Assorted Forms.

Forms for Parents/Guardians

Permission Slip for Student Work and Photos to be Placed on School Website - Ithaca City School District
I would expand this form to include video formats and other websites, and I would use it often. My personal philosophy is that students should participate and initiate positive learning experiences in the 21st Century by utilizing the global community available via Internet connection. Because parent permission and feedback could lead to cooperation and collaboration, along with an enhanced sense of community that would extend beyond the classroom into students' homes, giving parents information and choice is extremely important. In this document, I would provide rationale as to why global communication is so important and why students should be allowed to participate and hone their 21st century skills. I would also provide my contact information so that parents could address their concerns with me privately.

Internet Use Permission Slip - Murray Bergtraum High School
To ensure that students and guardians know and accept the conditions for computer use as stated in the LMP's the Acceptable Use Policy, a handout stating proper Internet and computer usage must be issued to each student, signed by guardians, and returned by students before computer use is granted. While I like the simple format of this particular permission slip, I would change "parents" to "guardians," I would change "floppies" to "personal information storage devices," and I would list appropriate disciplinary actions that do not include student forfeit of computer use privileges but, rather, restorative justice and love and logic practices instead. Punishing students by taking the largest source of information they have at school away from them will only push them further down the holes they dig for themselves. Supporting them while they fix the problems they created, however, will help students become responsible, successful, and self-aware individuals. Stating how a student will be responsible of his or her misbehavior would tell parents and students a lot about what my core beliefs and philosophies are and it would impact how a student decides to treat the resources provided to him or her.


Forms for Teachers/Faculty

Equipment Checkout Form - John C. Pace Library at University of West Florida
During my student teaching experience, I discovered that I would have absolutely no idea where equipment was because teachers often did not check out or return equipment like they were supposed to. Instead, they often passed equipment on to the next teacher that needed it or would take equipment without going through the action of actually checking it out. For my own LMP, I plan to utilize a standardized form like this one to keep teachers accountable for what they check out and to keep myself updated as to the whereabouts of my inventory of equipment. While I will certainly try to have a nice electronic form like this (that will reduce my paper load dramatically), the questions on it will be pretty much the same whether it is electronic or not. I will want to know who is checking what out, why, when they want it by, and when they will return it. I will also probably have some policy reminders on it like this particular online form does, but I will not ask for the specific contact information that this one does because the middle school will probably be small enough where I can walk over to their room to address an issue if I need to.

Collaboration Planning Form - Indiana Learns (PDF)
Collaboration Evaluation Form - Indiana Learns
I will definitely want a standard form to use when collaborating with teachers and when reflecting with them. These two forms seem to do the trick by covering all the bases that are important to me when I collaborate on lessons with teachers. While the Unit Planning Sheet looks like it should either utilize two pages to allow for more writing room or break down the questions more using a graphic organizer type layout (which would allow equal space to describe the roles of everyone involved), it covers everything a lesson plan would except that it covers more than one perspective. The Unit Evaluation Sheet evaluates the LMS's role in the lesson and, when filled out completely, could be used as proof that the LMS is making a positive impact in the classroom. Documentation is extremely important to have when an LMS is starting out because it is an instant way to build relationships with faculty (since the LMS and collaborating teacher have to work closely together to evaluate the lesson effectively) and to build credibility with other educators and administrative staff. Another thing I like about documenting collaborative work, and especially using these two documents, is that I could pull out pieces of the lesson that the other teacher developed and reflect on what they did, how they did it, and what aspects of their teaching and management techniques I liked or did not like.

Volunteer/Aide Forms

Student Volunteer Form - Pembroke Public Library
In middle school, students will be old enough to volunteer to help me and my aide (if I have one) in the library. For those students interested in such an experience, I will have a standardized form ready for them to fill out. This particular form I have found is fairly simple and would give me insight as to what they are interested in, why they want to help, and when they can help. At first glance, I thought this form pried into a student's life a little too much, but asking the student to explain his or her situation and interest in depth would tell me a lot about the student and give the student some time to think over, and consider, the commitment he or she wishes to make. Since I would be working in the school library, I would not ask for student Schools or Phone Numbers like this form does, but I would still ask about extra curricular activities, since those say a lot about a person. I would also have the guardian sign the form, like this form asks, because I should do everything in my power to encourage communication between students and their parents.

