Show Everyone What School Librarians Do! Make a KANBAN

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Barbara Paciotti

A recurring lament on School Librarian listservs & social media is that our education colleagues don’t really know what School Librarians do. Some teachers have even said to us, “It must be nice to spend all day reading books.” If only it were that easy!

The amount of work we School Librarians expend to keep the school library functioning is daunting, not to mention keeping up with everyone’s curriculum and designing meaningful lessons for students. However, there’s a simple way to conquer misconceptions and reveal the enormity of school librarianship…

Hang a KANBAN!

Kanban is a visual process management system that allows us to plan projects, arrange priorities, keep track of progress, and manifest what has been accomplished. More importantly, Kanban is an eye-catching display that shows everyone—teachers, principals, visitors, students—just how busy we School Librarians really are!

THE ORIGINS OF KANBAN

Kanban, from the Japanese word for signboard, was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota. Inspired by the “bin” system used in airplane factories in the United Kingdom during World War II, then later applied to shelf re-stocking in their supermarkets, Ohno adapted it as a method to implement “just-in-time” production that responds to consumer demand.

During the early 2000s, software development companies adapted the Kanban from a production system for manufacturing into a software development workflow to coordinate tasks in project teams. Since then it has morphed into systems for change management, marketing, human resources, knowledge work, and personal workflow.

The last—personal workflow—is why a Kanban is useful for School Librarians: the variety of tasks we do—from budgeting to collection development to facility management to creating lessons to professional development to school committees—can all be organized and tracked using a Kanban.

WHY USE A KANBAN?

With so many print and digital organizers available, it may be tempting to use one of those for task organization—in fact, many School Librarians already do that. But I say DON’T—no one sees a print or digital organizer!

I do use print and digital checklists for myself during workdays at the start and end of the school year, but during the school year I use a Kanban whiteboard with colorful square sticky notes to display all my ongoing tasks and projects and how they are progressing.

That big whiteboard with its columns of bright-colored notes is pretty hard to miss. In addition to helping me stay focused, it prompts a lot of conversations with others, and conveys to them just how many things we School Librarians must do to make the school library a valuable learning space.

HOW TO CREATE A KANBAN

The simplest Kanban is a whiteboard divided into 3 columns and labeled TO DO, DOING, DONE. Each task is written down on a square sticky note and moved from column to column as the job progresses.

Image of a simple Kanban board with 3 columns labeled To Do, Doing, Done.

Lasovski, Jeff. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/, 9 July 2022.

I recommend using at least a 24″ x 36″ whiteboard—remember, we’re planning for the entire school year, and it’s amazing how quickly the board fills up with tasks. Instead of drawing column lines with a whiteboard marker, use narrow black (or other color) tape in order to move notes around without smearing the grid.

I prefer to divide my whiteboard into 4 columns, adding an IDEAS column at the left to accumulate possible tasks or projects as they come to mind. I also use IN PROCESS instead of “Doing,” because I’m not always actively working on everything in that column. In addition, I merge the bottom of the two middle columns and label it AWAITING INPUT to indicate that other folks need to do or give me something in order to continue.

A whiteboard divided into 4 kanban columns labeled Ideas, To Do, In Process, Done with bottom of center 2 merged and labeled Awaiting Input. | No Sweat Library

No Sweat 4-column Kanban

To make my Kanban really useful, I color-code the sticky notes for categories of related tasks. In this way I see where the bulk of the year’s work will be so I can prioritize tasks & projects for a smooth workflow. Here are the colors and categories I use:

Image of color sticky notes labeled with my task categories. | No Sweat Library

No Sweat Color-coded Categories for Kanban Tasks

EFFECTIVE KANBAN STRATEGIES

A Kanban makes it easy to prioritize activities. I put my most immediate or most important tasks at the top and less needful ones lower down. If timing becomes more critical for something, I just move the sticky note upward.

For large projects with several phases, I use a sticky note for each phase (with project title along the top) and stack them in consecutive order. As each piece of the project begins & progresses, I move notes to the appropriate column, stacking as needed, usually in a single row across the board, and slightly separated from disparate tasks.

One advantage of the whiteboard is being able to use a dry erase marker to draw arrows or symbols next to a sticky note, which is very helpful to align phases of a project. Plus, so much of what we do in the school library is interrelated, so if I have to work on something else before I can go ahead with a task, I can line-link the notes together without moving them.

