Improvement/Rational - Each month our school puts out a newsletter to the parents. I always include a little section for the library in this newsletter. It is usually the top 10 book rentals and the amount of rentals that month. Sometimes I include things like a book fair notice or how much money we raised or when I deleted books and updated the library.
My principal recently asked me to start doing a book of the month section for the newsletter too. I plan to start doing this and include a book review with it. I might ask some of my students if I can use their online book reviews as I think they would love to see what they wrote appear in the newsletter.
Writing in the newsletter is a great way to communicate to parents about the library. Often parents do not visit the library or the school, so it is a way to talk to them about books and then hopefully they will ask their child about the books.
Whichever book I choose I will double this up with having the same book of the month on my library blog. The blog has been successful having over 8,000 hits since January 2011.
Concerns - As work piles up, I just need to be on top of it all when the end of the month arrives and my principal is looking for me to add to the newsletter and it is time to post on the blog about the book again.
Timeline - This can be started with the next newsletter that will go home in April.
Improvements - Promotion of the library and reading via the library blog and the school newsletter.
Communication Plans - I will have to discuss this with my principal to have him to remind me a few days before he starts creating the newsletter that I will have to give him something in writing. I will also have to discuss with a student to see if they are willing to share what they have written about a book on a school newsletter. I suspect they will be excited to do so.
Challenges - No real challenges here, just a little more work to do, however it is not much at all. It will be simple to do and the rewards will be great.
