Classroom Library Collaboration Project

The purpose of this proposal is to outline a collaborative project between the Library Media
Specialist and the Middle School Reading teachers. This project will support the Reading Workshop model
that has already been adopted by our school. Furthermore, it will increase the efficiency of that model,
stimulate enthusiasm of teachers and students alike, increase library circulation, serve as a way to monitor
and record data associated with the schools reading program, and ultimately act as a more efficient way to
maintain inventory of all books in the building - whether owned by the district, the school or the teachers.
Currently, each teacher at Wedowee Middle School maintains a classroom library. They have each
collected an assortment of books, most of which they purchased themselves. Although they encourage their
students to use the school library, providing books in their classroom is an additional way to encourage
reluctant readers and satisfy voracious readers. They use a variety of means to maintain their collections,
from handwritten library cards and card catalogs to computer spreadsheets. At least one uses
LibraryThing.com. Most of them use some method of marking their books, and, yet, books regularly turn up
in the Library Media Center or are found around campus that cannot be identified as belonging to a specific
location. These books sit in the teachers workroom or on the library counter, waiting to be claimed by their
rightful owner. Integrating the individual classroom collections with the online catalog of the school library will
allow the books to be more efficiently documented and tracked. As each book is entered into the OPAC, it
will receive a unique call number that identifies it as belonging to a specific teacher. The books will remain in
the classroom but will now be findable to library patrons and staff.

The Classroom Library Collaboration Project will consist of four phases: Planning, Cataloging, Promotion,
and Acquisition.
I.

Planning Phase
Teachers will meet with the LMS as a group to identify a list of recommended titles for each
grade level. These meetings will allow both LMS and teachers to share thoughts about titles they
already own and those they would like to acquire.

II.

Cataloging phase
Books in Classroom Libraries will be entered into the schools catalog. MARC records will be
utilized to denote teacher ownership and physical location of books. Barcode labels will be affixed to

books. As a result, books will not only be more easily checked out by students but can be returned
to proper location when necessary by simply scanning barcode. A free Follett Destiny app will be
downloaded onto each teachers classroom iPad. Teachers will be shown how to use the app to
scan barcodes for checking books in and out and how to check the status of an item (find out the
call number, who the book is checked out to and when it is due, AR level and quiz number) or of a
patron (what books if any the student has checked out or on hold and information about those
books). The same app can also be downloaded to teachers personal iPhones and Android cell
phones.

III.

Promotion Phase
Students (and teachers) will be encouraged to download and use another free app by Follett
- called Destiny Quest. Students will be taught how to conduct a search of the schools OPAC
using the app, how to use the Public Lists to find suggestions from their teachers and also how to
use the My Bookshelf feature. Parents will also be introduced to the Destiny Quest mobile app at
the next Parent Teacher Organization meeting and other School Improvement events. They will be
encouraged to use the app for reading suggestions and to check current holdings when considering
a book purchase. Parents will also be alerted to the location of the classroom library lists in case
they would like to donate a book to a specific teacher.

IV.

Acquisition Phase
As teachers determine the ideal Reading Workshop library, there will be titles identified that
are not currently a part of the district or school collection and that have not been purchased by any
teacher. Teachers may also determine a need for additional copies of some titles. The LMS will
attempt to acquire these titles ASAP,will create and maintain a wishlist and seek funding sources.

