Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development

Assignment: School LibrarianUlei Junior Secondary School Library

AYAD Intake 24

Assignment duration: 9 months

Ulei, Efate, Vanuatu

Romany Manuell

An overview

The School Standard of living Job description The Library Six steps towards establishing the library Achievements Conclusion

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Ulei Junior Secondary School

Boarding school Teachers live onsite 200 students 8 teachers & their

families Next to Tanaliu

Village 40 mins from Port Vila

Standard of living

No hot water (sometimes no running water) Electricity between 6pm and 9pm (usually) No mobile reception in house (ok in library!) House situated between Principal and Bursar Across from the dorms Hitchhiking to/from town on back of truck

The job description

Assist to establish an efficient and functional library

Train a counterpart to manage the library effectively

Train staff and students Improve the collection Develop a policy and

procedures manual Purchase resources for the

library within budget Train local staff in library usage

including computer research

Choose a circulation system: Manual? Digital? Online?

Create a computer-based catalogue (use BookCat)?

Run Info Lit classes for 200 students? How?

Catalogue! Without Web Dewey? What’s Dewey Abridged?

Train a librarian? But I’ve only just been trained..!

Get books. From where? RESEARCH!!!

The Library

POSITIVES – There are books! – There are shelves!– Some things have Call

Numbers!– I have lots of willing

helpers!– I can lead a weeding

project!

NEGATIVES – The books are old– Termites, lizard eggs– Some things have Call

Numbers– Classes will continue to

run– The teachers don’t want

to throw anything away

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

STEP 1 – Assessment of situation

No electricity = no computers Bislama/English communication The school has no money = No budget A system that is as simple as possible

= SUSTAINABILITY and we have to work with what we have.

(One night of quiet panic)

STEP 2 - Catalogue and label

Get everything off the shelves Separate books into fiction and non-fiction piles Label shelves: fiction, non-fiction, Dewey Put books on shelves if already labelled Assign Dewey numbers Label everything (re-label if necessary) Put everything back on shelves Weed as we go

(Months 1-3)

Paula Jones’ Subject Index and Dewey Guide

The kids call it “The Green Book” Allows students and teachers to assign

Dewey numbers (and practice English at the same time)

Acts as a “catalogue” - tick as you go Purchase from the University of the South

Pacific

STEP 3 – Teach and Train

Teach Miss Iapson how to run the library Teach the kids how to:

– Look after books, label and repair – Find, borrow, return and shelve– Use the Subject Index & Dewey Guide

Run classes for staff (Take over Miss Iapson’s Year 7 English class

when she goes on maternity leave…)(Months 4-6)

STEP 4 – Source new items

Petition everybody I know to send books Use blog as advertising Get the Lions Club involved in hometown Ask for new, not second-hand books Buy whatever I can afford from any companies

that ship to Vanuatu (wait months for delivery, hitchhike to town to pick up box)

Assign numbers and label as they arrive(Months 7-9)

STEP 5 – Justify the project

Collect statistics to show students/staff/AYAD:– Monthly borrowing rates – congratulate students!– Stock take– New item count

Justification to self to overcome “challenges”:– Keep positive: look at how much fun the kids are having!– Write/journal/blog extensively– Try to keep things in perspective– Obsessively work on resume and selection criteria for future

jobs that don’t involve rats/mice/lizards/spiders/giant millipedes

(Continuous)

STEP 6 – Help the students own the space

Paint Decorate Put up posters Make signs Work on displays of new books Engage the kids in art/craft activities

(Continuous)

Achievements

AYAD Achievements: Trained a counterpart to

manage the library effectively

Trained staff and students Improved the collection Developed a policy and

procedures manual Purchased resources for the

library within budget Trained local staff in library

usage including computer research

Professional Achievements: Project management Collection development and

maintenance Interior planning and internal

promotion Reference Circulation Reader advisory Teaching and training Professional writing and

research

AFTER

AFTER

Conclusion

Why choose the AYAD program? What kind of skills/characteristics does it require?

MORE INFO ABOUT AYAD? www.ayad.com.au

WANT TO READ MORE? www.rombloggy.blogspot.com (archives from 2009)

WANT TO SEE MORE PICS?www.facebook.com/romanymanuell (add me)