Cathy Braddy Description of setting

Community Analysis G.W. Carver is a Pre-K through 5th grade elementary school. G.W. Carver Elementary School and its community are located in Edgecombe County. It is our mission to teach and reach every child and to provide opportunities for all students to reach their fullest potential. Although the school library does not have its own mission statement, I feel that the media center at Carver Elementary school strives to provide the tools needed to help the students at our school meet these expectation. The school media center has 1 full time librarian and 1 part time media assistant. G.W. Carver Elementary School is located in Pinetops, North Carolina. It is part of the Edgecombe County Public School system. The area where the school is located is predominantly rural farm land. Edgecombe County is approximately 505. 03 square miles with roughly 110.1 people living per square mile. Edgecombe County is one of the oldest counties in North Carolina. It was settled by Europeans in early 18th century after defeating the Tuscarora Indians. Edgecombe is a rural county located approximately one hour drive from Raleigh and 2 hour drive from North Carolinas coast. The school offers bus services for many of its students. Approximately 67% of the students that attend G.W. Carver ride the bus to or from school daily. There is no type of public transit or taxi service in the community. Internet & Communication Capacity There are two computer work stations within the library for students and staff. Both work stations consists of 4 computers all connected to the internet and share 1 printer. There is one computer in the librarians office and two computers for checkout.

Library Patrons demographics and economics The patrons of the media center are made up of many diverse people. The demographics and economics of the media centers patrons are very important when analyzing a library. G.W. Carver Elementary School is located in a low socio-economic community. Of the 875 students that attend the school, 561 receive free lunch and 75 students receive reduced paid lunches. According to School Matters, 65.3% of the students that attend G.W. Carver are economically disadvantaged. According to North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, G.W. Carver Elementary School qualifies for Title I assistance. Because we have above 40% of our students considered poor we qualify for Title I funds, which are sponsored by the state of North Carolina. Title I funds provides financial assistance to help ensure the students meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. The student body of Edgecombe County Public Schools is made up of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. 41.9% are white, 56.8% are black, and 4.0 % are of Hispanic origin, .3% is American Indian, .6% is 2 or more races, and.4% is Asian, (NC DPI). Because we are a predominately rural area with lots of farm land, Edgecombe County is home to many migrate families. These families move to the county to work on farms in the spring then move to warmer climates like Florida to work for the winter only to return again in the spring. Meeting Patron needs The collection of G.W. Carver Elementary School Media Center must coincide with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The curriculum is a very important aspect in the public school system and the materials included in the media center must support this curriculum. Teachers as well as students need a collection of materials that will support, supplement, and

enrich the curriculum. Because of the various learning styles of students a variety of material

needs to be available in both print and electronic materials. Since 4% of G.W. Carver Elementary students are of Hispanic origin, a Spanish section should be included in the library. The North Carolina section is very important to meeting patrons needs because the curriculum covers many aspects of North Carolina. This section needs to be monitored closely and updated regularly.