Work Smarter, Not Harder: Middle School Edition

**Note: this is the second post in a series. Please see the first post Work Smarter, Not Harder: Elementary Edition for the starter-level tasks that any student can help you with.**

These mountainous to-do lists and tasks that I have to complete in a day, a week, or a month seem insurmountable, but as I have grown into my career as a teacher librarian, I have realized that no matter the age level you work with, they can all help you lighten your load.

I recognize this predicament is not unique to me – it’s a reality that the majority of educators face. It’s all about finding balance (or at least trying to). Though I will never claim I have found the secret to that balance, it is something I strive to achieve. 

Having had the privilege of working with students across all grades K-12, I’ve gained insight into what each age group is capable of, what engages them, and what inspires them to take ownership of in the library. Here are some ideas and strategies I use to involve students and make things more manageable.

Where and How I Find My Kids 

Once middle school hits, it’s easier to get workers in the library because they have study hall (unlike elementary in which the longest period of time I got them was recess). Study hall periods at the middle school level can be anywhere from 40 – 50 minutes, depending on the district. So this is definitely an upgrade of time since elementary recess can be anywhere between 20 – 30 minutes. 

But, there can be students who are interested and want to help but don’t have a study hall. This makes it difficult for them to get into the physical space to help, so have them help with everything technology-related that they can do anywhere. At the middle school level, I hesitate to have students from lunch to help. Students need time to eat, decompress, and chat with their friends. Also, by the time they purchase their lunch, get to the library, and eat, there isn’t much time left in the lunch period (for our secondary levels, lunch is 30 minutes). I have been known to make special exceptions, especially for students who aren’t comfortable in the lunch room but actually do want to help. 

Just as I did with my elementary schoolers who wanted to go to recess, I respect the middle schoolers’ choice to go to lunch or permanently go back to lunch. Again, as long as we have a conversation about it. In this case, the student has to have a conversation with me prior to just going back. Another way to ramp this expectation up from what the elementary schoolers do. 

At the middle school level, rather than just selecting students that I see resemble the qualities I want in a library worker, I had a library worker application. This application was twofold, using a paper application students provided basic information and rated themselves on a set of qualities much like I looked for in elementary school students. They also had to get one staff member’s recommendation, also on paper, which asked for the staff member’s rating of the student using the same qualities as on the student application.  The student application outlined a list of tasks they might have so that before they even applied they knew what they would be getting into. 

I would like to note that most years, I felt confident enough in what both the student and staff member said in the application that every student received an interview. There was a time (after I had built the program up) when so many students applied I had to limit the offering of interviews to what I saw on paper. That year, I also sought other teachers of those students to see what they had to say about that student.

I will say that teacher recommendations, to me, aren’t the end all be all. There can be times in which that teacher doesn’t adore that particular student and that’s okay. I still leave it all up to my gut and best judgment. 

Both students and staff members did have a due date for applications and by doing this, I knew who was serious about wanting that next step – the interview. 

The final part of the process was an interview. I had anywhere between 3 -5 questions during the interview and to help students be less nervous, I gave them 2 – 3 questions ahead of time so they could prep if they wanted to. Then I saved 1 – 2 questions to see what they could come up with on the spot. I took notes as I went (because I can be forgetful) and based on their interview, application, and staff recommendations along with what period(s) I needed help with, they were either hired or not. 

During the entire process, I communicated with each student. Many middle school students (and let’s be honest, high schoolers, too) do not check their school email, so I knew that was not a great way to keep them informed. So back to paper I went. I created half-sheets of paper to let students know where I was in the process. 

If they didn’t get an interview, I sent them a message essentially saying: “Thank you for your time, please apply again next year.” Sometimes that message included an area in which they could improve upon to be considered for next year. If they did get an interview it came with a “Hooray! You’ve got an interview!” paper with a pass for their study hall to come and interview with me. 

Depending on how many interviews I had to conduct, it could take a while as there were only so many interviews I could do in one period and I never interviewed students during academic classes. So, I kept in communication with the students who had already interviewed but had not made a decision on who I was hiring yet. 

Once they were hired, I sent a notice that said: “Congratulations! Welcome to the club!” The middle school I was at at the time, did not have a way to “create” a class for library workers so their schedule could be changed to always come straight to the library and work for the period. So, I created a permanent pass they could show to their study hall teachers to then be released to me. 

Between elementary, middle, and high school library worker applications, I tried my best to scaffold everything to best fit my clientele. I didn’t want anyone to be scared but I also needed to know if they were up to the tasks at hand. I do feel like I was successful in achieving this and changed the application itself or the process as needed. 

Our middle school students are fully capable of handling the tasks performed by elementary students, so this post focuses on additional responsibilities or an enhanced version of those tasks, raising the bar to match their skills and maturity.

With that in mind, let’s see how my middle school students helped me save time—and ease some stress along the way.

Library Organization and Operations

Shelving: Ramp students up from shelving fiction titles and add on shelving non-fiction (with training, of course). As a part of their training, I had students put the non-fiction books in Dewey order on the shelving cart for me to check first before they went on the shelves. 

