Another Library Automation Option

Hello,
This week I am sending along some more information about another library automation program that has been recommended by a retired librarian, Robert Cooper. The letter that follows is the letter he sent to all the unions. One plus is that he has included most of the SDA publications in the database.

If you are interested in the EZcat program, you might go online and request a demonstration. They will send you a tutorial and you can see if this is a program you will like. Mr. Cooper has grants you may apply for which will bring the cost to your school down to about $750 for a $3,000 program. That is a pretty good deal.

For more information please contact Mr. Cooper. He can answer any questions about this program that you may have.

Have a happy holiday and be safe.
Audrey

Mr. Robert Cooper’s letter
I am a retired librarian from Southwestern. While volunteering at our local elementary school I discovered an excellent Library automation program for our school libraries. As a result I now host an EZcat database of 48,000+ entries including most SDA publications. The ip address of the database is reproservsda@76.255.50.1 at port 210 that is importable from the Bookwhere part of the Librarian's Edge program that I understand has been pushed by the NAD education dept. Please notify all your schools of this possibility to assist them in their endeavor to maintain good libraries.

If some of your schools are looking for an excellent library automation program I can highly recommend Book System's Concourse with EZcat. I liked the program so much that I contacted the company and they have agreed to permit our schools to purchase it for $995 if my name is mentioned as recommender rather than the customary price of $3,000. In addition to this an aunt of mine gave me $10,000 to use for $250 grants per school of which I have about $8,250 remaining that I will offer our schools until it is depleted. It's EZcat and Bookwhere can both access my database. This Concourse program is a complete program that does everything needed to run an efficient and user-friendly online catalog as well as reports capabilities making available a breakdown of Dewey classes, yearly inventories, overdue notices, letters to parents, etc.

With the economy the way it is today you may want to encourage your schools to take advantage of the $995 price tag and the grant available while it lasts as so few of our schools and academies can afford to hire professional librarians. Your union and conferences my wish to do what the Southwestern Union and Texas Conference have done which is to each offer schools purchasing the program an additional $100 grant cutting the price for the schools almost in half.

Schools interest in purchasing the program should contact me for more information for the correct procedure in obtaining the $995 price.

Yours for better libraries,

Robert Cooper
(address has been deleted)

Weeding the 100's

Hello,
This month we are going to weed in the 100’s which include Philosophy and Psychology. This is a very small section in my elementary school library. I am using the CREW guidelines for weeding your collection. The formulas for the different Dewey classes are ‘rules of thumb’. This means that you may have a book that might lend itself to be discarded, but it is still being used in your library. Go ahead and keep the book if you want. There are no library police coming to take it away. These are guidelines only. CREW uses an acronym ‘MUSTIE’ that can help decide whether or not to discard a book.

M – Misleading or factually incorrect
U – Ugly or worn and beyond mending or rebinding
S – Superseded by a new edition or a much better book on the subject
T – Trivial – no discernible literary or scientific merit. (Usually was of interest at some point in the past.)
I – Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community
E – Elsewhere. The material or information may be obtained quickly and easily elsewhere.

101 – Philosophy
Weed based on interest and use.

133 – Paranormal Phenomena
Often these books are high interest and have high usage. Since this section contains books on witchcraft, fortune telling, dream interpretation, and astrology, we will likely not have much of anything in our libraries in this section. I happen to have a couple of books on the Loch Ness monster that we put in this section.

150 – Psychology
You may have some self-help books in this section. Consider weeding them if the copyright date is older than five years. Keep up with television gurus and weed their books when no longer popular or on TV.

160 – Ethics and Morality
Weed books that have a copyright older than ten years or if no longer of interest to your community. Watch for any outdated philosophies on ethics and moral values such as genetic engineering, euthanasia, and sexuality.


This information can be found in CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew . The Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Let me know if you have any wonderful tricks to get students to return books in a timely manner. I’ll compile your ideas and send them out in an email. I’ll use your name along with each idea I receive unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas you would like to see addressed in my weekly emails. What things are helpful to you? Would you rather have more titles of books or more library management ideas?

Have a great week.
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com

More Christmas Books

Happy Holidays!

More Christmas books this week! Can one have too many of these? I suppose it is possible. I just have so many favorites that I want to share with you.

I had the privilege of hearing Mem Fox read from her book Wombat Divine at the International Reading Association conference about 15 years ago. It is on my must-read list each year. Australian animals are putting on their annual Nativity play and Wombat is finally old enough to be a part of the celebration. He tries out for each part in the play, but is not chosen. The animals are very loving toward him and say “There, there, Wombat. Don’t lose heart. Why not try for a different part?” Finally all the parts are assigned and Wombat doesn’t have a part. You will love the ending. It is divine!

Joe Wheeler’s Christmas in my Heart series are staples in many homes and schools. Joe compiles stories from many years ago into heartwarming books. Many of you likely have these books in your personal libraries or school libraries. Many of these stories are longer and have a higher vocabulary, but you should be able to find some great stories that you and your students will enjoy.

