Mid-Term Reflection Highlights

Wow! Ten days in the Ravenel Library has certainly gone fast! I am honestly shocked at how many things I have already been exposed to in a relatively short amount of time. I was very worried on the first days about trying to fit in all of the goals for SLIS 794, but we have certainly checked off many of the experiences and learning in this short amount of time.

For this reflection, I want to rely on the Internship Performance Learning Objectives to focus on my development and experience thus far. I am writing this reflection after meeting with Cindy Edgerton, my Cooperating Librarian, and will focus on the goals and achievements we discussed.

I. Planning and Assessment

I have always felt that planning and organizing are two of my best strengths for working in education. To record and maintain order, I have both a notebook and this blog to maintain goals and task lists that keep me in communication with Cindy. Completing the SLIS 720 Community and School Analysis and working on the SLIS 720 Library Program Analysis have given me specific insights into the school and district policies, publications, and procedures. I have gotten the opportunity to talk to multiple district employees at varied levels and schools (at Battle of the Books, I met all the district's elementary librarians and several district principals; at the district student teachers' orientation, I met the county tech director and other district-level employees; through discussions at school, I have learned local teachers' opinions and observance of the educational environment; etc.). Cindy and I also spent some of today looking over the Proposed Daily Timeline to ensure a plan for the remaining half of this experience.

The area I lack under this heading is a full understanding of library impact and methods in the school. I am definitely "in progress" for these learning goals. I cannot help but be involved with various initiatives within the library: Accelerated Reader, Battle of the Books, catalog/Dewey instruction, reader's interest suggestions, etc. However, I am not fully competent in understanding the full impact and integration that the media center offers the school as a whole. My goals moving forward include: the SLIS 720 LPA assignment to structurally examine Ravenel's library; read and utilize the SCASL "Impact Study" for researched data; discuss the State Department's survey on libraries; and set goals/discussions for Ravenel's purpose as a library. I think that these goals are achievable with the remaining time in the practicum.

II. Program Administration and Management

Since the beginning of the practicum, I have tried to step in and be a part of the library "staff" as if this were my full employment. Especially with the frequent activity in the library, I really had no other choice! I also wanted to "get my hands dirty" and complete the tasks with a "realistic" pressure on myself to truly feel what it is like to be an elementary librarian. Though timing for reading books to classes was initially one of my biggest challenges, reading more books and having more classes has really helped with that particular practice. I know from teaching that this skill of appropriate timing is one of the last to come, with experience.

I thought that I would not be able to look at any budget, processing, or other more clerical duties of the job until April; however, we have received at least three book orders and a few donated books that had to be added to the system and processed. I had done processing of books in middle school when I was a "library helper," but the computerized and cataloging side was entirely new. I have already processed and added books to the collection from Bound to Stay Bound, Follett, and Junior Library Guild. Cindy's and Destiny's process for these documents are much the same, but it has been a pleasant surprise to get to learn these steps and orders so much earlier than I had anticipated.

I still need to learn how exactly to budget and order necessary books to the collection. We plan to focus on this step in April, as the end of the year will be close to tie in weeding and curriculum development. Additionally, I have conducted book talks and participated in Battle of the Books, but I still need to continue to promote literacy in even more demonstrative ways. This last goal (II. 1) is one that Cindy and I are most ambiguous about achieving, trying to find an appropriate and worthwhile endeavor for me to champion for promoting literacy.

III. Collection and Resource Access Management

The reference and source access is something we have been learning in SLIS since 701. I am glad to see that Cindy recognizes my familiarity and understanding of the programs and search tools that translates to the elementary level.

As I mentioned above, we have not yet worked on any goals surrounding developing or managing the collection as a whole. While I have added individual books to the system and further processed materials, our plan is to complete these goals for inventory and selection during my final week at Ravenel in April. We also plan to connect these processes to the analysis of the SCASL Impact Study so as to direct my understanding of resource management on a broad and local scale.

IV. Collaboration for Instruction

While I have been in communication with two teachers for collaborative lessons, it is challenging to exchange ideas and expectations merely through email or through moments passing in the hall. Cindy and I made the bolder step to schedule a precise time to meet with the lead collaborative teacher so as to outline clear expectations for my arrival back in March. It is my plan to discuss specific goals and any resources or standards the collaborative teacher would like covered and to pull any resources necessary for this unit before leaving Ravenel on Friday so that I may work on the unit and present drafts or questions via email in the time before my March lessons. This accounts for most of the "NO" or "I" responses on Cindy's evaluation form. I have begun the collaboration process, but it is still in a developmental stage.

I have had success with teaching the individual classes, using an ELMO and SmartBoard projector, including video clips to advertise the Book Fair, and recording a tech video for the teachers as bite-sized professional development. I am sure these skills will transfer to the classroom once the expectations are clear with the collaborative teachers for the collaborative unit. 

V. Professional Growth, Develop, and Leadership

Cindy basically laughed when she reached this section. I am obviously very lucky to have the education and support of USC right now during my graduate program. This takes care of most of the elements already in this section! I have also created a PD video, as I mentioned before, on some of the newer technologies at Ravenel. We got permission to send this videos by email to make it accessible and easy-to-learn for the busy teachers at the school. I have gotten positive feedback from Cindy, other teachers, and the lead principal (!!!) on this video. I am excited to send out another next week even while I am physically away from the school. The district provided me with an email that automatically connects to this school network. It has made communicating and sharing new skills with others extremely easy. I am hopeful that the leadership I am able to show during this internship with translate into my current professional career and, of course, following my transition into a school library.



Overall, I feel like the internship is going really well. I am comfortable at Ravenel and feel like I am contributing to the library environment, teachers, and students. It is easy to come into a new place and be scared, timid, or unsure due to the newness of it all. It is also easy to come into a new place and feel like you are exempt from the rules because you are someone "special". I think especially Cindy and Toni have made me feel perfectly in the middle. Though I don't know everything about the flow and expectations and procedures, they answer my questions and encourage me to laugh at my mistakes. Even still, they both allow and encourage me to step into their roles to try and fully embrace the experience, without any chagrin or hesitance or their part. I will be disappointed to be leaving Ravenel on Friday for a time and am not extremely eager to return to tenth grade English, but that makes me think that I am moving in the right direction to something I am passionate about and to where I can become excellent.