Mt. Rainier High School Library Visit

I have always been interested in working for a school library, and when we were given this project, I automatically wanted to visit the library of one of our local schools. Joanne Kandler at Mt. Rainier HS graciously allowed me to come into her library, ask her tons of questions, and talk books. 

Mt. Rainier High School had a complete re-model 5 years ago, which included a very large library space. There is ample room for students to study, as well as room for entire classes to come in. They have 32 computers for student use, all connected to the Highline School District network. 

Joanne has been the Librarian at Mt. Rainier HS for 11 years, and really seems to love what she does there. She has an assistant that works with her, as well as 10 Teacher's Assistants. The TA's help with things such as: shelving books, checking out items, assisting students with the catalog, and general tidying.

When I had the chance to sit down for some one-on-one time with Joanne, she explained that they (the library) have a very small budget to work with. They do not use purchase orders, but instead use something called a "P-card", which is a general account (on a district debit card) that is used for any purchases. There is no dedicated budget for the library, so anything she wants to order must first go through the office manager for approval. They do order books from Titlewave, as well as the local Barnes&Noble.

Their library is very tidy, and they have their own unique sections (a shelf of pretty leatherbound classics that caught my eye). Joanne has some liberty to set things up as she would like, so she has dome things like grouping reading group titles together so they can be easily found by students. They also have a small selection of children's books because there is a preschool in the building. As a side project, she also runs the Interact Club, which partners with the local Rotary Club to do community service activities.

Mt. Rainier High School has a very limited amount of audio-visual material for students and teachers to check out. The items that they have are not checked out often, and are also kept behind the library desk. There are CDs, DVDs, Cassettes, and VHS tapes. She has found that categorizing them in a way that works for her library has been difficult. Things like Cassettes and VHS tapes are not something that most students would use, and the teachers at Mt. Rainier HS all place their own orders for media rather than ordering it though the library.

Their cataloging system is called "Library World" and is shared with all of the other schools in the Highline School district. This make Inter-library loans much easier, because you are able to search for titles in other libraries in the district. Library World is a "cloud" system, and students are able to access it at home. While the system is not perfect, Joanne says that it does help students find the things they need. Using Library World, students can have holds placed on books and request inter-library loans.

Overall I found the Mt. Rainier High School library to be a very warm, inviting place. They have a wide variety of materials, and a great selection of books for teen readers. I think when it comes to technology they are still up-and-coming (they don't do ebooks), but I do think that they will get there and are doing a great job with the tools that they have.

Resources:

 http://www.highlineschools.org/Page/65

 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127370598

 http://www.nikkidrobertson.com/

 http://21stcenturyschoollibraries.wikispaces.com/What+is+a+21st+Century+school+library%3F