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November 2017

In the Spotlight: Amanda Mason

Meet Amanda Mason, librarian at E.W. Grove School in Paris, Tennessee.

Amanda Mason is a dynamic school librarian who nurtures the education of 350 freshmen during the year they attend E.W. Grove School. The W.G. Rhea Public Library has issued library cards to all the students at E.W. Grove School. Amanda encourages students to take advantage of free digital books in addition to the books in the library.

Below Amanda describes how she blends R.E.A.D.S., TEL, the school catalog, the library website and other digital resources into a single resource for students and teachers.

“I am more than happy to share how I ensure that all my 350 students have multiple encounters with digital resources. Essentially, I embed the Public Library, R.E.A.D.S,, TEL and Follett Shelf throughout the entire school building. It is part of our school culture.

Upon opening the library in August, I set up student accounts with the ability to access my digital resources from one location. This includes importing MARC records from TEL, linking R.E.A.D.S and other digital platforms to my OPAC and website. Once this is complete, I then construct a blended learning model of instruction. With this model, the students participate in several activities outside of the library that prepares them for their initial visit. These activities include watching a screencast of an OPAC search lesson, which of course includes R.E.A.D.S.

Once all the blended learning activities are complete, teachers schedule their classes to visit the library. There are 24 classes in all, during the first semester. Throughout this lesson students receive a quick review of the OPAC search tips, and I demonstrate R.E.A.D.S. and Follett Shelf. The students leave with a handout containing instructions to download digital resources. I save extensive TEL lessons for later, as I tie them directly to the curriculum.

I provide the teachers with posters to display in their classrooms that contain instructions to R.E.A.D.S, TEL and Follett Shelf. These same posters are hung around the school in common areas. Parents receive email information via our parent Listserv. There is always a table of pamphlets and fliers available during parent-teacher conference nights and open house.”

The students and faculty at E.W. Grove are fortunate to have a librarian with the technical skills and the desire to teach and serve the entire school community.

Reduced Wait Time with Advantage Plus

Advantage Plus is clearly advantageous. The Advantage Plus plan makes available eligible titles from Advantage members’ collections in the Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. shared collection. The Advantage Plus plan was implemented in the Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. consortium Oct. 2, 2017. On that day an additional 40,000 titles became available to the entire consortium. The circulation on Oct. 2 was over 4,000 higher than any day since R.E.A.D.S. began. Circulation has settled down to around 200 additional per day.

The purpose of Advantage Plus is to reduce the wait time for titles. Six months after the original purchase a title will be shared throughout the consortium but the shared titles still belong to the Advantage member. Users of any library in the consortium can borrow or place holds on these titles but users from the owning library have priority for holds. There are approximately 500 titles that Advantage libraries have purchased that are not owned by the consortium. All R.E.A.D.S. users now have access to those titles.

The benefits of Advantage membership reach beyond the patrons of the participating library. When one member library shares their titles patrons throughout the consortium will experience reduced wait times for holds.

It's Turkey Time in Tennessee!

R.E.A.D.S. has got your family covered when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving. Take a peek at the selections below for books, audiobooks, and even videos for the family to enjoy together.

Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff) by Barbara Park (e-book)– Our favorite first-grader – Junie B. Jones – is at it again!

P is for Pilgrim by Carol Crane (e-book) – a colorful look at the history of Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O’Connor (audiobook) – listen to Fancy Nancy and her family as they celebrate the best Thanksgiving ever!

One is a Feast for a Mouse by Judy Cox (video) – The feast is finished, and there’s one green pea left. Can Mouse get it back to his house to have a feast of his own?

Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. Facebook Page

Go to https://www.facebook.com/TNREADS/ and ‘like’ the Tennessee R.E.A.D.S Facebook page. The page is regularly updated with pertinent information about the service as well as fun facts about books and authors.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a question about R.E.A.D.S. How can I get help?

On the R.E.A.D.S. website, in the upper right corner, help is available. Among the categories that help covers are e-books, audiobooks, the Overdrive app and all devices. Related articles on all categories and devices are also found in help.

If you don't find the answer to your question in the online help you can send an email to R.E.A.D.S. support: rsupport.tsla@tn.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible about your particular issue and your device, as well as the name of your library and your card number. Email support help is available Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A response is typically provided within 24 hours.

Other Digital Resources

I Love Libraries.org has a fantastic list of resources for your local book clubs if you find yourselves in a reading rut. They’ve gathered several online resources to help select your next book or maybe to restructure your club format to shake things up a bit. Visit their website by clicking here. If your local library doesn’t have or host a club but you would like to, information on starting your own club can also be found on the site.

Downloading a podcast is just as easy as downloading a book or audiobook from READS. Podcasts come in many shapes and sizes, and the folks at TED Talks can help you get started. They’ve compiled a list of their favorite podcasts to help you dip your toe into this ocean of information, which you can find by clicking here. They are broken up into categories such as “For Great Storytelling” and “For Better Business.” Click on the title of one that interests you, and you’ll be taken to its homepage where you can listen there or find out how to download it to your phone or tablet.

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sos.tn.gov/reads