Redo the Report (Thanks to Library Inspirations)

With Jonelle and Fiona in Caledon

I know it's still summer vacation time in Ontario for the majority of us, but I can't help thinking about school. August is my time to fix up my school scrapbook and polish my school library annual report. It's a great time to look back and look ahead.

I've been doing annual reports for a long time, and as far back as 2012, I've been yearning for a new format that does a more thorough job of illustrating the patterns in my school library, be it with book circulation or program delivery. I've made some improvements, such as including graphs and charts generated from my library recess visit tracking form that I use throughout the entire year.

These are good steps, but the document itself is too long (6 pages) with a lot of long-term data (from 2004 to now, my entire time at my current school) that can be tedious to go through without incentives (such as the paid lunch I provide to my principal and chairs). My annual report needs a bit of a face lift!

There are a few people that have recently crossed my path that have been very generous about sharing their annual reports and inspiring me to make some changes.

Jordan Graham

Celebrating Jordan Graham on this blog is long overdue. (I even said so on Twitter, so it *must* be true!)

This Monday I'll be writing about all the amazing guest speakers I had in my @YorkUedPL Library AQ but at some point I am going to have to write about how @jobrarian and @ProfLibraryTDSB went WAY above and beyond to help so many of my AQ candidates. THANK YOU!

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) July 21, 2019

She was absolutely amazing and worth her weight in gold to my Additional Qualification course students this summer. She stayed late to help them locate the right resources and even helped improve their inquiry questions.

I'm doing a "deep read" of the @YorkUedPL Library AQ inquiry projects today. Reviewing @MissSinanan's work and I want to thank @Singhpeter & @KevBradbeer for taking her question seriously and @jobrarian from @ProfLibraryTDSB for supporting Natalie's learning.

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) July 25, 2019

Jordan works at the Professional Library of the TDSB and is a font of wisdom. Don't let her youthful exterior deceive you - she has great experience and worked with the New York Public Library (in one of her many past positions) before joining the TDSB. Jordan helped my AQ students but she also helped me. I was a few statistics short for my annual report and she was able to obtain them. I asked her for some tips and she kindly shared a pair of annual reports she did for the NYPL. What I really liked about Jordan's reports were several things. I liked how she collected quotes from people who were happy with the work. I also liked how she described take-away nuggets from conferences she attended; it wasn't just about attending the conference but about the learning and next steps. One of the subcategories she had was "stories with impact". Combined with a photo, that was a powerful way to demonstrate the importance of certain programs or workshops. I have elements of some of these things in different locations (e.g. my blog when I write conference reports, or my scrapbook) but I need to consider how I might combine them into one document.

Lisa Wallace

I met Lisa Wallace in my AQ course this summer. She was the only Specialist candidate enrolled in a class of 15. She was so patient with me and generous with her own time, sharing her expertise with the other course participants. One of the assignments in the York University Library AQ course for the "part 3s" (designed by the marvelous Sue Peel) is to create an annual report. Lisa hadn't made one before but jumped at the opportunity. The annual report she created was absolutely beautiful. What I really liked about Lisa's report was the size - it was a compact three pages. I also liked how concise she was, limiting herself to 3-7 bullets per section. Her annual report was very forward-focused, and one section used the Start-Stop-Continue-Other Considerations categories to frame her next steps. I liked how she examined trends in things like the kinds of materials most borrowed, and I like how she included things I hadn't considered, such as how many parents were borrowing books. I may use a template similar to Lisa's for a nice, one-page executive summary of the school library at a glance.

Beth Lyons

I follow Beth (@mrslyonslibrary) on Twitter but only met Beth Lyons in person for the first time at the 2019 OLA SuperConference. We went out to dinner with a large group but it was so late, the group was so big, and I was so tired, so I didn't get the chance to talk as much or as in depth as I had wanted. I just got such a "*this* is a person I need to get to know better" vibe that I eagerly accepted her invitation to an informal Peel DSB TL gathering at Beth's house in Caledon.

Hey @PETLA_ and TL friends! Don’t forget to bring a book or two tomorrow for our Brunch and Books! @fionaross15 @MzMollyTL @Ms_St_Aubyn @toni_a_duval @Denjg @HewsonLlc @timboo_drow @MmeTemple @MsDennisMoore @MsdotCarriere @n_steurer (Sorry if I missed anyone!) pic.twitter.com/y4MPdNTY8M

— MrsLyonsLibrary (@mrslyonslibrary) August 15, 2019

It was delightful at Beth's house, but for some reason I was a little shy and didn't socialize much. Beth made me feel very welcome and when she heard about my annual report dilemma, she showed me the one she created as part of her Library AQ course. What I really liked about Beth's report was the inclusion of quotations that captured the philosophy of her school library. Her graphs, especially the one where she analyzed her collaborative teaching periods (from her Google Spreadsheet) and categorized the types of lessons most requested, were illuminating. I can't remember what tool she told me she used to create her document, but it sounded like a good one to employ.

Jonelle St. Aubyn

Peel District School Board teacher-librarians are pretty awe-inspiring. They do so many things! In my unexpectedly introverted state at Beth's gathering, I sat close to two dynamic secondary school TLs. Fiona Ross (@fionaross15) and Jonelle St. Aubyn (@Ms_St_Aubyn) were just as wonderful in person as they are on Twitter. I created a notes document on my phone during our conversation - that is a testimony to how much I learned from these two during our short time together. Jonelle showed me her annual report, which she made using Book Creator and featured her Bitmoji. What I really liked about Jonelle's report was how engaging and inviting it was to read. A narrative approach was something I totally was not expecting from a secondary school library annual report and the Bitmojis added a personal touch that made it less of a chore and more of a joy to dive into. I need to consider how to make my report just as playful and interesting.

It was a far drive to where @PETLA_ s roam but it was so nice to meet @Ms_St_Aubyn @fionaross15 (good idea for the selfie, Fiona!) and big thanks to @mrslyonslibrary for hosting. Thanks for including a @TDSBLibrary outsider! pic.twitter.com/Wm03qyjdI9

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) August 15, 2019

I don't know exactly what my new-and-improved annual report will look like. I'm unsure if I will use Book Creator or Canva or Piktochart or even just a Google document. Whatever I decide, I'm thankful to have so many examples and so many colleagues willing to share their work. Thanks!