Certain of our school librarian chores recur from year to year, so we can reuse those notes. For example, I do mini-inventories of sections of the library over a 5-year period instead of one big inventory—it takes less time and is less disruptive to students and teachers. I use five 3”x5” rectangle sticky notes and list a column of Fiction Subjects and a column of Dewey numbers for each year. When I complete each section, I check-mark it. At the end of the school year I move the top note to the bottom of the stack and put the stack back in the TO DO column, ready for the next school year’s mini-inventories.

When a task or project is finished, it’s tempting to throw away the note, but don’t do that! I accumulate them near the top of the DONE column until the end of the grading period so I am sure to include finished tasks in my Report to Principal. Then I move them as a batch toward the bottom of the Done column. There’s great satisfaction in watching the sticky notes build up toward the top in that last column, seeing how much I’ve accomplished throughout the school year!

Be sure to place your Kanban in a prominent place to easily check status and to show others what School Librarians do! | No Sweat Library

A No Sweat Library Kanban with Tasks & Projects

KANBAN IS A SPECTACULAR ADVOCACY TOOL!

It’s important to hang the Kanban in a prominent place where it’s easy to keep updated, and also where it can be seen by others. I hang mine on the back wall of my librarian office, where anyone at the circulation counter could see the colorful display through the windows. Many students and teachers ask about my Kanban, which gives me an opportunity to talk about how the school library can assist them.

At the end of the school year, I take a snapshot of the Kanban with all the finished tasks, then paste it into the final Report to Principal and include it in my professional evaluation report to visually emphasize how busy my year has been!

So, go to it! Create your own KANBAN!

A Back-to-School Action Plan for the School Librarian

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Barbara Paciotti

The start of a new school year is hectic for any educator, and it’s especially demanding for the School Librarian. We have a bigger room to organize, more materials to distribute, more students to track, and multiple curricular lessons to manage. How can one get it all done?

Many librarians use a list with checkboxes to cross off what they’ve accomplished. I’ve seen some with a hundred or more tasks, and just looking at such a list is overwhelming! While we do need an organized way to prepare for the influx of teachers, then students, we need one that prevents us from getting exhausted before school even begins.

I have a Back-to-School Action Plan, and the key to its usefulness is the grouping of like tasks to maximize focus and minimize backtracking. I hope sharing my plan may help other School Librarians prepare for the start of school and still have energy when school actually begins.

START BEFORE TEACHERS RETURN

Our school district provides 2 extra paid contract days for elementary & middle school librarians. In addition, librarians do not have to attend our 2 teacher conference days, so we can use those as workdays. Since the start of the school year is so busy, I use 3 days the week before teachers return. Being alone in the library lets me get massive amounts of work done!

With good planning, you can use all your workdays before school begins. If you start your end-of-year closing tasks 2-3 weeks before the end of school, and use student review and final exam days to get more work done, you may not need much extra time to wrap up for summer.
(If you have library aides, ask teachers to send them to the library to help reshelve books if they finish exams early. I don’t have assigned aides, but many of my students love to come in and help after exams—their reward is being allowed to take books home to read during the summer.)

GIVE EACH WORKDAY A THEME

My best back-to-school time saver has been assigning a “theme” for each workday. My first day back to work is my Librarian Records Day, which I spend at the computer, getting files ready for the new school year. So much of what happens afterward depends on administrative records being up-to-date, so it makes sense to tackle this first, even if the rest of the library is a shambles from summer cleaning and what-not.

My second workday is Teacher Materials Day, when I organize & distribute teaching materials to classrooms. It’s so much better to get this “stuff” out of the library as soon as possible, rather than wait for teachers to get it themselves. They appreciate having what they need already in their rooms when they return, which has built a positive attitude toward the library and me.

My third workday is Library Day, when I finally organize the library and decorate my bulletin boards. Well before the end of the day, the library is pleasant and ready for the principal to set up for staff development the following week, and for my library orientations & book checkouts the first week of school.

GROUP TASKS TOGETHER CONSECUTIVELY

For each Theme day I’ve grouped my tasks in a progressive manner, so each activity prepares for following ones and I don’t have to backtrack. It took 3 years to perfect my flow, and I do still tweak it from time to time as needs or materials change.