Adult Volunteer Form - Bedford Elementary Schools, MA
In addition to student volunteers, I would certainly appreciate guardian volunteers. I would have a volunteer form ready to offer to guardians during school building open houses, orientations, parent teacher conferences, book fairs, or at any other time when guardians would be in the school and have access to, or interest in, the LMC. Accepting guardian volunteers would not only help me get to know some students, and the community as a whole, better, but it would also bring the community and the school a little closer together. For example, a plethora of parent volunteers could give me a plethora of resources when I am looking for speakers, reading buddies, or people with all sorts of unique skill sets to bring into the library for special activities or special days. Accepting volunteers would allow me to network. While this form would work well with guardians, I would want to extend the volunteer opportunity to any member of the community (like a retired teacher or former student, for instance), so I would change the form a little bit to extend the volunteering opportunity beyond guardians. Instead of having volunteers name a specific child to help, I would give them a few choices of activities they would like to help with, such as shelving or helping out with classes, along with a space for them to designate specific classes or children they would like to work with if they wish. I would have them list their name, number, and email like this form does (and provide my own contact information), and I would definitely hold a few training sessions throughout the year, depending how many volunteers I get.

Aide Evaluation Form - Jean and Alexander Heard Library, TN
Because paraprofessional aides help the LMS with the bulk of the LMC clerical work, they are a very important and vital part of a successful and effective LMP. Because they are so valuable, and do so much, they must be evaluated. While I have never seen what an actual evaluation looks like, I found this form which would, in my opinion, allow me to reflect on the performance of my aides (if I have any) in an effective and appropriate manner. The two aides I worked with in my student teaching placement needed and used all the skill sets listed under the categories section. I like the method of evaluating by commenting while referencing a set list rather than by filling out a rubric because I would get to be more reflective in my evaluations. I like the service recognition portion, goal setting portion, and staff member's comment portion because they round out the evaluation and make it more of a collaborative process between the LMS and the paraprofessional. While I believe that each district has their own standardized paraprofessional evaluation forms, I would use this form as a beginning building block if I had to construct my own evaluation form.

Material Related Forms

ILL Form - East Baton Rouge Parish Library
I have worked in the Oshkosh Public Library and have seen how the Winnefox system works, so I know how important Inter-library Loans are. My LMP will not have all the resources my patrons will need, so I will need to offer them a service to get materials for them from other LMC's in the district and the public library in the area. In order to utilize the service, they will need to fill out a form that will tell me what specific materials they would like. This form is an example of the information I would ask for. I would offer a paper form that patrons could fill out when they are in the LMC so that I could talk to them in person about the specific materials they are searching for.

Material Request Form - Tasmania, Australia
I would use this selection form because it is simple, clear, and would provide me with enough information to find the book being requested. In addition to everything already on the form, I would ask the person requesting the material to identify a reason why they would like to see the material in the LMC. I would include the statement on the bottom of the form that says, "This is a request that will be considered for purchase if it meets the collection development policy and sufficient funds are available," because I believe that the patron should be reminded that the policies need to be followed to ensure that all patrons get the best service possible.

Material Donation Form - Frank E. Gannett Memorial Library, NY
As a manager of the collection, I would like to know who donates things to the library and I would like to have the information necessary to thank them. At the Oshkosh Public Library, we give patrons forms that save them tax money in exchange for their donations. I am not sure if LMCs do this as a normal practice too, but I would like to offer my patrons that service. This form is short and to the point by asking patrons for their contact information, their signature, and whether or not they have read the donation policy. I really like how the form asks patrons if they would like their donations back if the library does not need them because it is that kind of common courtesy that raises a person's credibility. I would not offer the bookplate dedication service (to protect individual privacy of students), but I would offer the tax exemption form as a thank you for donations. I saw a honor book system that one librarian put together for her LMP where students were able to donate book in other students' honors, so I would put together some system like that for students only.

Reconsideration Form - Falk Laboratory School
To uphold the reconsideration policy, a reconsideration form is necessary to give to the patron who is challenging a material. This form should objectively invite the patron to provide all the information necessary in determining which material is being challenged, what the problem with the material was, what the patron's knowledge base of the material is, and what the patron believes should be done with, and who could benefit from, the material. This particular does the job well expect it sounds a little accusatory to me. Therefore, if I were to assimilate this particular document into my LMP Handbook, I would ask "What parts of this material have you read?" instead of "Did you read the entire work? What parts?" because I do not the patron to feel outrightly accused of not being informed enough to have an opinion about the content of the material. I do like the question that asks the patron to list an appropriate substitution for the challenged material because it forces to the patron to think about how the material might be meaningful to the community and it would offer the LMS an opportunity to get to know this patron based on his or her answer.