Class Visits

TTSD Class Library Visit Guidance

Elementary Library Visits

• T&L recommends 20-minute student library checkout visits every other week for K-5 with a 10-minute break in between classes.

• Building library staff and administrators may determine a different schedule if coordinated with T&L and union representatives.

• Ideally, a half or full day each week is reserved for dedicated non-student contact time, which library staff can use for back-office tasks such as book purchasing, processing, and shelving. 

• Significantly more time is likely to be unfeasible until library staff FTEs increase. Variables such as student population, volunteer support, and building budget should be considered. 

• Elementary library staff are encouraged to determine how many class visits they can accommodate each week based on their workload, volunteer support, and capacity, and share it with their administrators, union reps, and T&L for approval. 

• When schools reach more than 12 homeroom classes, weekly checkout typically becomes unfeasible and overwhelming with current staffing levels of .44 FTE per site. Sites of that size are asked to switch some or all classes to every other week checkout.

Secondary Library Visits

• Ideally, Secondary ELA and SLA classes visit at least once a month to check out free-choice reading materials, build familiarity and awareness of the library, and peruse and learn about its resources.

• Regular library visits, complete with reader's advisory support from the librarian (book talks, displays, etc...) help students build and continue a love of free choice reading, which is beneficial both academically and interpersonally. 

• Current Secondary visits vary from site to site. In some Secondary buildings, classes visit more than once a month, while others do not schedule regular class visits. 

• Building library staff and administrators are encouraged to work towards scheduling planned library visits for all  in coordination with T&L and union representatives.

• Secondary students are welcome to visit the library whenever they have a break (before school, during lunches, etc.) or can request teacher permission to visit the library during class time to check out books. Students need an official hall pass if visiting during class time.

Logistics

• When planning library visits, library staff should first connect with administrators to align with the master schedule and school priorities.

• Collectively consider options for library class visit use and scheduling library space use (Google Calendar & spreadsheets are common).

• Connect with the principal and/or Head Secretary to see how the site plans to reserve the library space for group usage, and determine a plan for communicating the process.