[Photo removed]

Jane Tesoro

LIS 615: Wertheimer

JOURNAL

CAREER SHADOWING

AT

 WALLACE RIDER FARRINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

LIBRARY

1 April 2004

            My visit on Thursday, March 11, 2004, to the Farrington High School (FHS) [1] campus located at 1564 North King Street in the Kalihi district of Honolulu, Oahu, started at 9 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m. The purpose was to shadow a professional working in the type of library in which I plan to spend the remainder of my teaching career. If I am fortunate enough to be assigned to an environment similar to the FHS library, the next ten years will surely be rewarding.

Marilynn Nakasone, FHS librarian, has been at this location for nine years. She said she arrived the same year as Principal Catherine Payne. Marilynn was previously at an elementary school library. She works with Jade Takanishi, originally a public librarian who returned to the LIS program at the University of Hawaii-Manoa to obtain her school library media specialist certification. There is a clerk vacancy since a worker retired, but Marilynn said she has no idea as to how quickly a replacement can be found. She and Jade are fortunate to have two excellent volunteers who are retired librarians. I met Mrs. Suyat and Mrs. Sumida during my visit and enjoyed their company. Pictured on the cover sheet of this report are Marilynn, Jade, Mrs. Suyat and myself.

At the end of January, I emailed Dr. Violet Harada to ask for any suggested individual for this shadowing assignment, keeping in mind my preference for a high school library. She suggested Marilynn because Dr. Harada knew the FHS complex that includes elementary and middle feeder schools had collaborated on a single collection development plan.

Marilynn’s first response to an email request I sent her via Lotus Notes, the Department of Education’s messaging program, was understandably cautious. She asked for specifics of the assignment, and I sent her the details from the course syllabus. Due to her busy schedule, we were not able to meet until March 11. Two weeks earlier, I emailed Marilynn a list of ten questions[2] to prepare for our session.

From the moment I stepped through the entrance of the FHS library, I realized how demanding Marilynn’s routine can be. She was assisting a student teacher and his class of freshmen students with research already in progress from an earlier session. I used this time to look around the library, a fairly new facility built in 1992 with central air conditioning and large windows facing a busy North King Street. I noticed art work of various media displayed on the walls, shelf tops and in special glass cases. A few science projects with tri-fold poster boards were on display to the left wall. The bookshelves were neatly arranged with room for additions. These are the different book sections:

Reference        Reserved         Hawaiiana       Vocational       Biography

Fiction             Non-Fiction     Easy                Professional

Four computers located near the circulation desk had Internet access with OPAC and SIRS databases; against a side wall a dozen other computers grouped in sets of four were essentially word processors. The school’s technology coordinator handles installation and updates of the computers. There is a microfilm reader area against the outside of the librarian’s office. Student furniture is a mixture of neatly arranged tables with chairs or separate study carrels off to one side. Marilynn makes a point of numbering each table or carrel and assigns individual students who enter the library with a pass to these designated places. To my trained eye, she runs a tight ship with little room for student mischief.

An early highlight of my visit was joining in a culminating activity for four special education classes who had researched different countries and their unique food items. The group was using the conference room located to the left of the entrance area.

Marilynn commented that this conference room has high use because of FHS’ central location with adequate parking. She is glad that the school office handles the room reservations and a vice principal oversees access during non-school hours. There is a separate outside entrance, so the library can be secured if the interior door to the room remains locked.

We were greeted with fresh flower leis (which are visible in the photo of us on the cover sheet) and invited to sample the many different kinds of food either prepared or purchased by the special education students and staff. A worksheet asked for a list of foods sampled and comments on any aspect like taste, texture, color, etc. An impromptu talent show allowed students to appreciate dancing or singing talents of their classmates. These are very low-functioning students, yet Marilynn said she finds materials to accommodate their limited academic levels. Many times the World Book encyclopedia is general enough for their use.

