Got E-Books?

     Are you a Destiny user? Do you have Follett Shelf? Well, there is an app to help your students find the books they want!  With Destiny Quest students can log into Destiny to access their personal account. From the app students can search your online catalog, view books, check out and return e-books on the Follett Shelf, and manage their bookshelf.  

     I am spending the next week visiting all our high school English classes to show students and teachers how to use the Destiny Quest app.  I love the search feature in Quest.  Students can search my entire catalog of books, print and digital.  Students wanting a print book can put a hold on the book immediately. Students can view resource lists that teachers prepare and digital resource links to databases.  The account setting allows students to see any books they currently have checked out, titles on hold, and any fines the students may have. The bookshelf feature shows students what they are currently reading, books they want to read, and books they have already read. A new arrivals feature allows students to see the latest books hitting the library shelves.  Students I have already shown the app to love the top ten section. This is a list of the top ten most circulated books in the library. 

     I am a strong believer of books in any format for our students. Many of our students still love the book they can hold in their hand, but a new group of young people is emerging who expect digital content. I want our library to be ready for book lovers of any format.

  

What is your big dream this school year?

For me the start of a new school year is almost magical. New students, new teachers, new hopes, new dreams....the list goes on and on. Anything is possible in a fresh new year. The most important part of a new school year is your dream. What is your big dream this year?  I am asking students, teachers, administrators, and all school staff to share their dreams for the coming school year. Students are beginning to jot their dreams down on post it notes and stick them to our dream board. Soon, I hope, it will be covered with dreams.  If you are like me, you have too many dreams to put on the board. I had to narrow mine down to a small list.

• I want to help every student be successful in school and in life.
• I want every student to know how important and vital they are to this world. 
• I want to find every student the "right" book for him or her.
• I want EVERY student to know that I CARE and they matter!

So...what is your big dream this year?

     

Treasures from Library Summit 2013

Recently I had the opportunity to present at and attend the Dallas ISD and Region 10 Library Summit. What an amazing opportunity to connect and share with other professionals who are committed to making a difference in education. The fabulous Joyce Valenza was the keynote speaker. Her presentation was inspirational and provided a wealth of resources focusing on collaboration with students and educators. It is always a pleasure to hear her speak. Many talented librarians presented at the summit, but one stood out as a Google maven. Marsha Edney, from Marshall ISD, presented  "Get Stuff Done with Google Forms" and shared a variety of creative ways to make forms work for you. 

Below are just a few of the ideas Marsha shared.

Library Sign In forms- Have students sign in to the library on a Google form that time stamps their arrival and departure.

Calendar for Library and Computer Labs, Mobile Labs-  Teachers can view and reserve library space.

Parking Permit Database- Create a searchable list of student and faculty parking permits for increased campus safety. 

Class Research  Topics- Allow students to choose  topics easily on a form.

Pre or Post Tests

Freshmen Orientation Survey

Campus Surveys-Parent Surveys during Orientation or Open House

Book Requests Form

Student Elections- Marsha conducts all student elections through forms.

     You can follow Marsha on Twitter @EdneyLib for more great ideas!