Tag Archives: QQP

General, School Media Specialist

Genrefication QQP results

Recently CMLE asked via a Quick Question Poll, which of you were thinking about, or have made the switch from the Dewey Decimal Classification to a genre based system. Although we had a small sample, it seems that most of you have already made the switch! Of the ones that hadn’t, it was “Know How” that was the most popular thing holding you back. Thankfully, the ones that had done it responded with plenty of sage advice and tips. Check some of them out below:

  • Plan, plan, plan. Don’t hesitate. Pick your categories first and change on the catalog not just the spine.
  • I left non-fiction alone and just redid fiction. Determining categories is not an exact science, and sometimes books need to be reclassified.
  • I used demco colored label protectors to indicate genres (different color for each genre). No retyping each spine label! If you are changing the call number/marc record, do it as you re-shelve. We rearranged first then changed the record…mistake!
  • Determining categories takes some thought and consideration. No list is perfect, and we periodically move books to a new genre if we feel it is misplaced. It is intuitive for non-library experts. Some patrons need to rely on the catalog to find a particular title or author since the genre for that book may not be easily identifiable.
    Sports Fiction
  • We have really loved it in our building! It is developmentally appropriate for our students and it makes browsing easier. We have also noticed that more kids are using the patrons catalog with the new system in place.
  • Suggestion: Have both a picture and words on your signage and labels – it supports the non and emerging readers as well as giving visual cues.
  • Choosing genres is a challenge. There will be overlap no matter which categories you choose. The online catalog search will still be important because patrons cannot just browse by author. One author may be in a couple different genre areas. Sometimes change in and of itself brings a new energy to a library.
  • We did re-catalog all of our genre books and added the genre code in the call number as well as in subject fields. Some high interest non-fiction titles are mixed in with the fiction (like “Into Thin Air” in Action/Adventure). 

Want to learn more about genrefication? Check out our Genrefication of your school’s fiction collection post.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Your Voice: More Great Things Happening in Your Libraries

Image by Wertheim. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by Wertheim. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

Welcome to Your Voice, a column that shares Quick Question Poll (QQP) results from libraries/school media centers in the twelve-county, CMLE region. Whether a statistical response or textual response to open ended questions, your voice matters. Invitations to engage in the polls arrive in your email; please participate! Most poll results will be shared in aggregate form unless stated otherwise in the poll or through additional approval arrangements.

Part 1 of this post happened last week. If you want to  catch last weeks’ column, feel free to read it first!
In answer to one of our recent poll questions: Which two or three things are going especially well for you in your library, school district or media center, we share the following quotes…..
  1. Many donations to keep the library up to date on newer books, very few lost books through the school year.
  2. Library remodel. Collection development.
  3. Circulation remains strong. Our district is supporting a movement toward a 1:1 laptop program. Our program continues to receive strong district support.
  4. We are extremely busy and the numbers for library use of all kinds look great and are rising. We are getting additional space when we move over to the new building the college has purchased to house the library. Our administration is very supportive of our library.
  5. The “library without walls” environment continues to be amazing—with all of the e-resources available to our students and staff, we can enhance learning in ways we dreamed of!
  6. Personal goal of using more technology in my lessons and student options for technology use. Implemented iPod touches.
Good things are happening…..it’s easy to focus on what is wrong or not getting done, but reflecting on what is right can enrich your work life. If you would like the full story on any poll results we share, let us know and maybe we can arrange to get more detail for a future blog post!
 
If you have suggestions for new polls, or have questions about existing polls, please feel free to contact me at papost@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-4779.
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Your Voice: Central Minnesota’s Year in Review

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Welcome to Your Voice, a column that shares Quick Question Poll (QQP) results from libraries/school media centers in the twelve-county, CMLE region. Whether a statistical response or textual response to open ended questions, your voice matters. Invitations to engage in the polls arrive in your email; please participate! Most poll results will be shared in aggregate form unless stated otherwise in the poll or through additional approval arrangements.

Image by pictureorpictures. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by pictureorpictures. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

Last year, we did a number of very short online Quick Question Polls, to gather input from the region. The last one we did was titled Year in Review. In that QQP we asked you to  reflect on the academic year, and share the high points and/or struggles too. We were delighted that a dedicated group of people still possessed enough energy to engage in the poll! Eighty-two percent of respondents were from K-12 school media centers in Central Minnesota, which isn’t a huge surprise; it is the largest member group that CMLE serves. So, drum roll please……on to the positivity!

In answer to one of the questions: Which two or three things are going especially well for you in your library, school district or media center? Given the gift of time, I would categorize all responses. Lacking that at the moment, I thought it might be refreshing to hear a smattering of positivity from peers in the region. A few colleague responses were…

  1. I have two good media assistants that help me run two libraries. We are getting some Chromebooks for our students to use because our labs are tied up so often with testing.
  2. Adult book discussions are popular and going well as is story time for preschoolers.
  3. Rearranged collection to a more “store” model rather than using the traditional library arrangement. Also redecorated the media center to remove the 90’s look and to create a more inviting teen reading environment. Also worked with grade level teams in our Phase 1 of the DC Digital Learning Initiative.
  4. Connecting with students and helping them connect with books.
  5. Supportive Administration—A very busy Media Center!
  6. Every building has a full time media specialist in the district and our process for making tech decisions is fluid which means we’ve made a lot of progress regarding technology this year (keep in mind we don’t have a technology administrator OR a district tech integrationists). I’m pretty proud of my fiction collection in my library as well!
  7. The way we have classes scheduled to come into the library. We use shelf markers with their names on them and that helps when they are looking for a book because they put the shelf marker in the bookshelf where they take the book out. Then, if they look at it and decide it isn’t the book for them, they know where it should go back. It also helps for checking out materials as the barcode is on the shelf markers. All barcode numbers are the same as their lunch numbers.
  8. Technology is moving forward at a good pace. I’ve been able to reach most of my students with research skills, and am part of the Digital Citizenship class (grade 9).

I like to think of the contents of this post as a spoonful of positivity in Central Minnesota! At a time of the year when energy could have been low, I found creativity, value, and optimism in all responses. Everyone felt positive about some aspect of their work! Taking the time to review and reflect on accomplishments and lessons learned, can enrich our practice and improve satisfaction levels in our jobs too. Stay tuned for more results soon.

If you have suggestions for new polls, or have questions about existing polls, please feel free to contact me at papost@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-4779.

Last year respondents to the QQP’s were entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift ! Who won? It was Kyle Breitkreutz, media specialist at Sartell Middle School. According to Kyle, he never wins anything, so we are glad we could break that trend for him! Watch your email for Quick Question Polls again this year! And remember, your voice matters!