Wow! Some of the comments were very insightful as I did not expect them to come up with some really good points. They mentioned that they had no library time, no free time to read in class, and didn't really have much of an idea about what books were actually in the library. They also overwhelmingly stated that they did not talk to their friends about books. Even before the study is over, I can already see areas where we need to improve from the technology side.
We need to have some way to let the middle school students know what books are in the library that may be of interest to them. we have over 40,000 books in the library and I could see how a reluctant reader could walk in, look around, and walk out - all because it is too overwhelming. I also see how we need to kickstart students talking about books by having some sort of weekly book review by students and maybe some time in class to just sit and read.
We start the video book review phase next to see how the students respond to peer book-reviews. I have a feeling they will enjoy seeing each other in the announcements talking about books. Maybe this will get them to talk about books inside and outside of class.
As far as technology goes, we want to set up some sort of PowerPoint that highlights books for certain grade levels. We also want to set up a computer for students to find similar books - that's tough in a normal library. Maybe we even need to encourage students to go on Amazon and look books up to find similar authors. We will also be setting up a station for ebooks and audiobooks. It's going to be an exciting time blending technology and reading!