End of term.....

First term is over and it has certainly been a busy one. The KS2 production was a huge success with all 4 year groups producing superb performances of "Stories we love" including Mary Poppins, Egyptian Cinderella, 12 Labours of Heracles and the Wizard of Oz.

I have been using the time when they were at rehearsals to try and catalogue the book donations and start to process the new books. In the midst of all this the IT team finally decided it
was time to try and get Oliver up and coming. The Secondary Librarian and I dutifully backed-up our Athena databases, took the necessary screen shots and got them sent to Softlink in Australia. After a couple of hours the timeline came back - data check this week, when we are on holiday and perhaps a functioning system by 23rd January, just before the Chinese New year holidays start. I don't think either of us anticipated that it would take this long. We had been doing manual circulation but made an executive decision to use the Athena for circulation again and manually update the Oliver circulation when the system is up and running.

Just as well really, as I already had 3 boxes of returned books and endless sheets of paper with loans which I input in a mad rush on Friday afternoon.

Last day of term and we hosted the whole school Assembly in the Library - it was really good to get everyone in. Those wheeled shelves are certainly easy to move! We also had a parent from the Foundation group doing some story telling to the little ones - she's a French librarian from Alliance Francais so it was really useful to make contact.

Time now to rest and relax. Have come down with the cold so am feeling quite miserable. I am intending to sort out a Library monitor programme and some Library skills over the holidays but that will have to wait for a day or two until I am feeling better.

Only one week to go....

Not quite sure where I am up to this week. Been a bit mixed up as our KS2 students and teachers are heavily involved in preparing for their Production which is next week. For me, it means a bit of juggling around of Library slots and some classes just not turning up.

Met with 4 other Librarians on Tuesday evening which was brilliant. Good to have contact with other people in the same position. We are planning to start up a network group like ALESS in Hong Kong and the Beijing Librarian's network. Already started to swap supplier information and agreed to try and organise an author visit between 3 schools. Got a great contact for the Government book supplier in Beijing and she has already quoted me for several series which are missing from our collection. Just hope the purchasing dept don't hold onto the order for too long.

The IT people came on Wednesday and promised to install the long-awaiting Oliver Plus on Thursday morning. Thursday morning came and went with no word, so continued to use Athena for the day. A sudden flurry of emails to and from Softlink in Australia in the afternoon but here we are on Friday afternoon and still no Oliver. Not quite sure what the problem is, and to be honest I don't want to ask anymore. It seems like our IT techs are not completely sure how to answer the questions required by Softlink for the remote installation so don't know what will happen now.

Am hosting the whole school assembly in the Library next Friday morning so we'll see how my movable shelves work! Not sure how many students will be there, we should have 325 but some have already taken off for hols and with the KS2 production the night before, I think many of the kids will be too tired for school on Friday.

Staff social next Wednesday evening so that should be a good chance to meet some of the Secondary teachers - I don't know any of them!

Nearly Xmas!

Hard to believe it's only two weeks until the end of term. Amazing to think what has been accomplished in 3 months - at times it seemed like the space would never been transformed into a working library.

Need to start thinking about developing library skills and proper research methodolgy. 3 weeks vacation should help that process.

Ideally need to start with basic shelf order lessons leading into DDC and what subject order is all about. If we can get our new Oliver plus installed and converted before Christmas, I can really get going with OPAC use and serious searching in the New Year!

Proper Librarian work!

Actually did some real Librarian work today with Year 6. They have been looking at Genres so we had a lively discussion about different Genres followed by an activity to get them to really think about the characteristics of the books they are reading.

It was great to actually spend some time with them and get a feel for what they are interested in. So far it has been all about re-cataloguing and setting things up - there hasn't been much time to actually think about supporting the curriculum. Have done lots of stories with the younger ones but am keen to start some real work with the older ones.

The new PSHE coordinator asked me to catalogue the new PSHE resources and lend through the Library this week- this could form the basis of the Professional development Library for teaching staff. I have shelf space, just need to get them to send me the resources which are all over the school. Hopefully, this will be the start of something good.