Silver Packages tells the story of a young Appalachian boy who waits for a train that arrives each holiday season filled with packages that are thrown to the children who wait by the tracks. He wants a particular gift, but receives other gifts instead. One time he gets a doctor’s kit and goes on to become a doctor and returns to practice medicine in his home town. Cynthia Rylant retells this classic story very well.

Tamales are a traditional Mexican Christmas dish. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto is about a young girl helping her mother make tamales for the family celebration. She eyes her mother’s diamond ring and tries it on. Later after her cousins arrive, she realizes that the ring is missing and deduces that it must have come off in the masa mixture. The cousins eat all the tamales trying to find the ring.

Out of Print

The next titles are books that are currently out of print. Not to worry. There are some wonderful used book stores in towns and also online. Make friends with your local used book store and see if they will watch out for certain books for you. If that isn’t an option, then go to Amazon.com, Powells.com, abebooks.com, barnesandnoble.com, alibris.com, or even EBay. I keep a list of books that I want on my Palm and when I am in a used bookstore, I check to see if they have anything from my list.

Tasha Tudor has an enchanting look at life in the early 1900s with her book Becky’s Christmas. Tasha draws from her memories of her family and their celebration to bring us a glimpse back in time to when family members made gifts for each other. If you like this one, see if you can find a copy of Becky’s Birthday for more of the same. You can also try to find The Doll’s Christmas which is a small book that your children will enjoy.

One Winter’s Night by John Herman is the story of a cow looking for a place out of the snow. She travels along and finally finds a barn where she can rest and have her baby calf. The pictures of the cow are done in watercolor and are full page size. But on the text page, there are small woodcuts of a man, a woman and a donkey also traveling to find a place. They meet at the same barn and the woman has a baby. There is one final small illustration that most people miss. It is on the copyright page at the back of the book.

Moses the Kitten and The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot are favorite stories worldwide. The individual books are out of print, but you can get them in the compilation James Herriot’s Treasury for Children.

Max Lucado has three wonderful stories for Christmas. Alabaster’s Song, The Crippled Lamb, and Jacob’s Gift. The books are out of print, but I noticed on Amazon that there are videos or DVD’s of each book. You may find these books in someone’s home, too.

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do. Have a wonderful week.
Audrey

Books for Christmas

Happy Holidays!

This week I am working with Christmas books and thought I’d share some wonderful ones with you. I hope you already have some of these that you enjoy.

The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden is one of my very favorite books. The story is wonderful no matter who illustrates it, but if you can find the one with Barbara Cooney’s wonderful folk art illustrations, that is my favorite. (I also love Rumer’s other doll books, but most of them are out of print.)

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg is a wonderful story. It’s a special treat to read this book and hand out the tiny candy canes.

Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell is the story of a Christmas tree farm. (Who would have guessed!) Many children may not know what happens before they buy their tree at the lot. I know that a lot of families here in the Pacific Northwest actually go out and cut their own tree, but when I was a child in Florida, that was almost a fairy tale to me.

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon. A fictional account of the Christmas truce of 1014. My copy includes a CD of the author reading the story. He also sings a ballad that goes along with the story. The oil paintings are marvelous.

Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble has some wonderful folk art style illustrations to accompany the story of an old fashioned Christmas.

Steven Layne spoke at a teacher’s convention a few years ago and we bought two of his books which are a nice lighthearted touch for the holidays. The Principal’s Night Before Christmas and The Teacher’s Night Before Christmas. You can also find many other books that play upon Clement C. Moore’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall has a new Christmas book out called The True Gift. It is the story of a family in hard times that had to sell most of their livestock and the children were worried that their one cow would be lonely. They put an ad out to advertise for a friend for their cow and the neighbors help out.

If you haven’t heard of Patricia Polacco, you have missed a wonderful author. She is a wonderful illustrator. Christmas Tapestry is the retelling of the classic story of an old man that donates a handmade tapestry to the church and his wife who was separated from him during the war recognizes her needlework and they are reunited. An Orange for Frankie and The Trees of the Dancing Goats are two other Christmas stories by Patricia Polacco. (Please note that she has another Christmas story called “Welcome Comfort” that is simply a fairy tale about a young boy who was ostracized by his peers, but who did make friends with an elderly gentleman and eventually Welcome Comfort (his name) became the next Santa Clause.) Not all of Patricia Polacco’s books will be appropriate for your classrooms or your libraries. You will have to make that call. She does have some wonderful books that are perfect for schools and also are appropriate for all ages.

Christmas Cookies: Bite-Sized Holiday Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is just great. Here is an excerpt: “Responsible means, ‘You asked me to put away the cookie cutters, and you can count on me to do it.’” Need I say more?

One traditional holiday story is the one by O. Henry called Gift of the Magi. This can be found in a collection of his stories, or as a picture book. The story can be for all ages, but I think it works best for older students. I especially like the picture book version with Lisbeth Zwerger’s flowing illustrations.

Another old favorite of many is The Bird’s Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This is a timeless family story.

