The Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi

The Donald W. Thomas Library of the

G. Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi

Library Program 2008-2009

Vision: we believe in education as an essential element of foundation for a prosperous country (in which we all dream to live). We recognize that in the information age a school library should be a pivot for a well-rounded education and are determined to make our library meet the highest standards of the world’s state-of–the-art school libraries – turn it from the place of resource ownership and storage to a place for information access and management; from a center of curriculum support to an extension of a classroom.

For the next year we are going to further the changes we have been implementing in the Library and keep moving in the direction of turning our Library into a Learning Laboratory for students as well as the faculty, including ourselves, where continuous discovery  in a mutually enriching setting will take place on a daily basis. By Learning Laboratory we mean the complex of the facility, resources and services that, by providing a strong link to life-long learning, will help us rise generations of students fully prepared to successfully function in the 3^rd millennium.

We are continuously working on refining and honing of the Library and Information Technology Program that aims to promote in our students:

To achieve these major objectives the following activities are carried on:

Since 2004-2005 we have been holding Library Orientations in the beginning of each academic year. These aim to acquaint the students with the Library policies and expectations (including GZAAT textbook management) as well as the Library services and are delivered for all grades.

Starting from the last year we are delivering the Information Literacy course (in the form of the Library Trainings) which so far consists of the following topics:

In 2007-2008 series of library trainings were held for all grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) by agreement with individual teachers during some of their blocks. Despite some challenges and problems unavoidable in any new endeavor, overall results are quite encouraging: students started to use Alexandria, check out more books as well as some SIRS articles, approach the librarians more frequently (now that they know they are welcome to ask us for help !), ask intelligent questions based on what they have learned through the trainings.

We are going to continue the trainings this year and, time allowing, add more topics (like Technology basics (ethics and mechanics of using computers, the Internet, and printing/copying equipment in public places in general and in the setting of our local network in particular (how to print at the Library; how to save and format information etc.); Effective use of the Internet (its free resources, search engines, strategies of locating resources, their evaluation and use); Preparing bibliographies, crediting sources, citation formats; Effective letter writing (including email); Plagiarism; Copyright and fair use; Using online paid databases (we will arrange a subscription for this academic year), Using various browsers (like Firefox, Netscape Navigator, or Flock) PowerPoint; Presentation skills etc. etc.) 

With the enhanced library staff (now that we have the Library Assistant) we will be able to fill some gaps that were identified through observation and analysis of our users’ behaviors as well as self-evaluation. Some of these are :

Cataloging – all Georgian and Russian books will be entered into our online catalog, Alexandria;

Textbook management – we made some changes that will, on one hand, allow us to minimize losses even further, and on the other, will give English teachers flexibility to make changes to their curriculums  as they see fit during the academic year;

Library budget – now that it is consolidated in the Library we will much better manage acquisitions (including Prize Books) and make sure that all departments’ needs are equally considered and addressed to the best of our material capabilities;

Reference and technical assistance to students and faculty – we are planning to provide more individual help for students (in book selection, finding appropriate sources, Internet searching, citing sources, use of Library equipment, making presentations etc.) as well as faculty;

Collection – we are planning to further enrich our collection, especially its Georgian and Russian parts; become more engaged into curriculum development so that we could ensure availability of suitable sources in advance;

Archive – over the years of the Library existence we have collected various memorabilia both in hard copy and electronic formats (like AAT brochures, Open House and graduation leaflets, alumni letters and postcards, pictures, videos etc.). All of these needs to be inventoried and sorted out; new items should be solicited from teachers, students, alumni, trustees etc.; special furniture to hold and display some of the items ought to be designed and installed; and most importantly, ways of using these materials for PR and fundraising have to be developed and implemented.

We believe, supervision in the Library will also benefit from the added staff and will be taken to a higher degree that will contribute to the improvement of discipline at the school level.

Ultimately, we are aiming to become the teachers’ partner in the instructional process.

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