Librarian Talk – Barbara Krainik – Burgundy Farm Country Day School

If you were a superhero, who would you be?

Catwoman!

Tell us about your library! What makes it unique?

Well, for starters, it is in an old, repurposed barn :-). We have to meet the needs of 4-year olds to 14-year olds in one library, so we have a lot of different sections for books.

What is a challenge that you faced in your library recently?

A constant challenge is building student’s independence in searching for and finding the books they want.

How did Accessit Library help you solve this challenge?

The catalog is so user friendly for the kids. The layout of the catalog and how the filtering works makes it so much easier for kids to use!

How has your attitude changed towards the challenge you solved with Accessit Library, now that you’ve worked through it?

Well, I think that younger kids are able to have more independence, especially when the visual search was completed.

What do you like the most about Accessit Library?

EVERYTHING!!! It is so customizable. I love the landing page for students. I can add and remove various content so easily. I love how easy it is to manipulate and edit catalog records in the background. There are so many features. I also really love the customer service. Anytime I have needed support they have been really responsive, even making changes to the system to make something work better for me.

What tips could you give to librarians to help improve their remote learning experience?

Oh wow, I think it’s helpful to offer multiple modalities for students to access your lessons and your online library. I try to give students choices, such as post a flipgrid video or post to padlet or share a document with me when they are responding so they don’t have to do something they aren’t comfortable with. I’ve been having students write reviews in the library catalog as one of their remote options! I use screencastify to record short instructional videos on how to use the catalog to write reviews and make lists.