Years ago I read a darling story of Mr. Willowby who got a Christmas tree, but it was too tall, so he chopped off the tip and threw it away. An animal found the tip, took it home, but it was too tall, so he chopped off the tip and threw it away. And so it goes throughout the book with smaller and smaller animals chopping off the tip until finally it ends up in the mouse’s house in Mr. Willowby’s home so happy to have a tree just like Mr. Willowby’s. The book is called Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree written by Robert E. Barry.

Next week I will continue with this same topic. More Christmas stories! If you have some favorite Christmas books, I will be happy to include them also.

Don’t forget to check out my blog sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.

Best wishes,
Audrey

New Books

Hello,
I have some great titles that you might want to consider adding to your library.

Non-Fiction
• Jackson, Donna M. The name game. New York: Viking, 2009. Print. Explore the subject of names ranging from choosing the right name for a baby or your pet to naming traditions from around the world to the art of naming companies. One section that my students enjoyed especially is the section on companies that changed their names such as ‘Brad’s Drink’ changed to Pepsi-Cola or ‘Auction Web’ changed to ‘E-Bay’.
• Scott, Elaine. All about sleep from a to zzzzzz. New York: Viking, 2008. Print. Find out all you ever wanted to know about sleep in this book. Chapters include dreaming, sleepwalking, different kinds of sleep, nightmares, night terrors and how everything sleeps. Cartoonish illustrations help complete this short book.
• Hillman, Ben. How Strong is it? Singapore: Scholastic, 2008. Print. This is a book all about strength. How strong is a spiderweb? A trebuchet? Hair? A hurricane? A secret code? Glue? A black hole? Even more information is given here. Each item has a two-page spread with ¾ of the two pages dedicated to the photo and ¼ for the text. Good information is presented in a format that isn’t intimidating to the reader. Ben Hillman also wrote How Fast is It? and a brand new one titled How Weird is It? (I haven’t seen the last title. You might want to check that out before purchasing it.)
• Hatkoff, Juliana, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff. Winter's Tail. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print. You may have seen this young dolphin on TV who was rescued from a crab trap and lost her tail due to the great damage that was done. She learned to swim with a prosthetic tail made especially for her and has been an inspiration to thousands. This past October her 4th birthday was celebrated at the aquarium and through a live webcast. You can still view the 35 – 40 minute webcast online at www.winterstail.com. Other wonderful true stories of animals that have been rescued are Owen and MZee, Knut, Nubs, and Looking for Miza. These are picture books that span the age levels in your school. Through Winter’s website, you can also access websites for most of these other books.
• Bond, Rebecca. In the belly of an ox. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print. Two brothers, bird lovers, adventurous, photography buffs. That’s the start of the story of Richard and Cherry Kearton. This picture book tells some of the secrets and experiences of the brothers as they photograph birds, eggs, and nests and published them into British Bird’s Nests in 1895.

Picture Books
• Mohammed, Khadra. My name is Sangoel. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2009. Print. A young Sudanese refugee and his family leave their homeland and travel to the United States where no one is able to pronounce his name. Sangoel solves this problem in a creative way and finally begins to feel at home.
• Blue, Rose, and Corinne J. Naden. Ron's Big Mission. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2009. Print. The fictionalized account of a true incident tells how Ron McNair got his own library card. Blacks weren’t allowed to check out books but Ron knew the rules weren’t fair and stood up to them and got his own library card. Years later he became an astronaut and was on the fated Challenger space shuttle in 1986.
• Stuart J. Murphy has written a number of books about math fun. These are geared for the primary grades mainly and deal with how math is used in daily life. The titles listed below are a few from the collection. Titles and subjects include:
o Probably Pistachio – probability
o The Penny Pot – counting money using coins
o The Best Vacation Ever – collecting data
o Too Many Kangaroo Things to Do! – multiplying
o Divide and Ride – dividing
o Lemonade for Sale – bar graphs.


There you have about 20 new titles to think about. Have a good time choosing and have a great week.
Audrey

Weeding the 000's

Hello,
This month we are going to weed the 000’s. It is likely a fairly small section and shouldn’t be too difficult to weed. The 000’s are Generalities. Please remember that you aren’t required to discard any book that is important to your library. These are guidelines, not mandates.

004 (Computers)
Books about computers are seldom useful after three years. Consider your community and the students. Will these books be useful to them? Do the manuals fit the hardware or software you are now using? Series like ‘Dummies’ and ‘Idiot’s Guide’ are usually more useful and will last longer.

010 (Bibliography)
Discard most bibliographies ten years from the date of copyright or when superseded by a new edition unless your bibliography is used regularly.

020 (Library Science)
Discard all that do not conform to current, acceptable practice. Discard all that is obsolete or outdated.

030 (General Encyclopedias)
Print encyclopedias should be updated at least every five years. Older sets can circulate, but be careful with information over eight years old. Many schools use an online encyclopedia for the most current information. Older encyclopedias can be sold or circulated.

