Not Fixed vs Flex, But Responsive Scheduling for the School Library

Responsive Scheduling for the School Library - Fixed scheduling or flexible scheduling of the school library is no longer applicable to our time. While each has advantages and shortcomings, the new recommendations are for "responsive scheduling." Here's some history and analysis of all three, along with the combination that worked for me. #NoSweatLibraryFixed vs. Flexible Scheduling for school libraries has long been controversial, and AASL now recommends we implement “Responsive scheduling”. The purpose for library scheduling is often misunderstood by school administrators, by teachers, and even by School Librarians, so it’s time to take a fresh look.

To better understand the issue of fixed or flex or responsive scheduling, it may help to see how far we’ve come, and where we are now, so that we can effectively work toward where we need to be.

A SHORT HISTORY OF LIBRARY SCHEDULING

Fixed scheduling was originally a non-negotiable schedule of library visits set by school administration. Lessons came from a specific, fixed, scope-and-sequenced Library curriculum of what students needed to know about the library, just as English, Math, Social Studies, and Science were separate curricula. There was no coordination of Library skills with what was happening in classrooms, but that seemed OK, since none of the subject areas were coordinated either.

For the next 30 years we tried to coordinate and integrate curriculum to improve student learning, like adding literature, art, and music to Social Studies. Along the way we increased the use of technology and added authentic project-oriented assessment.

cover image of Information Power, 1998Educational advancements increased use of the school library, highlighting inadequacies in student information literacy skills and the need for an improved library program to address these skills at point of need. AASL’s Information Power (published in 1988 and republished in 1998) promoted the integration of library skills into the curriculum and a flexible approach to library use for the teaching of these skills. To make that happen, librarians and teachers would collaborate on how and when to teach what.

THE FLEX APPROACH: THE PROS & CONS

No more stand alone library lessons taught in isolation from other subjects. No more classes dropped off by teachers at prescribed times each day of each week. School Librarians would now flexibly schedule classes into the library when they needed to be there, for a few days in a row if necessary, and take time to plan with teachers to create lessons that integrate library skills into classroom activities.

Here’s where some misunderstanding arose. If fixed scheduling denied us power over our schedule, flex scheduling can also take away our decision-making power. If we’re told we can’t have any schedule at all, that we need to provide unlimited access, to anyone, anytime, to do anything, well, that isn’t what flex schedule means.

image of a flexible scheduleThe key word is flexible. It means that, rather than being forced to accept specific classes on a regular schedule, WE determine who uses the library and when. It means we decide when a class needs to be in the library, and it means we can even have a fixed schedule for certain classes, because we have decided that is what students need.

True flex scheduling means we can say yes or no to casual drop-ins or last-minute requests, because we have a class scheduled to visit which requires our full attention, especially when we don’t have an aide to assist with book checkout. It also means that students working on projects we’ve had a part in teaching can come to the library at any time even if the class isn’t scheduled.

BENEFITS OF A COMBINATION FIXED/FLEX

A fixed schedule provides more opportunities for teaching and reinforcing library skills, so we must know our school’s curricula very well and develop a wide repertoire of activities to keep students engaged. Fixed schedules demand that we become as flexible as possible to plan with teachers and integrate curriculum into our library lessons.

Flex scheduling promotes integration of library skills into classroom activities; however, flexible schedules demand that we regularly plan with teachers and schedule classes for library and research skills. Either way, we must push ourselves to become a better professional. As fixed scheduled teachers work with us, they begin to see the benefits of having a flexible library schedule, so they can become our best allies when we ask administration to move toward flex scheduling.

I began my school library career with completely flexible scheduling, but after a couple years it became problematic. Once I understood what true flex scheduling meant, I created a combination fix/flex schedule that works for our school:

  • ELA classes come to the library on a set day every other week for book checkout and DEAR time (silent reading). We collaborate on a schedule so one week 7g & 8g classes visit on Tuesday & Wednesday, then the following week SpEd/ELL and 6g visit on Thursday and Friday. I can adjust ELA visit day if the library is otherwise needed: we switch to another open day that week, or they get books & return to the classroom for DEAR time, or the teacher sends a few students at a time for a new book.
    Example of a combination fixed ELA schedule with open times for flexible scheduling.linebreak
  • With 5 contiguous open days—Thursday through Wednesday, every other week,  I can schedule other subject classes into the library for lessons and research assignments.
  • I can reserve Monday for library administrative work, for planning, and for collaboration with teachers, unless it’s essential for a teacher to bring students in that day.
  • Recurring yearly lessons, such as my Dewey Decimals Lesson with 6g and 7g Math classes, my Online Subscription WebQuests with 6g and 7g Social Studies, my Cloud Computing Lesson with Spanish & Art classes, and my Digital Citizenship Lessons, are all scheduled with teachers at the start of each grading period to be sure there are no conflicts with newly planned projects that may need to use the library and its resources.