Cost analysis:
The adoption of the Classroom Library Collaboration Project will not require any additional costs to
the school district in terms of hardware or software. All school library media centers are already automated
and the district currently subscribes to Folletts Destiny program for cataloging and circulation. This project
will utilize free apps that work with the existing ILS. It will also utilize the class ipad previously purchased for

each classroom. It is possible that this project could be completed at the minimal cost of additional barcode
labels.
Phase I Costs: Teacher response is expected to be enthusiastic and necessary cooperation may not
require any monetary motivation in the form of stipends. However, it certainly would be in the schools best
interest to provide some classroom coverage in order to allow teachers to attend the initial planning sessions
in the LMC. Once the project has been explained and teachers have had the initial training on the cataloging
system, further collaboration could be accomplished asynchronously with the LMS as the coordinator.
Phase II Costs: There will be some physical work involved in labeling and cataloging those books
privately owned by the teachers. Much of this work will have to be done outside of regular class hours and
compensation using Flex-Pay or building level funds should be considered. It is worth pointing out that this
project involves cataloging materials already privately purchased by our teachers. They are currently using
their own funds in order to meet the reading needs of their students. The objectives of this project are to
make their efforts more productive not less. Every effort should be made on the part of the school and the
district to avoid adding to teachers workloads without reasonable compensation.
Phase III Costs: There are no costs involved in this phase.
Phase IV Costs: The district should consider designating funding for building and/or improving
classroom libraries by purchasing titles deemed by the teachers to be of high value to the Reading
Workshop model. While books are continuously acquired through fundraising, grants, and donations, the
LMC budget is currently unfunded. One of the objectives of this project is to deliberately and collaboratively
determine a list of books with high value to the WMS Reading Workshop. This planning will certainly
influence future LMC purchases. However, without funding for classroom libraries, the implementation of
this project will still depend largely on out-of-pocket expenditures by teachers.

Selection basis:
I chose to design a proposal for the Follett Destiny mobile apps because it is a natural addition to the
existing LMC program. If the School District is already paying for the Follett Destiny ILS, it only makes sense
to try to maximize the benefits available. When combined with the existing features of the ILS itself (creating
public and private lists, maintaining a bookshelf), these apps can allow teachers to create
recommendations, monitor student reading, and keep better track of the materials they have brought to the
classroom themselves. While the Destiny Quest app does not have the additional interactive features of

Bookopolis or BooktrackClassroom, it does have the unique benefit of allowing students to search the
materials actually available to them.
(With that said, I would still introduce teachers to both Bookopolis and BookTrack. Either program
would be a fun way to heighten interest and invite readers to engage in ways that promote deeper
comprehension. Because they are free and available online, either would be easy for a teacher to utilize in
the classroom. )

Effectiveness/use:
Together, these apps benefit both students, teachers, the LMS and the District. Although the
Destiny Quest app can be downloaded and used by anyone, I have specified the Middle School Reading
teachers who use the Reading Workshop model of instruction in their classrooms as the intended users of
the Follett Destiny app. I have had conversations with them about their private classroom libraries and know
how much time they spend attempting to manage their small but important collections. Why not provide
them with a better way to do that when it exists? If implemented, the apps would theoretically be used on a
daily basis by those teachers to check in and out books to the students they teach. That would certainly be
the most obvious benefit of using the apps. As far as measuring the effectiveness of the software, it is easy
to run circulation reports limited by Call Number. If each teacher is represented by an identifying call
number prefix like 6KH (for Kim Heard who teaches 6th Grade), a report could be printed showing how
many books had been checked out from her classroom library each month -or week or year. However, as a
LMS who has experienced state monitoring I can also see how integrating the private classroom library
collections into the LMC catalog would benefit the school/district as well in terms of size of the collection
and circulation numbers. These statistics could conceivably help secure future funding in the form of grants.
However, the group with the most to gain from the widespread use of the two apps together would definitely
be the students. Our main objective is always to increase student achievement and we know that
encouraging students to read more is the best way to increase achievement. Preferably, we want them to
read good quality literature that will sustain their interest, promote comprehension, and motivate them to
read more. Entering all available books into the OPAC not only makes them searchable but gives searchers
access to information about them, like AR level, descriptions and reviews. Using the List feature to
specify books that meet a specific criteria - whether Books for Horse Lovers or 6th Grade Blue Reading
Group is a way to guide readers. Promoting teacher, parent and student use of the Destiny Quest app puts
that guidance in the right hands.