The furniture company came again this afternoon to fit the lockable wheels to the shelving. They supplied them with only 2 lockable wheels so the shelves move around when a child so much as looks at it! Of course, they didn't bring enough so left me with books all over the floor and tables while they went to get more wheels. When they came back they must have had a flash of inspiration - there were two of them this time and one lifted the shelf while the other screwed in the new wheels - meaning no more books removed and re-shelved incorrectly.

Next, I need them to build a shelf across the back of the new computer tables - they are too small for the monitors so there is not enough room for the keyboards or any notebooks the children may need. If we put a shelf across the back the monitors can be raised about 6" and there will be enough space for the children to actually work!

Computers too!

It's definately all happening this week. Yesterday the IT Guys arrived, "en masse" and started to unpack monitors and hook everything up. Maintenance arrived in the afternoon to thread the network cable across the roof and by 4:30pm there were 10 computers up and running plus a separate one to run the Smart Board.

Now I will need to share and enforce my "Acceptable Use Policy" so that the students know what exactly what they can use the Library computers for!

The decorations have been a bit hit - lots of positive feedback from staff and students alike. For a bit of fun, have put together a comic strip showing the development and stuck it up so the kids can see the changes - have put in some of the pics above, it was too long to add everything.

Decorations

Now that most of the books are unpacked and re-catalogued, there is a bit more time to do some decorating. Got some lovely bright chiffon from the fabric market which we have draped across the picture book area to create a warmer, cosier feel to the space. This prompted a little more creativity and with the help of Elisabeth, who has been doing a lot of display work, we have now covered the four central pillars in the same colours as the fabric. It really brightens the place up and everyone has been commenting on what a difference it makes.

The Oliver Plus CD has arrived!! We have contacted the IT staff at our sister school in Tianjin to help with the installation and conversion along with Softlink Australia. No fixed conversion date yet.....still quite a lot to do with the current database. The Secondary data is still in the Primary database so there are 800 entries to be removed before we convert. Luckily the Secondary Librarian keeps meticulous records so it is just a matter or inputting the barcodes and hitting the delete button.

Fingers crossed that the conversion is successful and we don't lose any data. Having just re-catalogued the entire Primary collection, I don't want to have to do it again!!

Overseas orders forms have been issued so now is the time to put together my wish list for next year. I am still trying to establish contact with local suppliers to fill gaps in the shelves now, but I will need to order from overseas as well, especially for Non-Fiction and Magazines.

Just finished a Comic Life Photo story of the Library development which I will put up as a display to show how things have progressed since I started in September. It's truly amazing to look back and see the difference.

It looks like a library now!

The last of the chairs arrived this afternoon so we can now use the entire space. The bean bag samples are a huge hit so I have put in a request for 12 of the big "fatboys" and 6 of the more conventional ones.

Brilliant parent helper in yesterday who sorted out bookends and signs so at least we are starting to define areas for Fiction, Non Fiction etc. Still need shelf signage but that will come.

Did some buddy reading this afternoon with a Year 2 & 3 class, which was a big hit. All the kids really enjoyed it. Will now have to see if we can encourage some more classes to get involved.

Only a few books left to unpack, mostly Non Fiction. There are some serious gaps in the Fiction collection so I will need to put together an order and start finding some reliable local suppliers as I can only order from overseas at a particular time of year. Magazines are tricky too, there is a local supplier for the Bayard Presse magazines but I am struggling to find a supplier for Nat Geo or Ranger Rick locally.

Will also need to start thinking about audio books, DVDs....... the list could be endless.

What a week.....

Started using the new counter properly this week and working with the students to sort out returning and borrowing routines.

On Wednesday the remainder of the shelving arrived! They were bigger than I expected but once I moved them around a bit it started to look pretty good. Decided to create a research space with all the Non-Fiction for KS2 (Ys 3 - 6) next to the computers and the Fiction in the centre of the Library. The other side has shaped up nicely as Foundation and KS1 space with all the picture books, readers and a smaller Non-Fiction area.