Other 000’s
Trivia books may be kept indefinitely or until they are no longer useful or interesting. Quotation books, books of oddities, and other books like this may be kept as long as they are useful. Copyright dates may not be an issue here as long as the books are worthy of a place on your shelves.


Books to add to this section of your library would include books on trivia, Guinness World Records, other world record books, books on computers and computing, question and answer books, and books with fun facts. When we get a new Guinness World Record book, I look through and cover over with a large sticker photos that may be inappropriate for younger children (such as the woman with the largest breast implants). Most children enjoy reading about oddities and the world record books are very popular. If you purchase these, it is good to be aware of the information inside. Skim through it before you put it on the shelves.

Weeding information is from CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew.

Have a great week.
Audrey

Magazines

Hi,
Do you have any magazines in your library? Are they geared toward the children? Would you like a list of magazines to choose from? Well, today is your lucky day! I have a list of magazines for you. Some schools choose their magazines through a company that handles missing issues and payment to each. Other schools subscribe through their magazine fundraiser which also helps support the school. You might even check with your local church members and see if they are willing to donate their copies when they are finished with them.

I will not list SDA publications. I hope you are already familiar with them. The SDA magazines also might be donated by someone.

American Girl is a great magazine for your students. It has stories, games, advice, and crafts and the girls will line up to check this out.

The Cricket Magazine Group from Carus Publishing has some wonderful options. They are all $33.95 each for a year’s subscription. You can go to their website and check out all the options for the different age levels. They will also send you sample copies of their magazines if you request them. I would probably avoid Cricket and Cicada simply because of the content at times. For example, Cricket has a theme for the month such as Halloween. There will be games, stories, riddles, folklore, and more. Parts of many of the magazines will be wonderful and other parts will not be appropriate for an Adventist school. Cicada is the literary magazine for teens who love writing and literature. I would request a copy of each of those if you are considering them in your library.

Crinkles magazine takes a theme and focuses on it for the month. A recent month was about North Carolina and has articles about people, places, events and things from North Carolina. There are hands on activities and the articles are aimed at developing critical thinking skills.

Three magazines from Scholastic that we get are Current Health 1, Current Science, and Choices. Current Health has great articles on keeping healthy and drug free, Current Science focuses on science happening now and what we can look for in the future, and Choices is a life skills magazine. The most recent issue has articles on drug abuse, depression, a multiracial family, how volunteering can be fun and rewarding.

Other popular magazines here at Rogers are Sports Illustrated for Kids, Ski, Model Railroader, and Radio Control Car Action. We also have BMX, Popular Science, Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids, National Geographic, Model Airplane News, Kids Discover, and Consumer Reports. Many of these can be placed in your library by donation.

One word of caution. We look through the ads in the Radio Control Car Action, and similar magazines that are also for adults because they often have ads with scantily clad models. Those ads are removed and then placed on the shelf for check out. This was a small problem for us in the past, and that is our way of handling the problem without canceling the subscription.

This is not a complete list by any means. It is one to get you started. What interests do your students have? There probably is a magazine about it. If you aren’t sure about the magazine, ask for a preview copy or buy one from the newsstand and look it over.

If you have a great magazine that wasn’t featured here, let me know or reply to all to let us know about your great find.

Happy reading!
Audrey

Weeding Your Library

“Weeding” your library

One job that needs to be done is to weed the library. Right now I am preaching to myself since this is a difficult thing for me to do. This year we will work on sections of our libraries and do some weeding. You can weed along with me if you like. If you don’t have the time to do it as I do, then please keep these guidelines somewhere to refer to when you are able to weed.

The Library Media Center Handbook, May 2002 has guidelines that I will be referring to over the months. Another source is Sunlink which gives guidelines to follow along with some recommended titles to discard. I also will refer to the CREW method which has provided guidance for over 30 years.

Here are some general guidelines to follow.

What to Weed?
1. Materials that are worn or damaged.
2. Mediocre writing style, especially material that was written quickly to meet popular interest that has passed.
3. Unused sets of books. Specific volumes can be kept if they meet your needs.
4. Self-published or small press materials that are not circulating.
5. Poorly bound or poorly printed editions.
6. Items that are dirty, shabby, warped, marked up, mutilated, or ‘edited’ by patrons.
7. Books with very small print or poor quality pictures.
8. Materials containing information that is not easily accessible. For example, no table of contents, no index, or the content is poorly designed.
9. Materials containing outdated, inaccurate information, and outdated interpretations, values, and attitudes.
10. Material for which the format or reading level is inappropriate to the reading level or interest level of the students.
11. Material which is no longer in demand, or which no longer supports the curriculum.
12. Material that is condescending, stereotyped, patronizing, or biased.
13. Material which has not circulated in three to five years. (Remember that you are the final decision. You CAN keep a book that hasn’t circulated if you know it is important to your library or school.)
14. Duplicate copies of books not circulating.


The CREW Guidelines have an acronym MUSTIE which stand for:
M – Misleading or inaccurate
U – Ugly or worn beyond mending or rebinding
S – Superseded by a new edition or a much better book on the subject
T – Trivial. Of no discernible literary or scientific merit; the interest in this book has passed.
I – Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community
E – Elsewhere. The material or information can be located elsewhere. (This may not apply to most of us since our schools likely don’t have interlibrary loan and few of us have electronic formats.)

