Ending+the+School+Year+Protocols

Here's a place where we can share our procedures and protocols for a good end to the school year in our libraries. Maybe we can have subheadings, for such things as inventory, handling overdues, and the like.

MISCELLANEOUS I clean off my personal bulletin board and all the little notes on my desk and get the last books covered or recatalogued or whatever I've had them sitting on my work table for. I clean out my files (electronic and paper) of this year's stuff to have space for next year's stuff. I review my lesson plans in case there are any I've forgotten to update - something changes every year. And I order supplies for next year (mostly folders and composition books) and in the last two weeks take all the plants home to summer on my deck. Hope Preston - Gill St. Bernard's School - Gladstone, NJ hpreston@gsbschool.org

INVENTORY I do an inventory every other year. It takes 2-3 days and ,of course, I always find misshelved books, and don't find missing books, so I get that cleaned up. Hope Preston - Gill St. Bernard's School - Gladstone, NJ hpreston@gsbschool.org

OVERDUES All books are due 10 days before the end of school to give us time to shake loose the overdues. I told the students this week that next week is their last week to check out a book. The last week of school we actually troll the classrooms trying to get in the last books. Books not returned are considered lost and a bill for $25 (our standard lost book rate) is sent home. Our Upper School withholds yearbooks. Hope Preston - Gill St. Bernard's School - Gladstone, NJ hpreston@gsbschool.org

OVERDUES Approximately one week prior to the last day of class, I send a list to each form room (home room) teacher which lists each student with overdue material, the titles, the original due date and the amount which will be billed if the book/s is not returned. I then automatically bill for any unreturned material. I only bill the replacement cost and parents are notified only if the value is over $25.00

Margaret Donnelly - Crescent School - 2365 Bayview Ave. - Toronto ON - mdonnelly@crescentschool.org

OVERDUES We started letting students know this week that yearbooks will be withheld from students until their library record is clear. We have a day in the last week of school when everyone gets their yearbook and there is a half-hour set aside to sign and share. It's a great incentive to return overdue materials and find lost items. I still have to track down Children's School Books (our school is K-12), but I enlist the help of teachers and parents and it usually goes smoothly. There are only about 5-10 items (for 500 students) that are billed as lost on final bills in June. Polly Whiteside - The Colorado Springs School - 21 Broadmoor Ave. - Colorado Springs, CO - pwhiteside@css.org