ASD Libraries' Annual Report: 2021-2022

Library spending fell into 4 basic categories this year: the cost of print books (and the shipping charges to bring them here), databases, digital content (ebooks, digital magazines, and online newspapers), and supplies to keep the library running.

The library budget was reduced for the past two school years, so the library team took a hard look at our subscriptions and cut back to only what is absolutely necessary. We also gathered data from similar schools and advocated to the administration to restore funding. We're pleased that the 2022/23 funding will be back to 2019/20 levels, and the "1 for the Books" campaign raised money to help us restore our print collections over the next 3 years.

Look for these statistics to improve next year! The 1 for the Books campaign raised money specifically so the ES library could improve collection age (our goal is 10 years) and so the MSHS library can improve collection size (our goal is at least 20 books per student). 

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ES Library Top Homeroom Circulations [Check outs]

Sana Daher, Library Instructional Assistant

Ghada El Sadek, Library Instructional Assistant

Rilana Gambba-Jones: Library Instructional Assistant

Linda Hoiseth, HS Librarian

Julie Jones, ES Librarian

Carol Muchai: Library Instructional Assistant

Nandana Padmanabhan: Library Instructional Assistant

Merzi Rasool, Library Instructional Assistant

Jason Roach, MS Librarian

The libraries have a collection of Breakout boxes, and they proved to be very popular in the MS and HS this year.

The libraries were thrilled to be able to welcome students and teachers back to our spaces to read, research, and borrow books - at a safe distance, of course! 

Restored staffing in the MS and HS meant we were able to welcome students after school through the ASRP program. We hope to offer regular after-school access in the 2022-2023 school year (pending the lifting of COVID restrictions).

MS Students learning about new books available on Sora

HS Students Researching

The ES Library continued to build circulation numbers. As the ELC was coming on a regular schedule, checkouts increased. 

 With appropriate staffing the ES Library will be able to serve parents returning to campus; once it is announced by administration. This will lead to a rise in checkout data for next year. 

At this time, staffing in the ES Library has not been restored to pre-COVID levels. 

Breakdown of Fiction Checkouts

The seniors were asked, "Think about one time in your ASD career when the school library really helped you. Write about the help that you got, and what you were able to do because of it." Here are some of their responses.

The librarians presented a Virtual Talk Tuesday about how libraries are evolving and how we support learning at ASD.

The librarians reviewed the selection, de-selection, and challenge policies to see if anything needed updating and then presented them to the ASD Board of Trustees for approval. The board gave their full support to the policies and the work of the libraries. 

AP Human Geography students work on their project in the library.

Each day, students and faculty visit the MSHS library in a number of different contexts. Individual students stop by to find a book, or read ,or study. Groups of students come in to work together, or have quiet conversations. Advisories, clubs, and student organizations hold meetings in the library. The counselors offer visits with college reps, hold discussions on difficult topics, and train student ambassadors. Teaching partners, departments, and divisions hold meetings. Individuals book study rooms to plan lessons, practice speeches, join virtual meetings, and concentrate without interruption.

In the middle school, class visits focused on literature and research. ELA and social studies classes visited regularly, both on flexible but regularly scheduled basis and on-demand or short notice. These visits helped the library remain central to the teaching and learning happening in the middle school, ensured that all students--not just our keenest library users--had regular access to the library and librarian, and kept alive the promise of the library returning to many of its pre-Covid practices as we are allowed additional freedoms by the KHDA. In addition to this, loosened restrictions allowed us to encourage teachers in all subjects to send small groups of students to the library as needed for support or materials. We still have many of the things that made our library wonderful pre-Covid packed away--legos, KEVA and other building tools, a range of tinkering materials, puzzles, games, etc.--and we're looking forward to restoring as many of those as we are able from next fall.

In the high school, many of the library visits centered on research. High school students from 30 different courses came to the library over 300 times as a class to work on inquiry projects. They practiced skills such as finding quality sources, giving those sources credit, taking notes, and organizing their information to present it. The subscription databases, LibGuides, and Noodletools, as well as the print collection aided them in this process. Shout out to the HS Social Studies Department, who were the biggest library users this year in the high school.