I realize that there is a LOT of information here. If you want to download the Crew manual, I will be referring to the 2008 revision by Jeanette Larson. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/

Have a great day!
Audrey

Hello, Everyone,
I’m sure you didn’t expect to hear from me again this week, but I got a great question from one of you wondering if I had a written selection policy that I would share. At first I sat sheepishly thinking, “Yes, I do, but it is in MY HEAD!” Then I remembered that I HAD written one up a while ago and searched for it on my computer. Well, here it is. You can see that it was written up in 2003, but it does live in my head as I select books and other materials for our library.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our policy or any ideas about selection policies. If you don’t have a selection policy written, it really is a good thing to have for your school particularly if a parent or constituent questions materials in your library. Feel free to use ours as a base for yours.

Please don’t feel threatened if a parent does question material in your library. Also, don’t immediately discard the questioned material. I tell parents that I appreciate their concern and I also don’t want inappropriate materials in the library. (Many libraries require that a patron fill out a form to request removal of materials they find offensive. You can find examples of these forms online.) I explain our procedure for removing the book and I thank them for reading the book and letting me know about it since I cannot read every book. I tell them that I will temporarily remove it from the shelf and reevaluate the book personally. Then I read the book and make a decision. I usually send a letter to the parent to let them know of my decision.

I hope this is helpful to you.
Audrey

Rogers Elementary School Library Selection Policy
April 30, 2003


Description
The Media Center Director is responsible for the selection of library materials and the development of the collection of the Rogers School Library.


Criteria for Selection
The Media Center Director is guided in selection of materials by professional book reviews and standard bibliographies. Recommendations from the patrons will be given careful consideration for purchase.

The Library’s collection will be built to meet the needs and interests of Rogers School. Materials are selected to reflect the varying age groups, abilities, and interests of the patrons. All materials to be selected are subjected to the following criteria as they are applicable:

 Current interest and usefulness
 Permanent value
 Comprehensive in scope
 Relevance to the existing collection
 High standards of quality in content
 Cost in relation to the individual title and to the overall collection
 Availability of funds and space
 Attention of critics, reviewers, and public
 Balance of viewpoints in the collection
 Strengths and weaknesses of the existing collection
 SDA values

Physical Maintenance of the Collection
The Media Center Director and staff will regularly weed and update the Rogers School library collection. In general, removal will be based on:

 Relevance of content
 Duplicates of titles no longer popular
 Usage over time
 Condition of material

Reconsideration Policy
If library material is challenged, the material will temporarily be removed from the shelf giving the Media Center Director time to reevaluate the material using the above criteria. If the materials are not in line with the selection criteria, they will be removed from the library collection. If the materials are found to be worthy of the collection, they will remain in the collection and the person who challenged the material will be informed by letter the reasons why the materials will remain in the collection.

Kid Friendly Books

What kinds of books will a reluctant reader be attracted to? We all have those kids in our classrooms or schools. Those kids who CAN read, but can’t seem to find anything to read in the library. They will read for the required assignments, but seldom pick up a book for recreational reading. Here are some subjects and titles of books that have worked well for me.

About 5 years ago a student came to me and asked if I had any books on building stuff. We didn’t have very much. I realized that there were lots of kids that probably like to build things and started searching for books for kids with building projects in them. I came across David Stiles’ books on building tree houses and forts and other simple projects. They were a hit! Other books that are universally popular are books on jokes and riddles, origami, paper airplanes, codes and ciphers, and drawing books. The “I Spy” books and “Where’s Waldo” type of books are also popular with all ages.

A few years ago another student came in asking for books on crocheting. Her teacher was teaching the whole class to crochet and she wanted a book to check out on the subject. I had a couple, but decided to update that section too. Along the way I also upgraded our books on weaving, beading, rubber stamping, quilting (MY hobby!), sewing, and knitting. This summer I saw a sale book on adding ‘bling’ to personal items (cell phones, shoes, purses, etc.) and got that for our library.

Consider adding books on other hobbies like stamp collecting, coin collecting, and photography. There are some great new books on digital photography for kids.

I have a weakness for any cookbook for kids. I gave some ideas last year about good titles for that section. You can locate that in my blog at sdalaibrarian.blogspot.com.

Think about adding books on sports, too. BMX biking is big here, and skiing and snowboarding are also popular. What sports do your students like to do? Do you have books on those sports?

Ask the kids what hobbies or sports or crafts they would like to see in the library and tailor it to your kids. If they have a voice, they will be very likely to use the books ‘they picked out’.