This combination (or semi-fixed/flex) scheduling worked well in my School Library for over a decade from the early 2000s.

“RESPONSIVE” SCHEDULING FOR THE 2020s

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action (2009) offered little about scheduling other than consistent use of the term equitable access. However, AASL issued a Position Statement on Library Scheduling in 2011, revised in 2014, which was printed in the new National School Library Standards (2018, p216), about “flexible scheduling”:

Classes must be flexibly scheduled to visit the school library on an as-needed basis to facilitate just-in-time research, training, and use of technology with the guidance of the teacher, who is the subject specialist, and the librarian, who is the information-search process specialist. … Regularly scheduling classes in the school library to provide teacher release time or preparation time prohibits this best practice.

A Responsive School Library Is Essential for Student Success - The June 2019 AASL School Library Scheduling Position Statement calls for flexible, open, unrestricted, and equitable access and collaborative planning between teachers & the school librarian. #NoSweatLibraryThen in 2018, “flexible scheduling” was revisited to better align with the new Standards. The new AASL Position Statement on Library Scheduling was submitted to the board and approved in June, 2019. Their new recommendation is for “responsive scheduling”:

Scheduling of classes should allow flexible, open, unrestricted, and equitable access on an as-needed basis to facilitate just-in-time research, training, and utilization of technology with instruction from the school librarian and the content-area educator. The practice of scheduling classes in the school library on a set schedule to provide educator release or preparation time inhibits best practice by limiting collaboration and co-teaching opportunities between the school librarian and classroom educator.

Responsibility for responsive scheduling is to be “shared by the entire school community: the local educational agency, district administration, principal, school librarian, educators, the school library support staff, parents, and learners.” We School Librarians can use this section when we approach our principals for a more flexible schedule, and give them something to take higher up.

This new Position Statement on School Library Scheduling is a critical document for School Librarians “desiring to fully achieve a collaborative and integrated school library philosophy.” It emphasizes the importance of collaborative planning and helps us promote our Library Lessons as “an essential and integral part of all classroom curriculum.” I encourage all of us to print out this 3-page .pdf document to show to our principals and our teachers and to develop a new “elevator pitch.”

With this new Position Statement we may need to make changes in our policies & procedures. I’d love to have an aide to help with book checkout and incidental student interaction while I’m teaching classes, but know that’s not fiscally likely. So, I set up a self-checkout station and teach students how to use it, having eliminated overdue fines and increased book limits to remove barriers for making this work.

I use the Open Dyslexic font for print and digital documents to make it easier for all students to read materials. I create videos answering some common questions students ask about the library and its resources, putting them on the School Library Website, so students can find answers when I’m unavailable.

I have computer administrators set the student browser homepage to the School or District Library Website so our virtual library is the first resource students see. This will ease student access to searching for books, using research databases, and locating Resource Lists, library guides, and other assignment helpers.

I’m sure there are other considerations I’ve not even thought about. If you have suggestions, please add them to the comments!


References:

AASL Board of Directors Meeting, ALA 2019 Annual Conference, Washington, DC June 20 – 25, p46-50 

AASL Position Statement on School Library Scheduling

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Disability Accessibility in the School Library

Disability Accessibility in the School Library - School Librarians need to be aware of federal guidelines for disabilities and examine our facility layout for barriers that may inhibit students from access and comfort. Here's what I discovered about my School Library and how I solved the problems. #NoSweatLibraryWhat impression does your School Library make on those who enter it for the first time? Is it inviting to all students and staff?

In “3 Strategies for a First-Time School Librarian“, I cautioned new School Librarians to not make changes before they understood their school culture and how students and classes used the library environment.

However, there is one area that new and veteran School Librarians need to examine and change immediately, especially if it does not meet Federal guidelines:
Is your School Library accessible to those with disabilities?

