McEnhimer

Samantha McEnhimer's Needs Assesment Plan of Action

__Intro__ The focus of this assessment was to gauge the effectiveness of the shelving, furnishings, displays and call numbers used in Glencliff Elementary’s school library. Glencliff is a Pre K- 4 school located in NashvilleTennessee. The target group for this assessment is the fourth graders of Glencliff elementary school who read fiction chapter books. Fourth graders do not have a designated day and time during the week at which they must come to the library. Because of this, they are sent to the library in groups of two during their English period. They do not have very mush time to choose their books, as they must return to class, so that others may take their turn in the library. I have created this assessment, to see how we may improve upon the fourth grade student’s abilities to find out what kind of books they are interested in and how to find these books quickly and efficiently.

My findings lead me to the conclusion that there are several changes that can be made at the GlencliffElementary school library. There needs to be more focus on introducing students to new materials to the library and to older materials that they have never heard of. Since fourth graders have such a short time to choose their books, there must be clear selection tools, and access to the libraries online catalog, so that students may quickly choose books they are interested in and that will enrich them. To fill this need at the GlencliffElementary school library I have devised a plan of action. This plan includes implementing three new items to the library. The first item I would include is a computer in the library dedicated to the library catalog. Students in the library who know what book they are looking for but do not know where it is located can use the catalog to quickly locate their books call number. This catalog would be only for the use of third and fourth grade students who are serious about looking for a book. The second change I would implant in my plan is a new cataloging strategy that creates a new call number for all those books in a series that have different authors. For example that 39 Clues series has several different authors, and the books are all separate from each other on the shelves, making it very difficult for any student who wants to read the series, to locate the next book. The same problem can be seen with the American Girl series. By changing these books’ call numbers, we can make them easier to find and can increase their circulation amongst the fourth graders. The third and final change to the library I would implement are bright and large posters. On these posters I would list many of the libraries fine but less used books and I would connect them all, based on their similarity to a popular book all of the students have heard of or read. For example, the poster might read “If you like Captain Underpants you might also like. . .” There will also be a poster listing the libraries new books. These posters will list the call number as well. In this way students will be exposed to new books and will have a quick place of reference, to find new books. By implementing these three changes, we will make the selection process much quicker for fourth graders, and will allow them to get in and out of the library in a timely manner with a book they both want and will enjoy.