Have a great week!
Audrey

Special Offer from a publisher

Hi,
I hope your week is going well. I have a good deal for you this week. Here is part of an email I received today. Enslow Publishers is offering a great savings on even their discount of 25% to schools. They call it “Cash for Clunkers” and the point is to replace books that you have weeded out of your collection with new books. Just weed 10 old books and follow their instructions and you receive a 45% discount on your order of 10 or more books. I looked in their online catalog and found quite a number of interesting titles so I’m sure you can find something you need. There is a phone number to call and you can ask for Dave or Linda to help you further. (800) 398-2504. I would ask them to email you the information for their “Cash for Clunkers” deal.

Have a great week,
Audrey

Reference Books

Right after I sent my email for the week, I received this question. I decided to just send a quick reply to that person only, but after a few minutes of checking my reference section I decided to send this to all of you.

Question: What do you include in your reference section besides the obvious encyclopedias and other large sets?

Response: First you need to decide the purpose for your reference section. Do you want items in there that are protected and do not circulate? Or do you want a handy place to find information quickly? If it is a combination of both types of reference, mark clearly the items that do not leave the library.

Certainly we have encyclopedias in reference. We also have dictionaries, thesauri, and world record books. One rule of thumb is to include in the reference section items that you can’t easily afford to lose. If you have books that provide a brief overview of a subject or give general information on a variety of subjects, they could also go in reference. Books that you can pick up and get a quick answer would be a good reference book. Here in my library we also have Ellen G. White’s books in the reference section. We put them there because they are used as a reference, but they are items that can be checked out. Encyclopedias are not checked out individually, but a teacher may check out the whole set on a rolling cart for classroom use.

I hope this helps answer your question.
Audrey

Library Club

This week I want to tell you about my Library Club. About four years ago I happened upon an article about using student helpers in the library. I was very interested in this and did some more research online. I found that many schools use students to help in their libraries. I decided to start a Library Club here at Rogers. After much planning and thought and discussion with my assistant, I decided to use only 5th and 6th grade students. My research showed that having only a few helpers was much better, so I opted to have a limit of 12 in the Club. I then advertised the Club during library classes and had applications ready. I ended up with 12 helpers that first year. The students who are accepted into Library Club are in a service club. They are required to volunteer in the library at least one lunch recess a week. Usually a number of students come more than once a week which is fine, also. When they arrive, they sign in and report for work. I have jobs ready for them. They do small but important jobs such as cleaning the computers in the lab, dusting in the library, watering plants, and they learn to shelve books. When I teach them to shelve books, I do a lot of one-on-one teaching so they feel confident. They shelve a book and put a bright strip of paper beside the book with their name on it so I know who is shelving correctly and who might need a bit more instruction. Club members also help with the book fair by keeping the book fair shelves straight and returning books that are out of place.

Library Club members aren’t paid, but there are perks in the job. Once a week we have Library Lunch. The club members are allowed to come in to the library during lunch and we visit, make plans for a project, or watch part of a video. At Christmas time they get to choose a book from a shelf in my storage room. I get donated books, or double copies, or books I pull from the book fairs at low prices and keep them ready for gifts or prizes. At the end of the school year I have a party at my home for the Club members. The first year I had only girls so we had a tea party and they dressed up. The next year I had a few boys in the club so we had vegeburgers and played games. Last year we had another tea party and did crafts. I also hand out a lapel pin with Library Club engraved on it for each Club member.

I advertised in library class for three years and each year I had more and more students want to volunteer and last year I had 40 applicants! This year I didn’t advertise at all. The Club is well established and students have come to me to ask about it. I have them fill out an application and will send invitations to them. If a student was in Library Club in 5th grade and wants to be in again in 6th grade, they are automatically in. I send invitations on bright jungle stationary and put them in a bright green envelope and place the invitations on their desks in their classrooms.

If you decide to have student helpers in your library, decide how you want to use student helpers. What things need to be done that students can do? What grade level will work best for you? If you have a very small school, you may decide to have two or three 7th or 8th graders. You may already be using student helpers.

I hope you are off to a great school year. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Check my blog to see if there are previous entries that might be helpful to you as well. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.

Have a great week,
Audrey

Catalog Information Minus the Card Catalog

Question: How can I get catalog information off the computer? I know there is a way to get the information without purchasing the cards.
Response: There are a couple of ways to get catalog information for a book without purchasing the shelf cards. If you have not automated your library, and you have a card catalog, you will want to purchase the cards. But if you are automating your library, it might be an unnecessary expense. Here are three ways to find the Dewey number for a book.
1. The first way is to look in the book itself especially for newer books. There is a page called the ‘imprint page’ or the ‘verso page’ that contains publisher information, ISBN numbers, and much more. It is usually on the back side of the title page, but we notice it more and more often at the back of the book. If you look carefully you will find the number that the publisher has given. In one of my new books titled “All About Sleep from A to ZZZZZ” the Dewey number on the verso page is 612.8’21. You can use 612.8 or you can add the extra two numbers.
Recently we bought a set of five books about forensics. Each book has a different subject. One is on Forensic Entomology (614.1), another is about Ballistics (363.25’62), Fingerprint analysis (363.25’8), becoming a crime investigator (363.25’2), and Forensic Artists (363.25’8). You will notice that the book on entomology has a completely different Dewey number. After a discussion, my assistant and I decided to put this set together with the number of 363.25. We thought that the one lone book might be lost in the stacks and we wanted to be able to shelve the books together as a group which will get them noticed and checked out. We could have used the publisher’s recommendation, but instead we chose to use the numbers that would work better in our library. You can see that those numbers aren’t written in stone.
2. The second way to get a Dewey number is to go to http://catalog.loc.gov/ . Click on Basic Search, Type in the title of the book you need the Dewey number for, and press Enter. You may need to select the title you want from a list. It could be that there are sound recordings, paperbacks, hardbacks, or videos or DVDs of that title. When you have selected the book, you need to click “Full Record” and the Dewey number will be on that page. This is a good way to get information for older books that may not have the publisher information.