I am so pleased with the way things are finally taking shape. A bit manic though, trying to move all the non-Fiction over and make some sense of it. Absolutely no signage so that's a priority for next week. Luckily I have a parent coming in all day Monday so we will be cutting, laminating and hanging signs so that it starts to make some sense.

Friday was a very exciting - the head of the Parent Group, "Friends of Rego", appeared with samples of bean bags. They are brilliant, there are large regtangular ones with nylon, wipable covers and a more conventional style. The Friday afternoon classes had a ball trying them out and I am now coordinating a whole school order so that we can negotiate a good discount.

The chairs also arrived last thing, not sure I have got them all yet but it is looking really good.

Still waiting for the computers to be hooked up, the network point is in the opposite corner so it involves bringing cables across the ceiling and putting in a new network switch so I may have to wait a bit.

Traffic has been awful in Shanghai this week, it's been really foggy and wet and there have been a lot of accidents. Turns a 30 min jounrey into 1 1/2 to 2 hours - not good!

Have added in some new pics to the slideshow - it's really interesting to look back and just see how different the space looks now.

Starting to look like a Library

Another busy week but the space is starting to look like a Library at last! Walked in on Monday to tables, picture book display shelves a Library counter and nails and cigarette butts all over the floor. Let's just say the workers were not the tidiest I have every seen. Unfortunately the workmanship is sloppy and badly finished on the counter. The main counter is okay but the drawers underneath are dreadful. Several of the display boards on the top of the picture book shelves are damaged through poor handling so it was a little frustrating after waiting all this time.

Still, the tables and computer desk are good and it does make it look more like a Library. Once the chairs arrive we will actually be able to use the tables.

The furniture company came back on Tuesday to install the dividing shelves on the picture book shelves so I have actually been able to put books on them! They also "supposedly" fixed the drawers at the counter but when I finally moved over yesterday and tried to put stuff in them, one of them fell to bits............there were no words!!

Furniture company will be coming back again next week to take the drawer units out and replace them with something that actually works.

Had to wait until yesterday for the network and power cables to be re-wired but finally moved to the counter yesterday morning. What a difference from being stuck in the corner. The children really like it too. I've now moved the work table to make a parents/work corner and it looks so much better.

My lovely display ladies were in on Wednesday and have transformed things. We now have a great colourful display of "Library" translated into all the different languages in the school and a bookshelf motif around the walls which really lifts the place. I've tried to take some pics and will upload more in the next few days.

Put in orders for more essentials like a cutter, rubbish bins, newspaper rack, clocks and book ends. Haven't even thought about book orders yet - still opening boxes and re-cataoguing .....

Interesting meetings with Oxford University Press and Bayard. Good contact with a Beijing supplier who came with the OUP rep and I now have 50 sample packs of the Box magazines to distribute to interested parents so hopefully we will get a free sub from that.

First Scholastic book club went well with over 130 orders. It's the first time I have done Scholastic and I have to say I am impressed with how much they do for us. Will see if all the books turn up as I have heard some comments that they run out of stock and then the kids are disappointed. I said I would do all the admin through the Library and place one school order giving the teachers the option to send me requests instead of individual class orders. Seems to have worked okay - got requests from two year group coordinators and I managed to find plenty to supplement the Library stock.

Repair supplies are on their way - they managed to source the stapler and staples locally and are now looking into the tape I asked for. Huge thanks to Andrea again for supplying samples of Raeco tape - otherwise I am sure I would end up with sellotape!!!!!

Massive post today, woke up early and took the opportunity to catch up.

Not all the furniture after all!!

I should have known better than to believe it when they said it was all the furniture. Got an updated order list last thing on Friday - it is all the wooden furniture. This includes the counter, tables and some bookshelves but there are still nearly 20 to come - metal shelving on wheels for all the Key Stage 1 and half the Key Stage 2 stock. So still a lot to go. Plus all the chairs!!