Librarian Records Day

I begin with my school library budget: getting lost-book payments from the school secretary that have been paid during the summer, finalizing book orders & supplies that have come in during the summer, and using residual funds to order start-up supplies from the warehouse. Then I close out the budget and set up the new year’s budget document, so I’m ready to go when our funding comes through (about 2 weeks after school actually begins).

Next I update librarian administrative documents. Middle schools see a lot of staff turnover from year to year, so anything with teacher names or room assignments needs to be changed. This includes maps, phone & distribution lists, and the school website. Some are document files, some are in the library management system, and some are network or online apps, so I work through each type before moving on to the next.

Last I do any needed updates to teacher info documents. For each teacher/classroom I provide a personalized library pass, a Teacher Quick-Flip Library Info Guide, and classroom inventory sheets. At the end of the day I’m ready for printing, copying, sorting, laminating, folding & stapling of all documents that I’ve updated.

Teacher Materials Day

In our district, portable equipment is barcoded and its distribution is tracked by school librarians: globes, whiteboard easels, calculators, headphones, jamboxes, cameras, and other audio/video apparatus. We also barcode and distribute certain professional & curricular binders.

Each Classroom Inventory sheet lists all such items, so I organize the sheets by hallway, gather & check out items to the individual teacher or classroom, stack them on a large AV cart, and deliver them to the respective classrooms. Doing one hallway at a time is efficient, and by the end of the day the library and workroom are cleared, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment!

Library Day

I’ve established a good relationship with our custodial staff so tables & chairs are back in their proper places from summer cleaning, or I’ve arranged the day before for them to do that first thing this morning. Our tables are on wheels, so it’s really an easy task they don’t mind doing.

My first task is sorting and processing magazines accumulated during the summer. I circulate current issues of magazines, so I prepare them, place them in the display rack, and take care of old issues by distributing to teachers or placing in table bins for student free reading.

Then I take care of newly arrived books. Fiction gets Subject & transparent color labels, as do certain non-fiction books for special collections. I make necessary changes to records in the library management system, then get those new books on the shelves or placed for display.

Next I replenish supplies for the circulation desk, for teacher table bins, and for student supply buckets: pens, pencils, markers, sticky notes, tape/glue, etc. I put the teacher bins on tables, ready for the next week’s staff development. Student buckets are kept in a closet near the circulation desk for easy access when needed. (This is a good time to organize & replenish a makerspace, if you have one!)

Stocked up, and with loose materials out of the way, I’m ready to create signs & displays: new signage for bookshelves or computer areas, promotional displays for walls, doors & bookshelves, and my 4 hallway bulletin boards. I’m not big on frou-frou, so I’ve developed a pattern for my bulletin boards that promotes the library but goes up fairly quickly.

The rest of the day I’m back at the computer to update library planning & report documents: Action Items for my 3-year Strategic Plan, the Library Report to Principal template, my professional development documents, the Library Substitute Folder, and Volunteer & Aide materials.

THE WEEK BEFORE STUDENTS RETURN

As I walk out the door at the end of the 3rd workday the library is ready for the following week—staff development for teachers. During that week I have time between sessions for brief teacher consults about curriculum changes & collaborative lessons for the first few weeks of school:

update my Curriculum Matrix and Info Lit Scope & Sequence document
schedule the ELA library visits every-other-week for book checkout & DEAR time
add links for students on the library website Teacher/Class Pages
prepare the rolling announcements for the first week with students.

I also have time to prepare any audio/video/digital equipment for students that will be checked out to them the next week, such as Algebra I calculators and cameras for yearbook students. There are always a few unfinished or unplanned tasks to do, but these are minimal because my Back-to-School Action Plan has once again been efficient and effective.

One task I don’t have to do is create library orientations. After testing out various lessons with students, I’ve settled on one unique orientation for each grade level and I use them year after year. They are continually successful with students and my ELA teachers love that I focus on reading right from the start.

My Back-To-School Action Plan is part of the LIS Checklist spreadsheet document, available as part of my Administrative Tools product in No Sweat Library, my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

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

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Barbara Paciotti

Fixed 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.

Educational 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.

The 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.
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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.

Then 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

Looking Backward – No Sweat Library Lessons & Management That Works

Reflections from A Middle School Librarian

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