A return to the library proper brought two separate classes of students into the main area where Marilynn again assisted the teachers with research assignments. I marveled at the minimum of noise heard despite the large number of people. My own high school’s library is not as large as this facility, but it can be quite noisy with even a few people inside. I have to credit the FHS library’s noise abatement to enforcement of their library rules.

One quick interaction with a female student brought a pleasant surprise. She was reading Chris Crutcher’s book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, the first book assigned in my LIS 682 Young Adult literature class this semester. I was hoping to ask her a few questions about the book, but she had no clue since she had just started to read it. The story involves an abused teen who is horribly scarred from burns during childhood, so I wondered what that student’s reaction would be to the relatively dark theme.

Marilynn asked if I wanted to hear oral presentations in a beginning level Japanese language class. She had collaborated with the teacher to have students research aspects of Japanese culture for these reports. We left the library area and proceeded upstairs toward another part of campus where individual reports were already in progress. Requirements for the presentation were at least three minutes in length with a bibliography, visual and comparison / contrast with that student’s own culture. Once again, we were treated to samples of Japanese food as part of a student’s brief presentation. The teacher provided me a copy of the evaluation scale [3] except she said it was meant for rating the student in Japanese but these presentations were in English. I was grateful to finally learn what the acronym AEPL (Always / Express the culture / Practice, practice, practice / Learn a new word everyday) means for World Languages. At my own school, I have seen the term but never received an explanation. We stayed for about 15 minutes and returned to the library.

There was no time for me to actually browse through the neatly arranged shelves in search of a book that might be ripe for deselection, but sitting down with Marilynn to go over her answers for my ten questions and reviewing the materials she had prepared were more than adequate for this journal report. I have included her handouts [4] with this assignment. My respect for Marilynn as a consummate library professional is easily justified. I mentioned this to Dr. Harada a few days after my visit to thank her for an excellent recommendation.

I have included a table [5] I created of the elements Dr. Evans mentions in our text to identify a good collection development statement. With the FHS Complex Collection Development Plan [6], I put the page number and made comments for every item that came close to each element. The only one I couldn’t really match was for discards, but deselection and weeding are definitely mentioned.

FHS is considered an at-risk school based on its large immigrant population. It qualifies for federal funding and has many special interest programs that range from academies for health and art; career pathways for travel and tourism industry and Family and Consumer Science; a Hawaiian program and childcare instruction. Its special education department is quite large and uses the library’s services often. I have included a School Status and Improvement Report [7] I printed from the Department of Education’s website before I went to FHS.

Marilynn is actively involved in collaboration with certain teachers to complement programs. This entails collection development strategy. A very interesting example she cited involves helping the food service teacher work toward a national certification program for students. The requirements are quite stringent, though, in preparing these students for national competition. Food fiction is an interesting category where students must read a book whose title involves a food connection, includes recipes and features food in the story line. Robert Cormier’s Chocolate War may have a food-related title but is definitely not appropriate in this instance, and again, I was grateful to my LIS 682 class for understanding completely. Food chatter requires a student to liven up a cooking demonstration with bits of food trivia similar to television chef Emmeril Lagasse’s forte.

Marilynn decided to ask a Baker and Taylor sales representative to produce a list of books at the high school level that related to food. Sensing a lucrative sales opportunity, the representative produced a hefty report of titles, but Marilynn was disappointed as she found elementary and middle grade levels included when she had specifically asked for high school level titles. A thorough check showed some titles were already in her collection. Marilynn said she prefers Follett’s Titlewave over Baker and Taylor, and this incident gave her even more reason.

I asked about the Easy level readers I saw near the Hawaiiana collection, and Marilynn said there are a few students in the childcare program who use those books often, and sometimes the special education students enjoy them, too.

Marilynn felt her Hawaiian collection was good, especially since they have a program on campus. She finds it difficult to keep current with the vocational guides since they change frequently. She would like to upgrade the work study curriculum.