Anyway, they are supposed to be there over the weekend building the flat pack stuff so tomorrow should be an exciting day.

Got to fit in a meeting with Oxford University Press, Bayard Presse and two assemblies to start my new "Library Citizens of the Week" award tomorrow, so promises to be pretty full on. Must also take lots of pics of the new furniture and upload them.

At last, some furniture!!

Haven't posted for a while - there really wasn't anything to add. Plodding on through the re-cataloguing and being eternally grateful for the wonderful parent support. Now have some regular people who come in to help stick labels, shelve books, cover and do displays - what a difference it makes! Had over 100 hours of parant support so far, I certainly needed it.

Yesterday the furniture supplier delivered table legs - no chairs just table legs. They said they would return today with the tops. After my Thursday meeting with the Principal this morning I was presented with 4 pieces of carpet. Makes a huge difference to the echo in the room and already it looks cosier.

Late afternoon brought table tops, then more flat-packed shelves and what looks very like the parts for a circulation counter!! Apparently they have now delivered all the furniture and will spend the weekend assembling it. We'll see what Monday brings and how much will be okay.

Still 9 boxes to re-catalogue but definately got incentive now. Have added some more pics to the slideshow to show progression from an empty space to one with lots of flat pack furniture.

Hopefully next week it will start to look like a real library.

Frustration sets in!

After a relaxing half-term returned to my empty space with high hopes of furniture and making some real progress. Purchasing confirmed that I should expect some furniture the first week, with the remainder by the middle of the month. Re-cataloguing is moving on - almost halfway-through the collection now.

Over a week later, all that has been delivered is a magazine rack - nothing else!! Add to this, difficulties with purchasing and immigration and frustration has set in. Tried to order some repair supplies from Raeco in Australia as many of the books have pages falling out or other issues which could be repaired with the correct equipment. Had the order approved and signed off, only to be told that overseas orders are only made once per year and this is not the time.

Another visit to immigration to try and collect my passport and not get it, has added to the frustration. Third time lucky tomorrow hopefully.

Luckily the lovely parents came in again this morning and some this afternoon and now there are about another 1000 books on shelves. This presents different issues now - with the limited shelving, it is almost full. Everywhere I turn at the moment, there are another set of difficulties.

The only way is up, I hope!!

Another week gone by!

What a difference it has made having parent and student help. I have 2 wonderful Year 6 girls, Esther and Anna who come in at break and lunch times most days and help out. Plus the wonderful parents - 2 groups of 6/7 mums have been in this week and have stuck spine labels on more than 1200 books. Today's group even shelved everything, stuck up temporary signage on all the shelves I have, and stamped all the new books. I couldn't keep up with them!

They all promised to come back in again after the October break, so I better keep up with the re-cataloguing.

Have also had some great offers of help with displays and decorations. So far I have an Austrian Art teacher, a Designer and a Singaporean lady who is happy to help out with pictures and displays.

Have actually managed to open for borrowing today and had my first few classes. Great to actually interact with some children for a change. The new book bag idea seems quite popular - just need to see how they will last. I wanted the reinforced plastic ones but the ones that turned up are not quite as robust, we'll see how it all works out!

Can't believe we have half-term next week already, we have only been in school for 4 weeks. It seems good now, but I imagine we will all feel differently with another 11 weeks when we come back.

Been a good week so far, I've even been to Immigration to sign whatever it is I need to sign to get my residence and work permit.

All I need now is some Library furniture!!

Wonderful parents!!

Aren't parents wonderful - the Friends of Rego launched my appeal at their Coffee Morning on Wednesday and now I have two teams coming in next Mon/Tues to stick the spine labels on and cover them with plastic.

One came today and did around 200 plus there were 2 lovely Year 6 girls who covered them. By the end of next Tuesday I should actually be able to offer some form of borrowing for the kids for over the October break.

Thank goodness! I'll just need to keep up with the re-cataloging to make sure there is plenty for the parents to do.

Very glad it is Friday - feel as if I am shaped like a computer chair.

