that they really wanted officers and wanted to give each job a special name.  This is the first time in six years that the group has had a full slate of officers. The president is the Author, the vice president is the Book Binder, the secretary is the Publisher and the last office which is not treasurer (not sure what their role will be). I am looking forward to some intense book discussions during our Monday lunch meetings.  Preparing for the big move to 701 Churchill Pkwy, Avondale, LA. I still can't believe it is going to happen. All 6700 books had to be packed. That part is done. Now I am down to the what do I keep, what do I give away and what do I throw away. I put two big boxes of give-aways out in the hall. Every time I throw some books ...

On April 29th, Bookmarked , the high school library book group, walked down the street for an end of the year celebration at Dot's Diner . Next year, when we move to the new building, there will be no restaurants within walking distance. So this was one of many of the lasts that we had at PFTSTA throughout May. I am on the left, and our principal, Jaime Zapico is on the right. Behind us you can see all the members of Bookmarked stretched all the way to the wall. It makes my heart sing to have that many students who are interested in reading. Every year I worry the club will drop to nothing, but we always seem to have students who want to join.  It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to the graduating seniors. The above picture is from our senior awards night that was held on May 2nd. I am flanked here by the two senior members of Bookmarked. Courtney on the left has been in the group for three years, and Emmalyn on the right for two years. I am going to miss both of ...

It has been several months since I have driven by the new school. So last Saturday, I took a ride over there to take some pictures. The trailers in the front of the school that blocked your view as you drove by are now gone. The chain link fence that surrounded the site is gone. The parking lots in the front and the back have been poured, and though there was a semblance of a plastic fence to keep you from walking on the parking lot, it was easy to walk across the parking lot and get a good view of the building. Yes, we are planning to move in and begin the 2013-14 school year in this space.  Front entrance Front of the school The tall tower on the left is going to have the school name This is the outside of the library Back of the school From the street

The new building for PFTSTA is right on target for completion. We are due to open for the first day of school in August 2013. Unfortunately. I have only been able to see it from the outside. My principal, Jaime Zapcio, has taken a number of hard hat tours. Lucky for me, she knows how much I want to see the library. The short video above shows how the new library looks with sheet rock. I can't wait until I have a space where I can fit every book on a shelf and don't have to have piles of papers surrounding my circulation desk. I am also dreaming of that natural light and windows where I can look out and see the tops of the trees surrounding the school. 

The construction of the new Patrick Taylor Academy began in January 2012 and is slated to be complete in May 2013. I have been taking pictures of the changes in the exterior on a monthly basis. Other teachers have been too. I was also given some video by one of the students as she drove by the new school. I put all of this together in a video. The video below shows the progress of the exterior beginning in January and running through October.    PFTSTA Construction Jan 2012 to Oct 2012 from PFTSTA on Vimeo .  Though I have really enjoyed watching the changes as they take shape, it is the  recent interior shots that have me jumping up and down. I have never worked in a new school nor had a library space that will equal this one. The principal, Jaime Zapico, has had two hard hat tours of the interior of the new facility. Last week, she took some video just for me of the library space and the common area just outside of the library. Below is a ...

The current location of Patrick Taylor Academy is in a 1950's building that was designed for elementary students. The library is in a classroom. There is no auditorium or gym or any place on campus that can hold the whole student body. There are only 300 students, but to accommodate that many students on the campus, the district had to add four portable classrooms in the back field. I am going to say something because it is true. The current Taylor building is one of the ugliest school buildings that I have every worked in. I have been in old buildings before that had lots of issues due to neglect but also had charm and interesting architectural details due to their age. Not so for this space. Sign at new site  When I was hired in 2006, PFTSTA was only two years old. The district promised that a building was going to be built for the new school. There have been no new schools built in Jefferson Parish in over 20 years. So this is a big deal. Originally, the move in date ...

I received a bunch of multiple copies of brand new books from a library that could not use them. I wanted to give them away as prizes, so I ran another email contest for the students. That way, I would be getting the books into the hands of kids as well as getting them to read their school email. I also went through some of the boxes in the library and found more books to give away. I had  a total of 31 books which meant ten percent of the student body would win a book. I really like surveys. So I created a google form and asked the following questions.: What electronic device do you want for Christmas, be realistic or dream a little either way is correct?; What device do you want to give your family for Christmas?; What device do you want to give your friends for Christmas?; and finally, What device do you want to give your teachers for Christmas?. I am so proud of the students at PFTSTA; by reading their responses, you can tell that they put a lot of thought into it. Even thou...

Read this article that was posted in the Times Picayune on Saturday. A construction company has been selected, and the new facility should be completed in the fall of 2013. Click here to open the article .

While I have time, I am trying to create as many episodes of my digital booktalks, Get Reading, as possible. I know that at some point in the school year, I will just get too busy to be making movies. For now, I am having a lot of fun putting these together. Using a webcam, photos, Photostory and Moviemaker, I am able to quickly put together a short video. Statisitcs have shown me that there have not been too many views yet, but I have not had an opportunity to share these videos with my students. If you would like to see the third episode of Get Reading, open this link: http://vimeo.com/27692712 . The books highlighted in this epidsode are: The Cardturner by Louis Sacher and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt. UPDATE on February 12, 2013: Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now was selected for NPR's Backseat Book Club On All Things Considered. Gary Schmidt will be answering your questions during his interview on NPR at the end of February. Open...