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A brief summary of my year as a School Librarian (Ulei Junior Secondary School) in Vanuatu as part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development.
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Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development
Assignment: School LibrarianUlei Junior Secondary School Library
AYAD Intake 24
Assignment duration: 9 months
Ulei, Efate, Vanuatu
Romany Manuell
An overview
The School Standard of living Job description The Library Six steps towards establishing the library Achievements Conclusion
www.travelonline.com/maps/vanuatu_map.html
Ulei Junior Secondary School
Boarding school Teachers live onsite 200 students 8 teachers & their
families Next to Tanaliu
Village 40 mins from Port Vila
Standard of living
No hot water (sometimes no running water) Electricity between 6pm and 9pm (usually) No mobile reception in house (ok in library!) House situated between Principal and Bursar Across from the dorms Hitchhiking to/from town on back of truck
The job description
Assist to establish an efficient and functional library
Train a counterpart to manage the library effectively
Train staff and students Improve the collection Develop a policy and
procedures manual Purchase resources for the
library within budget Train local staff in library usage
including computer research
Choose a circulation system: Manual? Digital? Online?
Create a computer-based catalogue (use BookCat)?
Run Info Lit classes for 200 students? How?
Catalogue! Without Web Dewey? What’s Dewey Abridged?
Train a librarian? But I’ve only just been trained..!
Get books. From where? RESEARCH!!!
The Library
POSITIVES – There are books! – There are shelves!– Some things have Call
Numbers!– I have lots of willing
helpers!– I can lead a weeding
project!
NEGATIVES – The books are old– Termites, lizard eggs– Some things have Call
Numbers– Classes will continue to
run– The teachers don’t want
to throw anything away
BEFORE
BEFORE
BEFORE
STEP 1 – Assessment of situation
No electricity = no computers Bislama/English communication The school has no money = No budget A system that is as simple as possible
= SUSTAINABILITY and we have to work with what we have.
(One night of quiet panic)
STEP 2 - Catalogue and label
Get everything off the shelves Separate books into fiction and non-fiction piles Label shelves: fiction, non-fiction, Dewey Put books on shelves if already labelled Assign Dewey numbers Label everything (re-label if necessary) Put everything back on shelves Weed as we go
(Months 1-3)
Paula Jones’ Subject Index and Dewey Guide
The kids call it “The Green Book” Allows students and teachers to assign
Dewey numbers (and practice English at the same time)
Acts as a “catalogue” - tick as you go Purchase from the University of the South
Pacific
STEP 3 – Teach and Train
Teach Miss Iapson how to run the library Teach the kids how to:
– Look after books, label and repair – Find, borrow, return and shelve– Use the Subject Index & Dewey Guide
Run classes for staff (Take over Miss Iapson’s Year 7 English class
when she goes on maternity leave…)(Months 4-6)
STEP 4 – Source new items
Petition everybody I know to send books Use blog as advertising Get the Lions Club involved in hometown Ask for new, not second-hand books Buy whatever I can afford from any companies
that ship to Vanuatu (wait months for delivery, hitchhike to town to pick up box)
Assign numbers and label as they arrive(Months 7-9)
STEP 5 – Justify the project
Collect statistics to show students/staff/AYAD:– Monthly borrowing rates – congratulate students!– Stock take– New item count
Justification to self to overcome “challenges”:– Keep positive: look at how much fun the kids are having!– Write/journal/blog extensively– Try to keep things in perspective– Obsessively work on resume and selection criteria for future
jobs that don’t involve rats/mice/lizards/spiders/giant millipedes
(Continuous)
STEP 6 – Help the students own the space
Paint Decorate Put up posters Make signs Work on displays of new books Engage the kids in art/craft activities
(Continuous)
Achievements
AYAD Achievements: Trained a counterpart to
manage the library effectively
Trained staff and students Improved the collection Developed a policy and
procedures manual Purchased resources for the
library within budget Trained local staff in library
usage including computer research
Professional Achievements: Project management Collection development and
maintenance Interior planning and internal
promotion Reference Circulation Reader advisory Teaching and training Professional writing and
research
AFTER
AFTER
Conclusion
Why choose the AYAD program? What kind of skills/characteristics does it require?
MORE INFO ABOUT AYAD? www.ayad.com.au
WANT TO READ MORE? www.rombloggy.blogspot.com (archives from 2009)
WANT TO SEE MORE PICS?www.facebook.com/romanymanuell (add me)