Norcross ES Media Center

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Handbook

Media Center Procedures

Media Center Usage

The Media program allows teachers to bring their classes to the Media Center for book selection, media skills lessons, or for research.  It is important for teachers to plan with the Media Specialist prior to bringing in a class for research or a media skills lesson.  Please complete a “Media Planning Form” (available in the Media Center or on the shared drive under Media Forms) to reserve computers, make a request for books to be pulled, or for specific assistance from the Media Specialist.

Teachers are required to stay with and monitor their classes while they are in the Media Center for checkout, media lessons, etc.  Do not use this time for phone calls, grading papers, laminating, copying, restroom breaks, etc.

Teachers need to restrict class activity to the specified area they have signed up for on the sign up sheet.  For example, if you have signed up for reference, your class cannot check out books.  Or, if you have signed up for book checkout, your class cannot use the computers.

DO NOT take anything from the Media Center collection without checking it out. If someone is not available to check out your items, please leave them at the circulation desk with a note.  A member of the Media staff will deliver them to you.

Teachers are responsible for all materials they check out.  Teachers must pay for all materials that are lost, stolen, or damaged.

Limit the number of books that students are allowed to carry to and from the Media Center.

Students need to come to skills lessons prepared with pencil and paper.

Please make sure that substitute teachers are aware of our policies if you are scheduled for the Media Center on a day when you are absent.  Making other arrangements for your class would be preferable.

Students in K-1 can check out one book at a time and keep it for up to two weeks.  The sections that an individual student can check out from are at his or her teacher’s discretion.  The Media Center staff will not impose restrictions on student selection.

Students in 2-5 can check out two books at a time and keep them for up to two weeks.

 

Video Usage

Teachers are only allowed to show videos to their classes that have come from the Media Center or the Gwinnett County Instructional Resources Collection.  Each teacher will follow copyright laws concerning video usage.  No rental videos or videos from teacher’s private collections will be shown at NES.

 

Overdue Notices / Lost Books

If you receive an overdue notice for an item, please either return the item or ask us to renew it for you.  Do not let the item remain overdue.

Please send home student overdue notices as soon as you receive them in your boxes.

If a student has lost a book, he or she needs to pay for the item immediately.  Prices for lost books are as follows:  $15.00 for hardbacks and $5.00 for paperbacks.

 

Item Selection

Do not ask the media center staff for information about books that are checked out to other people.  This includes information about digital cameras.  Please plan ahead so that the item you need is available when you need it. 

If you would like for the Media staff to pull items on a specific topic for classroom use, you must complete a “Media Planning Form.”  We need a 48-hour turn-around time to be able to complete this task, so please plan ahead.  If you do not plan ahead, you will be responsible for finding/pulling your own items (if a member of the Media staff is unavailable).

 

Sending Students on Passes

Please send students to the Media Center using any pass that includes each student’s name and purpose of visit.  Students that come to the Media Center without a pass with their name on it will be sent back to class.  Students that come without a purpose of visit written on the pass will only be allowed to check out a book. Please use the Media pass when sending students to the Media Center.

If a student needs to use the Internet for research, please state that on the pass.  REMEMBER:  A STUDENT MUST HAVE A SIGNED AUP ALLOWING THEM TO USE THE INTERNET.  If you send a student to the Media Center to use the Internet, you are acknowledging that that student has permission.

Please do not send more than four students at a time.  When they return, you may send four more.

Please do not send any individual more than once a day.  Two visits per week sounds reasonable.

 

Printing

Teachers must bring their own printing paper when they come to the Media Center to use the computers with their class.  Teachers should inform the Media Specialist in advance of any project involving extensive printing.

 

Directions for Signing Up

Sign-up for classes on the shared drive in the folder entitled “Media Center Calendar.”

Scroll down the document until you find your desired date.

Enter your name in the box next to your chosen time and activity.

Make sure that you type in your name for each 20-minute increment that you need.

Enter the number of students next to your name that you are planning to bring.

 Remember, if you need the computers for a lesson, be sure to mark both blocks for lesson and computer.

 If a lesson by the Media Specialist is desired, enter the research or lesson topic in the box also.

SAVE AND CLOSE THE FILE.

If a time slot is grayed out on the schedule, you may not sign up for that time.

For media assistance, a “Media Planning Form” must be completed and submitted at least 72 hours before your visit.

If you do not complete a “Media Planning Form” at least 72 hours before your visit, do not expect more than simple circulation assistance from us.

Do not sign up less than 24 hours before you plan to come.  We will print each day’s schedule at 3:00 P.M. the day before.  If you decide after that time to come the following day, you must see us in person.  Do not sign up on the shared drive.