3. A third way is to ask another librarian how they processed the book. Make friends with your public library staff and see if they are willing to help you for a few difficult books. You can also send me an email and my assistant, Joy Palmer, and I will be happy to help.
As you are putting the information into your computer program, don’t forget to include tags to help you locate the book. The book about sleep mentioned above gives a tag “sleep – juvenile literature”. I would also add other tags as I am processing the book such as “dreams, dreaming, sleepwalking, nightmare, terror,” and anything else that would be useful. If I bought that book because a particular teacher asked for it for a unit he was teaching, I would also put the name of the unit so he could type in the unit name and get the books he needed the next time he taught the unit.
I hope this information is helpful to you. Last year a similar question came up in a slightly different form. Check the February 2009 posts for similar information.
Have a wonderful week,
Audrey

Where should I put religious fiction?

This question came to me a couple of weeks ago. It can be a little complicated, but here is one solution.

Question: Where do schools put their religious fiction? In the other SDA section? I don’t want these books to be perceived as factual truth.

Response: This is an interesting dilemma. First, I will tell you the “non-librarian” answer. Put the books wherever the students will read them!

Now, the “librarian” answer. By religious fiction, do you mean actually fiction that has a religious moral or religious story? Or do you mean Bible ‘biographies’ such as Joseph by Terry Fivash or Peter by Noni Beth Gibbs?

Bible biographies should be put in the 200’s. We separate the Old Testament biographies from the New Testament biographies. The Old Testament biographies are cataloged in 221.924. The ‘4’ actually helps us in our large library to separate these together on the shelf. This includes titles such as Joseph by Terry Fivash, or Esther by Trudy Morgan Cole.

New Testament biographies are cataloged in 225.924. Again, the use of the ‘4’ helps to keep these books together on the shelf. Included in this section are titles such as John by Ellen Gunderson Traylor and Peter by Noni Beth Gibbs. Bible biographies can also be placed in the biography section if you prefer. If you don’t have many of these Bible biographies, you could just put them all in 220.92 if you want to.

Religious fiction is really a story therefore it goes in the 813 section. This would include titles such as If Tomorrow Comes by Glen Robinson, Project Sunlight by June Strong, and Song of Eve by June Strong.

Last year I mentioned how we catalog mission stories such as Jungle Thorn, Clever Queen, or Dookie, Sookie and Big Mo. We put these in 266. Eric B. Hare’s books are both mission stories and also collections of mission stories. Collections can go in a different place, but I think putting all his books together is just fine. You can choose how you wish to handle those books. Josephine Cunnington Edwards also has different kinds of books. The Enchanted Pillowcase is a collection of mission stories so it is in 266. Alice Princess is essentially a biography so we have one copy in biographies. (I think we also have a copy in missions, so students can find one in either section.) Swift Arrow is a great story and is cataloged in 813. (By the way, if you don’t have a copy of Swift Arrow in your library, get one as soon as you can. This is the perfect book for a boy or girl who does not want to read. You might consider reading two or three chapters, then stopping.)

Another section of religious fiction would be worship stories. Dewey catalogs devotional literature as 242. Daily devotionals can be cataloged as 242.2 to keep them all together.

There are also collections of stories such as the Guide’s Greatest Angel Stories or Guide’s Greatest Mystery Stories. Since these aren’t ‘worship’ stories, but a collection of stories they would go in 808.8.

To recap:
Bible Biographies – all in 220.92 OR separate into 221.924 and 225.924
Religious Fiction – 813
Mission stories – 266
Devotional literature – 242 and 242.2
Story Collections – 808.8

Have a great week!
Audrey

Donated Books

Question: What do I do with books that have been donated to our school?

Response: Good question. Many times people are cleaning out their closets or homes and decide to get rid of books. Then they think of the school. Would you like some books? Here is my standard pat answer.

“I’ll be happy to take a look at them and see if there are any that we could use in the library. If I find any that I don’t need in our library, is it OK with you if I either give them to a classroom or sell them?”

I have never yet had anyone who said they wanted them back if I wasn’t going to put them in the library. But I want to make sure that they are aware that the books may not all go in the library. Most people are just thankful they don’t have to take them back! I then go through them and make four piles. Pile One: For the library, Pile Two: For a classroom, Pile Three: For my sale shelf, Pile Four: Not appropriate. I then process the ones for the library. The classroom books are either given to a teacher I know will use it or put in the workroom in a box labeled FREE. Sale books go on my sale shelf. Books that aren’t appropriate are disposed of in some way.

