May, 2012 - Tucson Unified School District

Changes to the Library this Past Year -- and
Looking Ahead
Such a fantastic year at the Catalina Library! I can’t believe it is already over. So many wonderful things
were accomplished since I started here. I have to give big thanks to all the library aides who worked in
the library this year as we never could have accomplished all that we did without them. They worked and
worked and worked, most of the time with a smile. They are the greatest!
As you know one of the main goals of a library is that it be clean and
well organized. This makes access to resources quick and easy for all
using the library. In various “storage” areas of the library were old
audio visual equipment, maps, and books that hadn’t seen the light of
day for years. So old they had the aides asking, “Miss, what is this?”
We went through these areas and all their contents to decide what
to keep and what not to keep. The aides cleaned and cleaned. We
removed so much old, outdated equipment and paper junk that we
now have areas that can be used for other more important functions
such as workspace, study space and meeting space. Our collection
had been continuously updated with new books for staff and students and new videos for classroom
instruction.
One of the biggest changes to the library was the district’s “refresh” of all the old computers to brand new
ones. Many thanks go to our in-house computer tech Bonnie Morlock and her always helpful husbandvolunteer,
Ron, who help keep our computers and technology running. Due to their combined efforts the
library now has a “Lab” in the back of the library that full classes can schedule to support their curricular
work. Many of our students do not have access to technology in their homes so this is a huge benefit to
their overall education.
As a centralized school, Catalina is used quite often for all sorts of district and community meetings. Use
of the library by various groups from both inside the school and outside the school including tutoring,
Catalina Foundation, Professional Development workshops for district staff and various other district
trainings and organizations has expanded greatly. We try to make sure the room is presentable for all
who come to use it.
Looking ahead, I always hope that the library is looked at as an open, available and friendly place for
all who want to use it. I think we have accomplished that fairly well this year. I like knowing that
resources the students and staff need to support their curriculum and pleasure reading needs are things
we can make available. Sometimes this is hard to do when school budgets keep getting slashed but the
administration at Catalina values their library tremendously and they do all they can to provide much of
what we need. I applaud them for that.
Thank you to everyone here who welcomed me into the Catalina family this year. I am excited to be
returning next year! Enjoy the summer!
- Kate Gallion, Librarian
TROJAN UPDATE May, 2012 Page 15