Students and workers using the library sewing machines for a student's independent project.

How was the ES Library accessed and used by teachers, students, and staff in 2021-22? 

The data below showcases the scheduled classes as well as the additional times that classrooms reserved time for book exchanges. Students were sent as a class, and at times, in small groups to target readers' needs. This allowed for students to access the library at point-of-need, when they finished books and needed more in a natural way as opposed to a forced cycle. 

Next year we hope to promote the additional access to the library more in order to ensure all classes and students visit at point of need. 

Upgrading the Space

Teachers had the option to use the library space and reserve classrooms in the library. Students loved to spread out to research, record on Seesaw, read in a comfy spot and work in small groups.

Additionally, Literature Leads met to discuss next year's Visiting Author, IA trainings took place, and curriculum planning/review was scheduled within the library. 

After School Activities (ASA)

The ES library hosted many different after school groups and activities. Every day, the ES library hosted between 24-72 students for ASA's. 

We look forward to bringing our maker materials back to the space next year (dependent on the health and safety requirements). 

After six years at ASD and 22 years overseas, middle school librarian Jason Roach and his wife Micha are going to give life in Idaho a try. Jason is proud of the renewal and transformation of the library: new flexible shelving, study rooms and furnishings, the reading and circulation gains made via genrefying the fiction collection, the addition of loads of games, puzzles and tinkering opportunities and all the reading, learning and exploring that has happened in the library.

Ghada El Sadak has been a library instructional assistant at ASD for 2 years. "I will miss such wonderful and professional High School and  Middle School teams that I have worked with daily while employed with ASD.  Thank you for the opportunity and hope our path will cross again in the future.   I will be spending time with my sweet granddaughter and family." 

We will miss you, Jason and Ghada!

Emirates Festival of Literature

Readers Cup Competition

For the sixth year running the Middle School Library sponsored two teams of students in the LitFest Readers Cup. Students made time in their busy daily and reading lives to read books by festival authors, prep for the quiz and the compete on the day. For the second year in a row the competition was virtual, but it was still a great event. 

The librarian team was excited to begin a subscription to Libguides in September, and they're making great use of it! Libguides is a library curation platform that is the industry standard (and it's where this annual report lives). Librarians use Libguides to curate resources for classes, projects, or topics. 

Below are links to the most frequently used guide in each division:

The ASD libraries subscribed to Noodletools in October, and students and teachers have already created almost 700 works cited lists!

Award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson gave two presentations to ASD students (one for grade 12, the other for grades 9-11) on the topic of consent. Many of Laurie's books are about teens facing challenges, and they open up a way for students and their families and friends to have conversations about these challenging topics. 

Student voice and choice are prevalent through our ES library practices, lessons and routines. We believe that students have the right and responsibility to check out materials that will best fit their own learning pathways.

Parents are encouraged to: 

• Read through library books with their children to establish reading routines and ensure the books are 'just right.' 
• Sometimes students want bigger books to inspire their reading journey. This is developmentally appropriate; parents and teachers can always read chapter books aloud and picture books are for everyone. 
• If a book is not 'just right' or a 'good fit' students are encouraged to put it back and find another. This practice is also appropriate--and encouraged--at home. 

ASD families can access Sora to borrow ebooks, listen to audiobooks, and read digital magazines. 

 Most circulating ebooks and magazines on Sora

...by High School students

eBook: Princeton Review AP World History: Modern Premium Prep, 2022
Magazine: Entrepreneur Magazine

...by Middle School students

eBook: Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Book 1
Magazine: Medieval Warfare Magazine 

This graphic highlights a definite goal for the secondary library for next year. How do we encourage our students to continue to read independently? Several factors might contribute to these statistics, including limited library access at the beginning of the year due to COVID restrictions and increasing demands on students' time as they get older. But - this is an area where we can improve!