Class Visits

TTSD Class Library Visit Guidance

Logistics

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

• 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

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. 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. 

• Building library staff and administrators may determine a different schedule if coordinated with T&L and union representatives. 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 a population of 375+ students, weekly checkout typically becomes unfeasible and overwhelming. Sites of that size are asked to switch some or all classes to every other week checkout.

Secondary Library Visits

• Secondary visits vary from weekly/every other week/monthly/quarterly. 

• Ideally, ELA and SLA classes visit a minimum of once a month to check out free-choice reading materials, grow familiarity and awareness of the library, and peruse the library resources.