This year has been a year of putting infrastructure in place for a modern library media center, with significant improvements to the library's teaching and learning environment.
CVHS Library programs engaged students in civil society and heritage celebrations:
- Get out the Vote. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters and Library partnered to provide first-time voters trusted, non-partisan information.
- Hispanic American Heritage Month. A cross-disciplinary collaboration between the library, Advanced Spanish classes and Ceramics classes resulted in a lovely Day of the Dead Altar at the library. Inspired by student research , created by student artists.
- Native American, Indigenous, First Nations Heritage Month. An informative display of the Klamath River Dam demolition in Northern California and Southern Oregon inspired students to learn about the power of youth activism and benefits of devolution of land administration to native american communities.
The new Friends of the Library program invites volunteers and donors to support the library.
Districtwide professional development for all library staff included training in Collection Development Policies, Freedom to Read, and the American Library Association's Bill of Rights. Staff became familiar with National and State Standards for school libraries and identified priorities for districtwide action. A top priority for library staff is exploring a Collection Development Policy for all libraries to guide selection and deselection. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California Freedom to Read Act into law, providing greater impetus for our libraries to develop a Collection Development Policy.
New Books and Grants for non-Fiction Books made important improvements to the library's fiction and non-fiction collections. The library will continue to improve its STEAM collections in 2025 and refresh our contemporary fiction including authentic literature in English, Spanish, Mandarin and other languages.
The High School Library Assistant Course has been aligned with CTE and NACE standards. Curriculum Development for Student Lead Library Services places greater ownership of the library, its operations and success in the hands of students. Students learn real-world transferable skills to secure future college and career jobs in information management, businesses and cultural heritage institutions.
Digital subject guides are under development for all high school subjects. Library guides provide teachers and students access to excellent information resources to expand their knowledge.
Digital library infrastructure improvements have stabilized and improved student and teacher access to content. Library databases, the NoodleTools Citation manager and the Destiny Library Management System (LMS) have transitioned to Google Single-Sign On. A self-checkout station was enabled for high school students. CVHS Library acquired industry-standard Springshare software over the summer to support the integration of publisher content, the Library Management System, scheduling and blog software to provide the foundation for a public-facing 24/7 digital library. An A-Z list of databases provides clear, predictable access to databases. In the new year, continued work with IT and library staff district wide will improve student and teacher access to the library catalogs and communication infrastructure.
As reported in April, CVUSD is preparing a Collection Development and Reconsideration Policy for its libraries. A top priority for our school libraries, the policy is being developed by CVUSD library staff and Education Services.
Using research conducted this year on best practices for school libraries at the local, state and national levels, library staff and Education Services officers will work together to draft a policy for CVUSD Libraries. The policy will guide the ongoing development of the libraries' print and digital collections across the district. A collection development policy is a foundational policy that all libraries have and which guides the healthy development of library collections over time. CVUSD Libraries have been operating without one for some time.
The draft policy will be submitted to the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent for Education Services for review. It will be submitted to the Board for approval.
In August, all library staff will be trained on the draft policy in anticipation of its approval, in some form. Further training will be provided to all appropriate school personnel in 2025-2026.
Questions can be directed to Emily Stambaugh, District Librarian of Record.