For my service project, I early on decided I wanted to do something to help Crystal Lake School. The media center at CLS is in the process of having their card catalog moved to an automated system, so I first thought I could help with that project. But then it seemed like they already had parent volunteers and the project was already so far along, I wouldn't be much help. So I then thought about all the books in the reading room and closet. In these rooms are crates full of books that go with each of our reading themes (see photo on the main page). As a classroom teacher, when I am working with a theme, I will sometimes take a crate of books to my classroom and use them as supplemental reading, literature circles, or guided reading. However, I really didn't know what books were in these crates. I wondered if I could make a more organized list and take inventory of these books so teachers and students would know all the books available to them. I presented this idea to the reading consultant and the principal who both loved the idea. They had recently been talking about taking inventory but there just wasn't the time. When I spoke to the media specialist, she made the idea even better. She suggested I add the books to the new automated system with a special location and call number so the books can be searched using the on-line catalog. I loved the idea! Books would then be searchable from the classroom, the library, or home and could be found by title, author, or theme.

When I started, my goal was to add all the books from the reading room into the CLS card catalog. In the process of doing this, I hoped to learn about Bibliomation and copy cataloging for a school media center. I also hoped to be able to present this information in a way that will make it immediately useful for all the teachers at CLS.

LG 4/20/04