A library technology plan for the Rivertown Unified School District will be recommended. The following topics will be covered with regard to the overall technology plan: How cataloging is currently handled, the steps necessary for automation, the advantages of the proposal, and the hardware and software necessary for full implementation.
Rivertown is a district with 16 schools--11 elementary schools, two junior highs, two high schools, and a continuation high school. The district has recently added an alternative education center which has caused the district to expand its operations at the district level. The district is lower to lower-middle class in terms of the socioeconomic community, but financially better off than some wealthier communities because of Title I funds. The district receives money for its remedial programs, primarily geared to reading, from federal sources. Some of the materials purchased from Title I funds find their way into the district's libraries in the form of reading kits and other supplemental teaching materials.
The district has approximately 14,000 students, with periods of growth to no growth. A new high school was just completed last year. Currently there are about 2,500 students at the new high school. The district's older high school is now ten years old. Rivertown's new high school (Dale High School, with a population of 3,000 students) will serve as the focus, or the model, for the technology plan to be discussed. Ideally, the other schools in the district would be brought into alignment with what has been recommended for Dale High School.
The district Superintendent of Instructional Services hired a district Library/Media teacher to start the library at Dale High School. A sum of $100,000 in F & E (Furniture & Equipment) money was allotted to the new library with the intent that Dale High School be ready to open with books on the shelves, and to have the newest technology in ...