All of the training that students receive from me for any job in the library (regardless of age level) is broken into chunks. And starting them with organizing books in order on the cart is the first chunk after training on how to put the books in order. Doing this shows me how comfortable students are with using Dewey and if they don’t feel comfortable with it after being trained and attempting it for a few times, then I assign them another task. 

Inventory Assistance: As students are straightening books to help you prep for inventory, they can shelf-read so you know each book is in its proper order and place. I know this is a huge help to me as I begin channeling my patience for yet another inventory (side note: I do not like completing inventories. it is, next to shelving, my least favorite part of the job). Since students are looking at each book, have them check that barcodes, spine labels, and other identifying markers are intact and legible. While they are doing that, if you feel comfortable, ask students to pull books that are in bad shape and put them in a pile for you to consider for weeding.

Library Promotion

Creating Displays: Just as elementary school students can help you create displays by coming up with ideas, designing the display, and pulling materials for it, so can middle schoolers, but to a higher level. Let them research content for the display by gathering books, articles, or visuals related to the display theme. They can also use sources such as National Today, Days of the Year, or National Day Calendar to see what celebrations are happening that month to base a display on. With all the information and creativity the students have gathered, ask them to design a mock-up of how the display will look.

To give students even more ownership of a display, pick one student a month (or less) to create their own display with books they recommend. They can create shelf talkers for each book to give short blurbs about each book or their recommendations. You could make this “student picks” area as big or as small as you’d like or have room for. I usually keep it anywhere from 4 – 8 books. Let them personalize the display however they’d like. If you want to have a snazzy name for the display area, have your students brainstorm ideas and then the school can vote for a final name. 

Content Creators: 

Any age of student can give a book recommendation or talk about a book they like and why they like it. Middle schoolers can certainly do this too but they can do more – have them create “Top 10” lists based on themes, genres, or favorite authors. They can even encourage their peers to fill out shelf talkers for their favorite books. If you have a library newsletter for students, staff, and/or community members, ask students to contribute articles or updates about library events, new arrivals, or programs to it. Give students a library event to cover and a description of that event and ask them to create promotional materials for that event – flyers, posters, bookmarks, social media posts, and more!

If your library has a presence on social media, have students brainstorm posts that you create images for and then post. This is a great place where students can reuse the research on various day celebrations when creating displays. Once students have brainstormed their ideas and you have approved them, have them research and pull/put together a blurb about that daily celebration into a Google Sheet. Make sure they provide their source reference!

Take book reviews to the next level with students creating book trailers and students recording themselves giving a book review/recommendation. Post these videos on the school video announcements, a school YouTube channel, or other social media (with permission), or save them to a Google Drive folder, give access to teachers, and encourage them to show the videos in class.

Creative Contests: In addition to having middle schoolers develop contest ideas and promote them, have students help you select the winner and give them the pleasure of delivering the prize to their peer(s). As students come up with ideas, have them create a calendar to plan ahead and track what contest will be happening next. 

More contest ideas:

• Trivia and Games – Create quizzes, scavenger hunts, or puzzles related to books and the library.
• Polls and Surveys – Develop questions to poll student opinions on books, authors, or library events.
• Book Cover Redesign – Have students reimagine and redesign the cover of a favorite book or one that may be weeded soon
• Poetry Slam – Hold a contest where students write and perform their own poems.

Feedback Providers

In addition, these students can provide specific feedback to you about the library and its materials. Involve students in discussions about library policies, like adding new books or organizing new activities. Have students interview their classmates about the library and compile the results to share with you. This is a great way to still get feedback but for it to be anonymous. Break your library leaders into small focus groups to discuss specific topics, such as technology, book collections, or space usage. 

Get feedback from students on whether the library feels welcoming, comfortable, and fun. Obtain open-ended feedback on what they enjoy most and least about the library. Ask how you can get more engagement in the library and what are the best ways to get their peers into the library and actively use all the library has to offer including things such as the makerspace, STEM challenge, contests, technology, etc. (and yes, of course, books). Ask for their ideas on how you can improve events, activities, and the setup of the library in general (such as seating, collaborative vs quiet area, etc.). 

Since students are the ones who are digging through the books and in the case of the library leaders, shelving, they will know the collection and are very capable of providing feedback on the collection. Use that knowledge to find out if they think there’s enough variety when it comes to genres (e.g., fantasy, mystery, graphic novels). Get input on whether the collection reflects diverse voices and interests. Ask if they have suggestions for books, authors, or series they’d like to see in the library.  Remember though, if you are asking for student feedback you must be open to actually taking it into consideration. After all, students are the ones who use the library regularly, so their advice is paramount to your (and the library’s) success. 

As I mentioned in my Work Smarter, Not Harder: Elementary Edition post, for all of these tasks, students must be trained and/or provided guidance. Be sure you are modeling everything when you are giving instruction and let students ask 100 questions if needed without running out of patience. 

By involving middle schoolers in meaningful ways, you not only lighten your workload but also foster a sense of responsibility, ownership, and pride in the library.

Stay tuned for part three of Work Smarter, Not Harder: High School Edition