Although most middle-school students learned library skills in elementary school, they need some review when they first arrive at Ralston. Right at the start of the school year, Library Media Specialist Maggie King challenges sixth-grade Language Arts classes with a scavenger hunt. Students search for specific materials in the library, competing on speed and accuracy. The orientation also includes a game of “reference concentration” to help students learn what reference books are in the library. The kids have fun and leave the library knowing where to find what they need.
Mrs. King in the Ralston Library
When Ralston’s library reopened in March 2011, teachers eagerly scheduled time for their classes to visit. In the current year, social science and language arts teachers bring their students in to learn library skills and research topics related to the curriculum. Last fall, for example, Mr. Rosa’s classes visited the library to research the American Revolution and Founding Fathers. Ms. Frey’s social studies classes researched the American Colonies to write articles based on newspaper formatting from the Colonial era. Ms. Frey notes that, “Mrs. King’s willingness to support our lessons and our students’ learning makes the library integral part of our school-wide learning process, which provides a rigorous and thoughtful core curriculum for all students at Ralston Middle School. ”
The library is open for book checkout every day for six hours, including lunchtime on Mondays and Fridays. Mrs. King estimates about 45 to 50 kids visit the library during each of those two lunch periods. Students seeking a calm space in the middle of the day sign in and read, draw, play board games, browse for books, or do homework. Chatting is permitted, but inside voices only!
The current library media space, about size of two classrooms, is located in the main school building. This same space also contains the computer lab, open at lunchtime Tuesdays and Thursdays. By December 2013, thanks to Measure I Bond Funds, the library will occupy a larger space located near the new entrance to the school.
Library media-specialist hours are fewer than previously, but Mrs. King hopes to find a way to open briefly before or after school a couple of days a week to allow more time for book check-out. Currently, the majority of the allotted library hours occur during classes. Yet even with the current hours, almost 500 books were checked out in October alone.
Mrs. King also teaches both students and teachers to use online resources, such as Library Links for Education, a partnership between the County Office of Education and the Peninsula Library System. That list of databases includes eBooks, available online to those holding a public-library card. She also helps students use tools to format bibliography entries for online sources. And since she implemented an electronic card catalog this year, students can search online for books at home and visit the library the next day to check them out. The link for the online catalog can be found on the library page of the Ralston website.
Ralston’s library is supported in large part by School-Force, which helps to support salaries for library media technicians throughout District. At Ralston, as at most of the elementary schools, the PTA provides a limited budget for book purchases. Scholastic Book Fairs, which Mrs. King also runs, raises additional funds to buy books, both hard copies and electronic versions, and many families have also donated both funds and books through the Adopt-a-Book program. More details can be found on the website.
Most school libraries throughout the state are struggling for funds. Yet they still play an important role in teaching children to be information literate. “In today’s world, that term means having the skills to effectively access, evaluate, use, and integrate information into their lives,” according to the Model School Library Standards for California Public Schools. Thanks to your support of School-Force and your PTA, our students have an on-campus resource to help them learn these skills.
Contributed by Martha Simmons
School-Force Communications Team
Cipriani and Ralston Parent
Edited by Louise Lee
School-Force Volunteer
Central Parent
