Customer Service in the BEHS Library:  Scheduling Classes for Teachers
Cathy Belben
Updated September 2003

Scheduling Classes

1.      Our goal is to serve.  I want teachers and students to enjoy using the library and to feel invited and welcome here, so I make every effort to accommodate people—I schedule library use for the convenience of teachers and students, not myself. Some weeks are extremely busy, with few breaks, but there are always slower weeks with time to catch up.  The priority is always the people, not the paperwork.

2.      Teachers will call, email, or visit the library to schedule classes for specific lessons, research, and “booktalks” (presentations of book report reading material done by the librarian).  They will also schedule the library just so classes can use the computers for word-processing.

3.      All scheduling is done on a first-come, first-served basis.  Teachers should be encouraged to schedule classes as far in advance as possible to avoid conflicts.

4.      Any individual teacher may sign up for as many periods as s/he wishes for as long as they are needed up to consecutive two weeks. Once they hit the two-week mark for a single period, they may need to relinquish the library to another staff member if it is needed.

5.      Any given period is open to two classes of students IF the teacher who signed up first agrees to share with the second teacher.

6.      All classes must be written in the schedule book on Belben’s desk—this is the official record that should be consulted for exact scheduling. A schedule is also maintained on the library web page, and it is updated as frequently as possible, but changes may occur that are not immediately recorded on the web page

7.      When writing a class appointment in the schedule book, please record the following information:  teacher’s name; name of class (“Biology” or “Ceramics”), number of students; and what they plan to do in the library.  As librarian, I see myself as a co-teacher, and the more I know about the lesson, the more I can help the teacher. I will often call the teacher before the class attends to go over the lesson with them and find out how I can best help them, what needs to be set up, etc.

8.      If there are conflicts between classes, the priority goes to the teacher who signed up first.  The librarian will work to resolve more serious conflicts if they arise.  Again, our goal is to accommodate people as much as we can.