When I heard that there were students who were scared of visiting the Media Center...nervous about lost books...worried about how to self-checkout or how to find a book ...
I won't lie, it broke my heart 💔
I see my job as that of a salesperson. In fact, it brings back my Tupperware days (yes, I was a Tupperware lady - a very successful one, thank you very much. GMC Yukon XL, a cruise to Alaska, et al). It wasn't about selling the product, it was about bringing people to the party. That meant enticing and encouraging. It meant making sure that your reputation proceeded you. It meant being willing to 'give' in order to 'get'. Then you had to know your stuff and be respected. You had to provide great customer service. Having a fantastic product helped. I guess I will pontificate more on that another time - a future blog topic!
So, how do I bring them to the party?
Step 1. Stop this ridiculous 2-book limit. I read my first Manga in half of an evening - and that was after spending some time figuring out just HOW to read it 😜 How on earth were we expecting our readers to be satisfied with only 2 books over a weekend? Never mind holidays, long weekends, etc. Then there are the books they are reading for class - why should that count towards their numbers? So we expanded to 5. One of my favorite moments this year was watching a student doing a LITERAL happy dance as she found out that she did NOT have to choose between books.
Step 2. No more fines. End the fear of losing a book that meant a student never came back. Stop charging them for being honest when a book was damaged. With middle school kids, teaching them that lying is the best way to go is not to be recommended. Well, with any kid. And fear teaches them to lie. Now we have a chat. We talk about how to take care of books. We thank them for caring and being honest. And some choose to replace the book. Which is awesome. Most books show up anyway 🤷
Step 3. Make the MLC the hub. The place to be. The World Cup fell into my lap allowing for watch parties and soccer lunches. I got to create relationships with students who rarely visit. We did drawings for anyone wearing a soccer shirt - and they came every day to see me. The final games during the week have been played, but they are still coming. They stop me in the hallway. It's wonderful!
Step 4. Outreach. We are advertising. Communicating. I visit the cafe at lunch and wander and chat. My goal is that every kid knows me! The first thing we did this year - before school even started - was to create the Teacher Hub with coffee and snacks - that allows me to talk to teachers continuously, allows them to see classes in the MLC, lets them see me teaching other classes, and brings them in.
When I teach the kids, that helps to create the relationships too - win-win!
Step 5. Second Semester rewards. Now that I have built a base for the MLC, it's time to truly reward our readers. Brag Tags, reading passports, an opportunity to be on the BBC (Bryson Book Chats), and even just having lunch with me. The sneak peek has been well received - and I can't wait for January!
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