Regarding budget, Marilynn feels it is adequate and gave me a copy of an eight-year expenditure plan [8]. Different sections of her collection are targeted for new acquisitions. She explained her weeding process consists of circulation statistics and physical examination of books. When time allows, she will stamp a book with a date to give her an indication of when to weed. If a book is pulled (deselected), she may decide to repurchase if warranted. Outdated materials are discarded and resource sharing with others is encouraged.

Study skills are required for all ninth graders and reading classes have an orientation to the library early in the school year. Included in the appendix are the handouts [9] teachers receive at the start of a school year.

In January the library hosted an Open House [10] featuring Frances Kakugawa, an educator and poet.

Marilynn finds an alumni archival project she started is expanding into a much larger undertaking. She introduced me to David Fujimoto, a 1994 FHS graduate and former Social Studies teacher who preferred to take an educational assistant position in the media distribution center next door to the library. He is helping Marilynn scan as many copies of The Governor, the school’s newspaper, as possible. Some of the originals are in very bad shape, but they are doing their best to salvage these items for the alumni project.

I  included a recent issue of The Governor [11]. When I told Marilynn my presentation topic for LIS 682 was on gay non-fiction, she quickly pointed out an article in the paper about a club recently created for “questioning teens,” as part of the title puts it. We also have to read one gay fiction title for that class, so Marilynn asked that I get back to her with titles in both areas that she might consider for yet another collection.

April is library month, and Marilynn already had a promotion going for Sustained Uninterrupted Reading for Fun (SURF) 2004. This is the 9th year she has encouraged classes to try ten minutes of reading daily for a month. Prizes are awarded for classes that stick with it, and Marilynn is trying to include book talks with an emphasis on male readers to encourage reluctant ones. There is a mask-making contest planned, too.

I tried to cover as much as I could possibly recall from my notes, many handouts and even digital photos taken on that visit day. Marilynn is extremely energetic! I felt so fortunate to have arrived on a most productive day, but I have a feeling almost every day is like that for her. She has a good working relationship with Jade and especially with the two retired librarians who go about their work cheerfully and efficiently. I joined this group for lunch, though I had not really planned on it. Luckily I had to foresight to bring along a food offering to thank Marilynn in advance for her time and effort. Yes, I did follow up with both an email and gracious hand-written note using my special University of Hawaii stationery with gold seal. I am ashamed to admit I haven’t quite finished my assignment. I intend to write a letter to Principal Catherine Payne commending Marilynn for her excellent work. My guidance teacher training is quickly fading as I am caught up in the whirl of LIS assignments, but I should know better than to make excuses. The letter will be done and sent out tomorrow. You have my word on it.

I will conclude here knowing that I have touched upon many areas of collection development that we have discussed in class. I regret I was not a better detective in finding that ancient book that might have escaped the scrutiny of a deselecting specialist, but quite frankly, in my assessment, nothing much escapes Marilynn’s keen sense of librarianship.

She is preparing for accreditation, so I asked what were some areas the accrediting team suggested for improvement. She openly admitted that some teachers mentioned the library staff was mean, to which I replied perhaps it was more a matter of holding others accountable for their actions. I only saw Marilynn in action for five hours, but I trust my sense of being a veteran teacher enough to know she earns my utmost respect.

Thank you for allowing me to have this wonderful experience. I am excited about becoming a school librarian, but at times wonder how will I ever handle it? Teaching was demanding enough, and here I spend one day with a highly competent professional and return home totally exhausted. Now to organize all my handouts for the appendix….would that count as a cataloging skill?

APPENDIX ITEMS

• A Brief History of Our School and Quick Reference of Classes
• Career Shadowing Questions
• Criteria for Oral Proficiency (Japanese I class)
• Selection Commandments
• Table of Elements
• Materials Selection Policy
• Fall 2000 School Status and Improvement Report
• Expenditure Plan
• Handouts to teachers
• Open House
• The Governor Issue 6: February 27, 2004

TABLE of ELEMENTS

Found in Farrington Complex Schools’

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Using Evans’ guidelines (pages 74-86)