A BRIEF LOOK AT ACCESSIBILITY LEGISLATION

In 1968, the federal government passed the Architectural Barriers Act, mandating that facilities built with federal funds, such as courthouses, libraries, and schools, be accessible to persons with disabilities. From that first measure up through 1996—with updates through 2008—a total of 10 different acts have been passed to address persons with disabilities:

  1. Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
  2. Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975
  4. Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980
  5. Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984
  6. Air Carrier Access Act of 1986
  7. Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988
  8. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
  9. National Voter Registration Act of 1993
  10. Telecommunications Act of 1996

Two of these Acts are of particular importance to our School Libraries:

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1975/1990/1997/2004 mandating a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990/2008, “a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.”

LRE AND ADA ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES

Public schools, including the school library, must provide a least restrictive learning environment for disabled students. While the physical structures of our school libraries have been built or updated to align with ADA Guidelines, the interior arrangement of our bookcases, tables & chairs, computers, and other furniture or decorative items may inhibit free access for those with wheelchairs or other assistive devices.

When I arrived at my middle school library, I noticed major accessibility problems that needed to be eliminated for our 2 students in wheelchairs. You may also need to eliminate barriers in these areas of your school library:

  • entry/exit doorways
  • walkways
  • approach to tables, computers, and other seating
  • aisles between bookcases
  • moving from one aisle into another
  • reaching books on shelves
  • the circulation counter.

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design provided by the Department of Justice are very detailed about how much room is required for various wheelchair accessible areas, including illustrations that I’ve inserted below. (click to enlarge)

Entry/Exit Doorways

404.2.4 Maneuvering Clearances. Minimum maneuvering clearances at doors and gates shall comply with 404.2.4. Maneuvering clearances shall extend the full width of the doorway and the required latch side or hinge side clearance.
404.2.4.1 Swinging Doors and Gates. Swinging doors and gates shall have maneuvering clearances complying with Table 404.2.4.1.

Clearance around doors must be 48-60 inches, depending on which way our library doors open. That means we don’t want to put displays, tables, or even portable signage too close to our entrance/exit doorways.

Walkways

403.5.1 Clear Width. Except as provided in 403.5.2 and 403.5.3, the clear width of walking surfaces shall be 36 inches minimum.

403.5.1 Clear Width. Except as provided in 403.5.2 and 403.5.3, the clear width of walking surfaces shall be 36 inches minimum.In my school library, the areas between tables were too narrow when students were seated, but because there was ample wheelchair access around the end tables on either side of the library, I did not consider this a barrier to be eliminated. Make sure, when your library tables are fully seated, that a wheelchair can still maneuver to the other areas of the library.

Approach to Tables, Computers, and Other Seating

802.1.3 Depth. Where a wheelchair space can be entered from the front or rear, the wheelchair space shall be 48 inches deep minimum. … public schools must provide learning environments with counters and workspaces accommodating students seated in wheelchairs.

802.1.3 Depth. Where a wheelchair space can be entered from the front or rear, the wheelchair space shall be 48 inches deep minimum. … public schools must provide learning environments with counters and workspaces accommodating students seated in wheelchairs.In my school library the table area was quite wide with computer stations at one side. There was more than 48 inches from the computer counter to the chairs at the adjoining table, so the computer stations were accessible to wheelchairs, as were the 2 tables on that side of the library.

In our magazine area I arranged chairs so there was a wide walkway to the magazines and allowed for a wheelchair to pull up to the conversation area.

A recent blog post on We Are Teachers, How to Create Inclusive Classroom Spaces for Students With Physical Disabilities, had this recommendation:

2. Make the Whole Classroom Accessible
Mobility does not simply involve access between the student’s desk and the door to the classroom. … Therefore, ensure students with disabilities are able to move around the whole classroom so that they can participate in all workstation and group-work activities. In particular, aim to ensure all pathways, desks, and computer workstations are accessible for students with physical disabilities.

Aisles Between Bookcases

225.2.2 Self-Service Shelving. Self-service shelves shall be located on an accessible route complying with 402. Self-service shelves include, but are not limited to, library, store, or post office shelves.

My initial situation was 8 lines of paired bookcases angled out from a curved back wall. The aisles were unevenly spread across the space, with some quite wide, but others so narrow that 2 students couldn’t enter at the same time, let alone a wheelchair.

225.2.2 Self-Service Shelving. Self-service shelves shall be located on an accessible route complying with 402. Self-service shelves include, but are not limited to, library, store, or post office shelves.Wheelchairs need to have “full maneuverability radius” between bookcases. The minimum width for a wheelchair is 36 inches, but since other students would be in the aisles, I wanted to allow 48 inches, which is the minimum width for a wheelchair and an ambulatory person. Since my aisles would abut a wall, I also needed to allow a minimum turning radius of 60 inches.

