Circulation Policy The Wayne County High School media center has a circulation policy that varies according to the stakeholder. All media center books and resources are inventoried in Follett Destiny. Follett Destiny allows for the checking in and checking out of books and resources. Students are able to check out two books at a time. They can keep the book for 10 school days. Students are able to check out the book again if they are not finished with the book. If students would like to check out a book that is currently checked out by another student then they may reserve the book so it will be available to them when it is returned. Students are given a one day grace period for book returns. After the grace period, they are responsible for paying a $.05 per day fine. The maximum student fine for late book returns is $2.00. Fines can be waived for economically disadvantaged students. Students are responsible for paying the replacement cost of a book if the book is lost or damaged. The fines and replacement costs are tabulated by Follett Destiny. Students also have access to e-books through Scholastic Publishing. This subscription offers unlimited access to many different book titles. The e-books can be viewed simultaneously. Most e-books are accessed using desktop computers, netbooks or Chromebooks. Teachers are able to check out a variety of resources, such as DVDs, VHS tapes, books, mobile computer labs, document cameras, projectors, digital cameras, etc. Teachers may keep these resources for as long as they need them. Teachers are also able to check out classroom book collections. Parents are able to visit the media center to use available resources. They may also use the computers in the media center. Parents are not allowed to check out books or resources to take home. They must use the books or resources while they are in the media center. The use of e-books is a step in the right direction towards a 21st century library. In Empowering Learners (2009), The American Association of School Librarians recommends providing students with “equitable access to books and readings.” (p. 12) Since the Scholastic e-books provide unlimited, simultaneous access, all students have equal access to the e-books and do not have to worry about them not being in the library because someone else has checked out the book. The implementation of a BYOD program would also help move the media center towards a 21st century library. The school lacks sufficient mobile technology for student use in the media center. The BYOD program would give students the opportunity to read e-books in the reading area of the library. They would be able to enjoy the cushioned seats in the reading area rather than having to sit in the hard wooden chairs at each computer station. The media center could also consider purchasing mobile devices for students to check out. This would allow students to access e-books from home. This would also give students access to mobile devices for home use if they do not have access to a device at home. This could help students with some of their school assignments. Reference American Association of School Librarians. (2009). Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Chicago, IL.

Scheduling

The Wayne County High School media center follows the recommendations of the American Association of School Librarians in Empowering Learners (2009) and “promotes flexible scheduling of the school library facility to allow for efficient and timely integration of resources into the curriculum.” (p. 33) The media center is accessible to students, faculty, staff, parents, and other community members each day of the school year. The media center can accommodate individual students or small groups of students.The media center is also open 5 days before school starts and 5 days after school ends. The hours of operation are from 7:20 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. The media center is open during lunch so students have access to it during their lunch period. The media specialist is responsible for granting access to parents to the student information system so parents can check student grades. Parents may make an appointment with the media specialist if they need access to the media center after regular hours. The media center website provides 24 hour access to online tools such as Galileo and the online card catalog powered by Follett Destiny. Teachers may schedule times to take their classes to the media center. Teachers must accompany their classes to the media center. In order to schedule a time, teachers must visit the media specialist and look at a physical calendar to see openings. The media specialist writes all scheduled times on the calendar. The media center is also responsible for the scheduling of three computer labs. These labs are scheduled the same way. There is a physical calendar for each lab and teachers must visit the media center to look at the calendar and schedule times to use the labs. After review of the scheduling policy, it may be beneficial for the media center to have extended hours one day per week. The media center could open earlier and close later. This would give parents extra time to visit the media center since the current hours are similar to regular business hours. The extended time would also be open for alternative school students to use resources that they do not have access to at the alternative school. Another recommendation is to create an electronic way of scheduling times for teachers to take their classes to the media center and to use the three computer labs. This would make it easier for the media specialist. This would also make it easier and less time consuming for teachers since they would no longer have to visit the media center and the media specialist. The use of electronic scheduling will help with make the media center a 21st century library. Reference American Association of School Librarians. (2009). Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Chicago, IL.

Services The Wayne County High School media center provides a variety of services to students, faculty, staff, and parents. Students are able to visit the media center individually or in small groups. Students may check out books, conduct research, or take advantage of the quiet area for pleasure reading. Students may use print materials for research or they may use the computers that are available in the media center. Network printers are available for student use if the documents are educational. The media center sponsors the poetry and anime club for student participation. The media center provides web services for students to use. Some of these web services include:

Learning.com - Cyber Safety training Follett Destiny - card catalog GALILEO Georgia Online Formative Assessment Resources (GOFAR) - formerly Georgia OAS Georgia Encyclopedia

Teachers may schedule times to take their classes to any of the 4 computer labs provided by the media center. One of the labs is located in the media center. The other labs are located in classrooms in close proximity to the media center. One of the labs is a reading lab which provides e-readers for students to use. Teachers may take their classes to the media center at scheduled times to allow the students to check out books, conduct research, or take part in instruction lead by the media specialist. The media specialist leads instruction to help students develop 21st century skills. According to the American Association of School Librarians in Empowering Learners (2009), this includes “instructing students and assisting educators in using, evaluating, and producing information and ideas through active use of a broad range of appropriate tools, resources, and information technologies.” (p. 8) This gives the media specialist an opportunity to teach students about various Web 2.0 tools that can be used to express new knowledge. Teachers may also take advantage of other services offered by the media center. The media center offers laminating services for teacher use. Teachers are able to check out equipment that might be needed for their classroom. The media specialist offers training to teachers on this equipment if it is needed. Parents may visit the media center and have access to printed materials as well as use the computers. At this time, parents are not allowed to check out materials from the media center. The media center might be able to serve parents better if they were able to check out some of the resources in the media center. The media center could offer supplemental instruction material that parents could check out to help their children if they needed enrichment or remediation. The media center is accessible to students with disabilities. Students confined to a wheelchair can easily maneuver around the media center. There is also a handicap accessible restroom located in the media center. The media center provides assistive technology for students who are hearing impaired, vision impaired, or cognitively impaired. The resources are typically checked out by the students’ teacher and can be checked out for as long as the resources are needed. The media specialist provides one-on-one library orientation to special education students. The media center strives to make the media center accessible to all as well as provide resources and equipment to ensure all students have equal access to education.

Reference American Association of School Librarians. (2009). Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Chicago, IL.