Re-catalogued over 300 books yesterday and printed out spine labels. Had help from a parent for an hour so now have around 100 books with spine labels stuck on, they just need covered to keep them on and I can actually put something on the few shelves that I have.

Sent an appeal to the Parents' group, Friends of Rego, and the Year 6s to try and get some more helpers. I think it is more valuable spending my time re-cataloguing than sticking labels on but I may end up surrounded by huge piles of books and nothing on shelves.

Shelves!!

Finally I have got some shelves. Yippee!! Only 6 which were moved across from the Secondary campus but it's a start. I had several classes come in this week just to say "hello" and borrow some readers as that's all that is on offer at the moment.

Wanted to rush and open all the boxes and start shelving, but I discovered that much of the collection is missing spine labels. It's a huge job but I have started to re-catalogue and print the spine labels. Many of the catalogue entries have the author surnames the wrong way round and there is very little DDC in use. The Secondary librarian has already made a start and most of the collection has barcodes but each book needs to have the catalogue entry checked and amended.

I have decided to take a selection from each collection so I can at least offer some limited borrowing in the next couple of weeks.

Had to "shout" a bit on Thursday as the printer was still not installed and my pile of books waiting for spine labels was growing. Luckily the Principal is very supportive and by Thursday lunchtime my newly installed printer was happily churning out spine labels. Just need some parent or students helpers to stick them on and it could start to look like a proper Library.

Book bags arrived, just waiting on boxes for each class then I start to get them into a routine of sending back books in the morning and borrowing when they come. (Those 8 months at RCHK taught me such a lot about good organisation - heartfelt thanks to Andrea) Everyone has booked in for a Library slot now, so my week is starting to take shape - also lots of open slots with possibilities for flexible scheduling once we are up and running.

The days are flying by so quickly - it's good to be busy but I am certainly enjoying the long weekend as it's Mid-Autumn Festival here.

Progress

Bit of a shock when I walked in this morning - both library doors were wide open and there were a couple of boxes lying on the floor. There has been some problems with things going missing so I started to think the worst. Luckily I had a good look round and realised that the boxes were actually from a new interactive whiteboard and projector which had been installed over the weekend. There were also some lovely big palms and pot plants to make the space look a bit greener.

Still no furniture but progress! Did a welcome display and managed to locate a colour printer so I can start to make the place look a bit more colourful. Actually had 3 Year 4 classes in during the day to borrow readers. Unpacked the cushions I found in some boxes and let the kids sit down to read for a while. It was great to have company for a little bit.

Catalogued some more readers until the sprinkler guys arrived to do some maintenance. Enough for one day!

Week 1

Week 1 is almost over already - whizzed by!! Had a day 1/2 handover with the Secondary librarian to get me up to speed with the systems in place. We are using Athena which is little more antiquated than Alice or Oliver but does the job. No OPAC options so will be a little hard on the students but longer term we will move to Alice or Oliver.

I have a fantastic Library space - at present it is just that - a SPACE!! The furniture is on order but there is some delay related to quality so I will have to be patient. I have spent a few days updating the class lists and sorting out the levelled readers which are also kept in the Library here.

Finally sent out a draft timetable today for teachers to choose a slot. I am hoping to offer a combination of fixed and flexible scheduling, like at RCHK in Hong Kong, but am slightly restricted by being a one-woman band. There are 27 classes from Nursery to Y6 but relatively small class sizes, 9 - 17 so only about 370 students in total.

It's going to be a lot of work but a great opportunity to start with a blank sheet. The Principal is very supportive and approved the combined flexible/fixed scheduling, introduction of book bags and a few other ideas.

Will upload some pics of the space soon but internet speeds are much slower in Shanghai so may take a while.

Just arrived!

I've just arrived back in Shanghai after 4 years in Hong Kong and am excited to be taking up a new position as Primary Librarian at Shanghai Rego International School in Min Hang District, Puxi. The school is just opening a new Primary campus so the Library space is brand new - it's just a space at the moment - no furniture and books in boxes but everything is on order.
Exciting times!