Missing the library

I've made it through week one of the new schedule. I am out of the media center for three hours a day working with small groups in classrooms. Open check-out has been reduced to 20 minutes in the morning, 45 minutes from 10:45 - 11:30, and 90 minutes at the end of the day. K-2 students still come for class every week. Grades 3-5 are now"flex." We are scheduling 15 minute blocks so that teachers can bring their entire class to check out.

It is challenging for me because during checkout I may have 25 students in line plus another 25 in the library looking for books. Despite my best efforts, some students get extremely loud! I hate limiting their check-out time like this. I can see how students who come to get books three times a day are missing instruction time, but I still think they should have free access to books.

A related problem is that I have NO time for any shelving. My library workload is the same but now the time I had to work has been cut in half. When the kids are lined up 20 deep to checkout, I don't manage to get much shelving done.

LH