“Books on Buses”Mansfield Public Schools

Linda Robinson, Coordinator of Library/Media Services

• Everyone is talking about it• Everyone has suggestions

The “Summer Backslide”

A study by Duke University’s Dr. Harris Cooper, a leading expert on summer learning loss. He writes that long summer vacations “break the rhythm of instruction, lead to forgetting, and require a significant amount of review when students return to school in the fall.”

There are steps that parents can take to help their children learn and even get ahead over the summer months. One of his suggestions is to take frequent trips to the library and register your child with a library card.

We know that…….

• Students should read during the summer

• Students should have easy access to books and other reading materials

• Students should read what they like and enjoy

• Students should have access to a wide variety of reading levels

In our town the reality it that……

• Most students do not have easy access to the public library

• School libraries are not staffed during the summer months

• School buildings are not usable or available during the summer break

• There is no mass transit in our town to facilitate transportation issues

The answer…..

• If students can not come to us ~~ We’ll go to them!

• During these tough economic times there is no money for a Bookmobile

What do we have that we can use and can afford?

Spring 2009 we launched the idea!

How did we start?

Conversations

• Talk to the bus garage company

• Talk to your public library

• Talk to the Board of Education

Materials

• We need lots of good books

• We need a way to put the books on the bus

• We need staff to ride the bus

• We need a way to check out books

• We need…….• We need………..

The decision was made early on that we were going to make this

work no matter what it took

A Turning Point in the Process

Bus Considerations

• Don’t underestimate the value of the Bus Garage Coordinator

• Talk to bus drivers• Not all buses are made the same• Route development and bus stops take

several iterations to perfect• Keep detailed statistics to build on for

future changes

Special Needs Bus

staf

f

Floor crates

Lift Area

• 2 crates per seat attached with seatbelts—use one side of each seatbelt (22)

• 10 crates on floor attached with restraint belts and bungees

Also:

• A/C• More

space

What about those books?

• Legitimate concerns from the public library about tying up good books

• Issues surrounding the use of books from both school and public libraries

• Checking out books without a library card

And all the other policies

& staff concerns that go

with lending books

Decisions!

• 50% from public library • 25% from donations

– Talk to local book sellers & for prizes• 25% supplied by school libraries

– To return to school libraries

All books processed by public library and identified with a “bus sticker”

Staffing

• Funding secured with P-3 Literacy grant• We have three elementary schools• One route per day per school (Tue-Thu)• For seven weeks (after July 4th)• Asked school library paraprofessional, if

they could/would ride the busClose connections with studentsThey could back up each otherI didn’t have to ride the bus

Bus Runs

• Bus leaves garage about 7:45 am• 10 minutes per stop• All areas of school district are visited• 15-18 stops per run (back by 12:30ish)• Safe spots to stop are determined• Runs are presented to the BOE

Some politics enter into final routesEveryone has a good ideaKeep good statistics

Other stuff…..

• We planned for problems– Backup bus

• We used a mini-computer for circulation

• We used the library’s offline circulation system

• We made plans for passing information to the next run

• We did public relations– Newspaper, radio shows, flyers– Signs for bus

We started July 2009

We were a success in many ways

• Everyone thought it was a great idea• We circulated about 575 books• For some stops it became a community event

The local preschool even asked us to stop by for a visit during our last week of operation

Assessment after the first summer

• We over planned for books & buses

• We forgot about bathroom breaks

• We were so safe you couldn’t see us

• Some stops were just not successful

• We needed to reach our non-users

• We needed more varied materials

• We needed more or better PR

• We needed to rethink some policies

• We needed to deal with fines and other problems when the summer was over

Planning for Year Two

• Earlier start to designing bus routes• Varying times of stops• More visible stops• More signs for the bus• Books for adults• Giveaways during the summer• Increase public relations and promotion of

the program

Another critical decision!

Losing some books is okay and the cost of doing business

What we changed for year two

• No limit to the number of books• No fines or lost book worries• We distributed library card application

forms• We had a plan for returns and needs• We published the bus routes everywhere• We varied bus stops and changed some• We promoted the program all summer

– Q-notify, surprise visits at stops, giveaways

“The books on the bus go in and out…”

Results from Summer 2010

• Wider variety of users• Variation among stops• Great connections with

new students• Increased number of

new library cards• Increased number of

books circulated

Overall costs of the program

• Crates & bungee cords (new)– $170

• Library staff– 16 hrs per week @

$15 per hour

• Bus driver – 15 hours per week

• Books bought by both libraries– $250 each

The program is no good if no one comes!

A “story” helps to sell the idea

• School assemblies• Last day of school• Around town• Special town-wide

events