Sign In/Sign Out Procedures

[Molly]

Keeping track of library visitors can be challenging in a high school library. I worry that in the event of an emergency evacuation I won't have an accurate count of the students I am responsible for, since I am not operating with a class list as a classroom teacher and I'm not always at my desk to make sure everyone signs in. What type of tracking measures do you use or might you suggest?

[Eric Bateman]

At our grades 9-12 library serving 1400 students, every student that comes in (who isn't with a class) signs in, whether they are joining us from study hall, lunch, or an unassigned period. With 40-50 visitors every period, that is the only way we can track who is using the library media center. The sign-in list is useful for attendance during fire drills, when we need to find a student, or if somebody comes checking to see if an individual was in the library during an earlier period. Now, if we can get our young scholars to write legibly...

[Molly]

How do you make sure they are signing in? Are they able to drop in at will or do they need a pass from a teacher?

[Eric Bateman]

Our circ desk is by the front door, so everyone who walks in signs in. We have large group study halls (150+ students), so they sign out of SH to come to the library--40 per period (x9 periods). We also welcome students who have late arrival/early dismissal, plus students who wish to join us during lunch periods. We probably see about 500 students a day. Now, do some rapscallions try to buck the system? Absolutely...but we deal with them as needed, being careful to follow all the tenets of the Geneva Convention (when possible).

[Julie Udy]

I do what Eric Bateman does, but on a much smaller scale. I also have those students who are coming to the library from a class to have a pass from their teacher--these are bright colored laminated passes (8 per teacher). All they have to do is wave those at me as they come in. When I see them, I just wave them in. This saves time on the teachers part not having to write out a pass. I monitor the students while they are in the library, but leave it up to the teacher for how long they should be.