Moving from One Aisle into Another

403.5.2 Clear Width at Turn. Where the accessible route makes a 180 degree turn around an element which is less than 48 inches wide, clear width shall be 42 inches minimum approaching the turn, 48 inches minimum at the turn and 42 inches minimum leaving the turn.

In my school library the shelving area jutted far into the table area, so there was a very narrow walkway between the ends of bookcases and the tables, allowing little room to maneuver from aisle to aisle, especially for our wheelchair students.

403.5.2 Clear Width at Turn. Where the accessible route makes a 180 degree turn around an element which is less than 48 inches wide, clear width shall be 42 inches minimum approaching the turn, 48 inches minimum at the turn and 42 inches minimum leaving the turn.The space between the ends of bookcases and any other solid object needs to allow for a wheelchair to emerge from the aisle, turn & traverse to the next aisle, then turn again and enter. So, I needed to allow at least 4 feet from the end of bookcases to other furniture so a wheelchair could move from one aisle to another.

Reaching Books on Shelves

308.2 Forward Reach.
308.2.1 Unobstructed. Where a forward reach is unobstructed, the high forward reach shall be 48 inches maximum and the low forward reach shall be 15 inches minimum above the finish floor or ground.

Our school library bookcases are, what I consider, the perfect height for middle school students: 5 feet with room for 4 shelves. I did slightly lower the shelves so the top shelf was easily reached by wheelchair students. I realized how advantageous this decision was when I began to need a scooter chair to move around, and shelving books on that top shelf was not difficult at all!

308.2 Forward Reach. 308.2.1 Unobstructed. Where a forward reach is unobstructed, the high forward reach shall be 48 inches maximum and the low forward reach shall be 15 inches minimum above the finish floor or ground.Because we have an ample number of cases, I decided to not use the bottom shelves for books, which would be too low for students in wheelchairs. Instead I lined the bottom shelves in fiction and part of Dewey with our extra slanted shelves, providing a face-out display area for new or featured books. This brought the top of a book up to the 15″ minimum.

The above mentioned article on We Are Teachers also included the recommendation to “3. Make All Materials Accessible.”  Especially for an elementary school library, that might mean using bins for books instead of lining them up on shelves.

Access to the Circulation Counter

904 Check-Out Aisles and Sales and Service Counters
…variant-height circulation desks,
904.4.1 Parallel Approach. A portion of the counter surface that is 36 inches long minimum and 36 inches high maximum above the finish floor shall be provided. A clear floor or ground space complying with 305 shall be positioned for a parallel approach adjacent to the 36 inch minimum length of counter.

Our circulation counter had the required lower counter, but because the computer monitor and keyboard were there, it prevented a person in a wheelchair being easily visible and able to reach the actual checkout scanner.

A wireless scanner made it much easier for our wheelchair-bound students to check out library materials.A wireless keypad made it much easier for our wheelchair-bound students to check out library materials.To solve this problem, we ordered a wireless scanner and a wireless keypad so our wheelchair-bound students could check out library materials more easily. Other students also appreciated this. Often I find that differentiation for one group of students benefits everyone. It has helped me to always look for the simplest and most accommodating means to teach in and manage the school library.

BECOME AWARE OF ACCESSIBLE DESIGN

For those wanting to examine your own school library, the ADA Library Accessibility Checklist from Project Enable can help you assess for barriers within your facility.

Is Your School Library Accessible for Students with Disabilities? - ADA Guidelines are very detailed about how much space is required for wheelchair access in our school library. We can use resources in this article to assess our own facility for possible barriers. #NoSweatLibraryTo solve the accessibility problems in my school library, I carefully measured the shelving area and drew a new plan to ensure federally-mandated wheelchair accessibility. I decided to eliminate the gaps along the back wall & between bookcase pairs, since they served no positive purpose, and there would be ample maneuverability within the new aisles.

I put strips of masking tape on the carpet to mark new bookcase locations, and spent the next month moving them. The results were better than expected:

  • The aisles were more evenly spaced and had plenty of room, with 4 feet at the front of each aisle and 5-6 feet across the back wall.
  • Students in wheelchairs could easily enter the aisles, maneuver within the aisles, reach books, and move from one aisle to another, even with other students browsing the area.
  • The continuous line of bookcases prevented the previous problem of “hide & seek” and we gained 6 feet of space in the table area, allowing for the needed wider walkways along the bookcase ends & the back tables, yet maintaining accessible walkways between the front tables and the row of OPAC computers.

