Five years into using LibGuides with 968 Published Guides and a v2 Migration – New Trier High School has a lot to talk about! So, we thought an interview was in order! Springshare first interviewed New Trier in our December 2011 newsletter and in just a few short years, a lot has changed. Let’s catch up. 😉
Q. Can you give us some background on how you’re using LibGuides?
The majority of our guides are used for library instruction at a relatively large (4,000 students) high school. Our ten teacher-librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to create the guides. We strive to be “embedded” as much as feasible, in curriculum and planning, attending other departments’ meetings, and working with individual teachers. Many of our guides are for English and Social Studies classes, although we work across a range of subjects. We use them for professional development, too. For example, we share our New Teacher Orientation LibGuide in August when we welcome our new staff. In February 2015, our guides had over 53,000 total views!
Q. You’ve built almost 1,000 LibGuides! Tell us a little bit about how you’re able to build so many guides!
Basically, the inherent reusability of LibGuides allows us to share with each other, to build on assignments, and to “showcase” our previous work as classroom teachers contemplate new projects. For example, the relationship that we have with our Business Education Department resulted in a teacher asking for a “current events” resource which we can now modify for Social Studies, especially AP Economics, allowing that guide to become a “go to” resource for those teachers and students and lead to even more projects.
In addition, we love the opportunity which the LibGuides community offers for collaboration and contact between schools, including local high school colleagues and national colleges and universities. The flexibility of LibGuides allows us to customize a list of recommendations and highlight various databases, websites and other materials which best meet the needs of students in a given class or for a particular assignment.
Q. You’ll be celebrating your 5-year SpringAversary in April! Tell us about your history using LibGuides.
Over the last five years, we have found LibGuides to be very user friendly and an attractive, engaging technique to share resources with our students as they build critical thinking and information literacy skills. We used Version 1 for several years and migrated to Version 2 last Fall. We are looking forward to making greater use of the side navigation and to seeing future modifications and enhancements (universal find and replace; full discussion boards, ability to easily change header and border colors, etc.) as LibGuides continue to evolve.
Q. In 2011, we interviewed you on your charity work rebuilding libraries in Haiti. Four years later, can you update us on your work there?
Deborah Lazar continues to be very involved in this effort to rebuild libraries in Haiti and shared this update: While the library in Petit-Goave has not been rebuilt, they have been able to rent a temporary space with the help of many over the past four years. Money, school supplies and books in French are always needed. Recently New Trier’s French Classes sent school supplies and picture books – translated in French- to Petit-Goave. Jean Midley Joseph, Library Director, remains dedicated to serving his community and works diligently, despite many challenges, to make the library a place where young minds can open, learn and imagine to live their lives again. He recently wrote to Deborah, saying:
Gradually, thanks to some of you, the library of Petit Goave has overcome great challenges in a country where reading is secondary to the daily quest for food for the body. We can say loud and clear that today the fight against ignorance has taken major steps. The book became henceforth the most powerful weapon to change all communities… [To] all those who have contributed to making the library a meeting point of student for youth: Keep good!!
Thanks to the amazing team of librarians at the New Trier High School. Here’s to another five years and another 1,000 LibGuides – to the future, and beyond!