Summary highlights and data of the Prescott Library's Upper School programs at The Wheeler School.

1.
Prescott Library 2011‐2012 Report
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Upper School Library 2011-2012 School Year At-a-Glance
Program Highlights:
 In June of 2011, Kate Covintree attended the national ALA
conference in New Orleans, Louisiana where she participated in a day of
service at a local library, heard Dan Savage speak on the “It Gets Better”
campaign, learned about upcoming titles and materials, and connected
with other librarians who serve teens and independent schools.
 Throughout the school year various databases from vendors
including EBSCO, ABC-Clio, Facts on File, Gale and Proquest were tried
and a spreadsheet of results was maintained to help us determine the
best choices of resources for our students. It was decided that two more
ABC-Clio databases should be purchased through our EBSCO vendor.
 In the fall of 2011, four iPads were added into on-site circulation for use by students in the
library and faculty on a day-by-day basis. Apps and library resources were added to the devices to
help users with their research and reading needs in the Middle/Upper school.
 During the 10th grade Fall project, instead of large group instruction, Ms. Covintree met with
each student one-on-one for at least 10 minutes to assist them in their personal research needs
and provide more individualized attention.
 Ninth graders were surveyed using the TRAILS program during their opening orientation to
review the skill set that exists before any research learning
took place. Knowledge of information literacy terms like
“currency” was found to be one of this class’s weaker areas.
 292 total class sessions occurred in the Upper School
space, and there were times when space limitations required
the Upper School to use the Middle School space.
 With the success of the Kindles already in circulation,
the MS/US library added twelve additional Kindles (Four
Kindle touches) to our circulating collection. Most frequently
borrowed by faculty, some students also took advantage of
this reading format.
 Kate Covintree continued her work with the Rhode
Island Teen Book Award (RITBA) committee, reading for the
High School age this year. She also became a member of the
YALSA Blog Advisory Board, and the YALS editorial advisory
board. As this was her second year, she also went through the
teacher evaluation process including reflections, observations, and a survey.

2.
Prescott Library 2011‐2012 Report
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Library collection records for Middle & Upper School
3,267 total items circulated from the Middle &
Upper School Library
Added a large number of aspergers and autism
resources thanks to a generous donation by Mr.
and Mrs. Paul
775 print Titles to the Middle & Upper School
collection and 133 ebooks added to the collection
Maintained a Kindle LibGuide as a way to record
all ebook titles added to our Kindles
Investigated iPad book apps including specific
titles like On the Road and Frankenstein.
925 items removed by the end of May with weeding continuing to the end of the year.
Upper School LibGuides
48 Total LibGuides are available for
Upper School use with
 14 Guides for History
 10 Guides for Languages
 7 Guides for Science
Peak months of usage:
 November (2,551 hits)
 May (1,862 hits)
 December (1,686 hits)
Continued
 Banned Books week displays
 National Library Week trivia questions
for faculty (added trivia for students as
well) including prizes
 Facebook and Twitter posts
 Senior Book Bundles display in May
 Serving on Rhode Island Teen Book
Award (RITBA) committee
 Adding titles to the Kindle eReaders
 Supporting curricular research
projects in History, Science, English
and World Languages through
collaboration, cooperation, LibGuides,
and other resources
 Using faculty suggestions and
recommendations to add materials to
the collection

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Prescott Library 2011‐2012 Report
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On Display
Book displays for Best Sellers, Award Winning books, Banned Books Week, Books into Films, Beach
Reads, Gardens, Cookbooks, Scary titles, Senior picks, New books, Faculty recommendations
Signs and posters using Comic Life and online tools to instruct students on printers (including their
names), location of graphic novel collection (all moved to the same location this year), and more.
Prescott Library
Upper School Statistical Snapshot 2011‐2012 School Year
Total Number of Class visits 292 Total LibGuides for Upper School 48
Class Visits 1st
Semester 141 NEW Upper School LibGuides Created 12
Class Visits 2nd
Semester 151 Total Hits to Upper School LibGuides 12,317
Total Hits to All School LibGuides 21,340
Total Circulation 3,267 Sessions Searches Hits
Grade 12 132 History Study Center 206 348 225,461
Grade 11 198 ProQuest 468 539
Grade 10 112 Science Online 444 796 1891
Grade 9 143 Biomes … Earth Online 6 18
Grade 8 140
Grade 7 156 Global Exploration Online 43 27
Grade 6 300 EBSCOHost Mobile 2 3
Faculty 2,010 EBSCOHost Res. Database 1,843 25,363 6,616
History Reference Center 292 1,162 639
Facebook Followers 91 Science Reference Center 582 2,152 1,378
Twitter Followers 13 Student Research Center 513 3,039 1,438
Looking Forward – Goals for 2012-2013
 Continue to build eReading options for faculty and students
 Continue to investigate and implement various ways to highlight new materials for faculty
and staff as well as students
 Investigate and implement ways to highlight and use existing mobile application options for
the Library, and make sure they all remain working
 Continue to evaluate current database services and investigate best practice options
 Institute more direct and intentional Noodletools instruction for 9th graders on and before
their Renaissance art project. Perhaps even offering small skill tutorials throughout the
research project
 Revisit and revise the curriculum map for Upper School