Intellectual Access

A School Library Research article about accessibility, “School Librarians as Ambassadors of Inclusive Information Access for Students with Disabilities” advocates “a space that is physically accessible, information that is intellectually accessible, specialized instruction that meets the needs of each individual student.”

Intellectual access should also be inclusive and multimodal or multi-encoded, providing a multisensory experience. Signage, normally encoded in one mode (print), should be encoded in two modes (e.g., large print, and color picture or symbol) or three modes (e.g., large print, and color picture or symbol, and Braille or other texture) to be accessible to a larger group of students. In terms of navigating the school library by means of signs and posters, multimodal or multi-encoded intellectual access is more inclusive to the special needs of students with disabilities (Farmer 2009).

What is Intellectual Accessibility and How is Your School Library? - The School Library must provide a least restrictive learning environment for disabled students, and that includes the intellectual accessibility of information. To be truly inclusive, we must provide multimodal signage so our students can find just what they want and need. Learn more ... #NoSweatLibraryWhen I arrived at my 2-year-old school library, there was no signage at all. I created a variety of signage that includes images, so students can more easily locate the books they need, especially in the Dewey area. This is another example of adjustments for accessibility that benefits all students.

You can find my Fiction & Dewey signage products at No Sweat Library, my TeachersPayTeachers store.

For better intellectual access I also changed the location of specific groups of books in the library collection:

  • Reference was on the opposite side of the library from the computers, so using those books during projects would be inconvenient, and with Fiction next to the computers, students browsing for a book would distract students working at computers. Switching these 2 areas made a huge difference in accessing both, even though I substantially reduced the reference section in later years.
    linebreak
  • Later on, I discovered many students are confused by the similarity of alpha spine labels on Fiction and Biography books—which were across the aisle from each other. I moved the alpha Biography to shelves between the 2 numbered areas, Reference and Dewey. This helped not only with locating the materials, but no longer did my shelving volunteers get FIC and BIO books mixed together, nor REF and Dewey numbers!

In addition to the physical facility, take a look at your virtual library—your School Library Website. Is it accessible to students with visual impairments? A.D.A. recommends all of your images include ALT or “alternative” text. For viewers who use audio screen readers or braille displays, an image without ALT text is simply “image” and they have no way of knowing what is displayed. When the image is a link to another webpage, a disabled visitor is at a particular disadvantage if no ALT tag is provided—they don’t know what the link is or where it will take them.

Intellectual access also applies to our library book collection. Can your disabled students find relevant reading material? One excellent resource that helps school librarians increase intellectual access for students with disabilities is the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award, which honors “an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” There is a list of winners back to its inception in 2004, as well as a 9-page bibliography of books published between 2000 and 2008 about ‘the disability experience’. (From this site I learned 1 out of 7 Americans have a disability!)

2019 Winners & Honors for Teen, Middle School, and Young Children
Anger is a Gift - 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Teen Winner
(Don't) Call Me Crazy - 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Teen Honors
Mason Buttle - 2019 Schneider Family Middle School Book Award Winner
The Collectors - 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Middle School Honors
Rescue & Jessica - 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Young Children Honors
The Remember Balloon - 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Young Children Honors

TAKE A “DISABLED” TOUR OF YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

I hope we all take a fresh look at our school library facility with an eye to its accessibility for students with disabilities, initially for wheelchair access. I was fortunate to already have 2 students in wheelchairs to open my eyes, and in later years we gained 4 other students who used hearing, visual, or ambulatory assistance. Because I’d already done a thorough examination of our facility and collection, these students were able to fully participate in all our library lessons and activities.

May I suggest you head to the nurse’s office, borrow their wheelchair, and put on a pair of sunglasses to simulate impaired vision. Begin by opening your library door and entering. Take a deep breath. Tour the entire space, browse for and choose books, and do a book checkout. You may be surprised at what you’ve always taken for granted!

Anticipate disabilities that aren’t obvious, such as health impairments. Students with asthma are susceptible to chemicals and fragrances, so don’t use air diffusers or potpourri. Clean up dust-catchers and mold traps, such as stuffed animals, plants, and portable fans.  Read my post about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

While our National School Library Standards don’t specifically address disability accessibility, one of our Shared Foundations is Include. We can all make sure our school libraries are fully accessible to include everyone.

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