 

Equipment Usage

Equipment such as the digital cameras, camcorders, etc. must be checked out from the Media Center.  Do not pass an item on to one of your colleagues.  YOU are ultimately responsible for the item.  Digital cameras and camcorders must be returned at the end of each day, and are not be taken home for personal use.  If you need to take a piece of equipment home for school use, you must have administrative approval.

***Please Note***

You must provide your own floppy disks and/or videotapes when using the digital camera or camcorder.  The Media Center does not provide these items!  Please plan ahead so that you are prepared with the proper materials.

 

Repairs

Please e-mail C. Drake when an item needs to be repaired.  Please be as specific as possible when describing the problem.  If you are able to do so, please bring the item to the Media Center (if not, we will pick up the item).  DO NOT send the item with a student.

 

Safety

Students should not move or transport equipment or AV carts.

Never use electrical equipment during a thunderstorm.

Always turn off your overhead when not in use.  Do not leave these on overnight.

 

Copyright Laws / Fair Use

“It is the intent of the Gwinnett County Board of Education to adhere to the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code Section 101, et. Seg.).

The Board prohibits employees from copying materials not specifically allowed by 1)  copyright law, 2)  fair use guidelines, 3)  licenses or contractual agreements, or 4) other permission.

The Associate Superintendent for Educational Leadership is the person with responsibility to establish and implement appropriate procedures and to conduct training programs to assure that personnel are advised on current laws so that they can perform their duties within the intent of the law.”

                                                                                     --Gwinnett County Board of Education

                                                                                                      Policy IFA, Materials – Copyright

Copyright and Educational Fair Use

                 Copyright law was enacted to protect the interests of authors, artists, inventors, musicians – all “intellectual property.”  In general, any work created after January 1, 1978, is protected.  Originally, only published works were protected, but the law has changed as we have entered the digital age.  It is no longer necessary to publish or even include a copyright notice.  “Once expression is committed to a tangible medium (and computer media is considered tangible), copyright protection is automatic.”  (Crash Course in Copyright, http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/IntellectualProperty/useofnet.htm, 6/12/01).

                 Fair Use guidelines give educators special rights to use or reproduce copyrighted materials, if the following conditions are met:

The nature of the material is primarily for educational use rather than for entertainment.

The purpose and character of the use is for nonprofit educational reasons.

The entire work was not reproduced.

The potential market or value of the work is not affected.

Even under Fair Use there are limits on the amount and type of material that can be used, the distribution of copies, and the length of time the work can be retained.  The following are some specifics on common scenarios for use of copyrighted works in various media.

 

Print Material

ONE copy may be made of the following for research or instruction:

A chapter of a book

An article from a periodical or newspaper

A short story, short essay, or short poem (whether from collective work or not)

A chart, graph, diagram, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper

MULTIPLE copies may be made of the following for classroom use:

A complete poem if less than 250 words and not more than two pages

An excerpt from a longer poem (not more than 250 words)

A complete article, story, or essay of less than 2500 words

An excerpt from a longer prose work (not more than 1000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less, with a minimum of 500 words allowed)

A single chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue

*****Limitations on multiple copies:

Each copy must include notice of copyright

Copies may be made for one course only

Only one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from any one author

No more than three may be taken from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term

No more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term

Copying shall not be used to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies

Copies may not be made of works intended as “consumables,” such as workbooks, standardized tests, answer sheets, etc.

Same item may not be reproduced term after term

 

Video and Audio Recordings

Using copyrighted videos in the classroom:

Videos may be used only for instructional purposes; the video program must be directly tied to instructional objectives and curriculum

Videos may never be used solely for reward, motivation, or “filler”

Copying or editing the video is not permitted

Admission may not be charged to students

Only videos from the media center collection and those from the Gwinnett County Instructional Resources collection can be shown at Norcross Elementary

Sound Recordings:

The conditions outlined above for the use of videotapes apply to audio recordings as well, in any format, whether commercial products or tapings of original broadcasts.

 

Multimedia Projects

                 Under Fair Use Guidelines, students and educators may incorporate portions of copyrighted motion media, music, text, graphics, illustrations, and photographs into their original multimedia projects.  Students may use these projects for the course for which they were created and also keep them in a portfolio as an example of their academic work for future personal use.  Educators may use their projects for curriculum-based instruction with students (for a period of two years), for presentations to peers, and may retain them for use in their professional portfolio.

Open your imagination—read a book!

Read together. It’s always better!

Read if you know what’s good for you.

Relax and Read