My sale shelf is just that. I have books on a separate shelf that anyone can buy for a quarter. I used to have different prices – 25 cents for paperbacks, and $1.00 or $2.00 for hardbacks, but that got to be more trouble than it was worth to me. These are books that have either been donated or weeded from the library. I have a couple of parents that come and purchase a few dollars of books from my shelf. There does come a time that I then recycle those that aren’t selling. If you set up a sale shelf, decide if you want everything to be one price, or different prices. Do what works for you.

Inappropriate books can be disposed of by recycling in the recycle bin. These do not go on my sale shelf. If the books are in decent shape, consider trying to sell them on EBay or at a used book store. The used book store will likely give you credit, but you will usually be able to find something to buy from there that will be appropriate for your library.

Have a great week,
Audrey

More on Amazon Wish List

Hi,
No, you won’t be getting daily emails from me, but I got a response from my Wish List suggestions yesterday that I thought would be a great idea for many of you. Here is the idea that was sent to me.

“The Amazon.com wishlists can be linked to items on the ABC website, or other Christian book distributors. I was able to do it with my church library wishlist. It takes a moment to figure out, but it will list on Amazon.com with the store as Adventist Book Center and a link to their site.”

So, there you have it. Another good idea from the trenches.
Audrey

Magazines - When to discard and when to keep

Question: How long should we keep magazines? What about SDA periodicals? What are some good periodicals for a school?

Response: This is a great question. I will give you some guidelines, but please note that you can do what you want! If you want to keep magazines or other periodicals and you have the space for them, keep them!

That said, some weeding guidelines indicate to discard periodicals after two years unless they are indexed for reference. For example, if you subscribe to “Model Airplane News”, those could be discarded after two years since the information is likely dated. “American Girl” might be very popular in your school and you may choose to keep them for 4 years or even longer. If you subscribe to “Cobblestone”, that magazine can be kept as long as you would a book. I have Cobblestone magazines from the early 1980’s in my library.

SDA periodicals would be treated the same way. Discard after two years unless you have space or want to keep them longer.

Here is a list of periodicals that might interest you. I have put them in categories that might be helpful. You likely will not be able to subscribe to all of these. This list is just a guide to get you started. Look at the websites and you can get a feel for the magazine. Ask for preview copies of those that look good, but you aren’t familiar with, preview it, and choose the ones that you feel will best serve your school. Donating a subscription is a great way for church members to help, too.

Miscellaneous
American Girl
Consumer Reports
Crinkles – focuses on one subject each month
Health
Highlights for Children
Kids Discover – focuses on one subject each month
Mission Frontiers - free
Popular Science
US Kids

Sports and Activities - These are popular at our school, but we watch the advertisements in the back and throughout and rip them out if they aren’t appropriate. Sometimes scantily clad women are promoting the products.

Model Airplane News
Model Railroader
Motocross Action
Mountain Bike Action
Radio Control Car Action
Ski
Sports Illustrated for Kids


Cricket Group – These are great magazines to have. The subscriptions are a bit pricy, but might be worth the cost especially if you keep these for a long time and treat them like a book.

Appleseeds – history for younger grades – 3rd and 4th
Cobblestone – history – grades 5 – 8+
Dig – archaeology – middle grades
Faces – people and places – middle grades
Spider – younger, easy stories – grades 1 and 2
Odyssey – science subjects – middle to upper grades


Teacher Resources
Bookbag – Literature units and other activities with books
Booklinks – Book Reviews
Horn Book Magazine – Book Reviews
Mailbox – Intermediate
Mailbox – Grades 2 – 3
Mailbox – Kindergarten
Science and Children
Teaching Children Mathematics
Technology and Learning


Scholastic magazines – can purchase classroom sets if you like
Career World
Choices – family, life skills – grades 7 - 12
Current Health 1
Current Health 2 – similar to Current Health 1, but for junior high and above
Current Science


Nature
Canadian Geographic
National Geographic – someone might donate this to your school after they are finished reading it.
National Geographic Kids
National Wildlife
Ranger Rick


SDA periodicals
Adventist Review
Guide
Listen
Primary Treasure
Insight
Winner

Have a great week,
Audrey

Hello,
Welcome to my blog for Adventist librarians.

My first tip of the school year is this. Go to Amazon.com and make a wish list for your school. All you have to do is to browse books and when you see one that you would like to have for your school or classroom, click to send it to your wish list. THEN, publicize this list to your parents, church, or wherever you like. You might be surprised at the response you get. If someone purchases a book, that is one less book you will need to buy. Then, put a donation bookplate in the front to state who donated the book to you.

I hope you have a great school year. I’ll be sending out a weekly email with ideas, list of books you might like, and other information. If you have any questions, please send them to me. I’ll respond to those questions very quickly.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive these emails, please have them email me or let me know their email address so I can add them to the email list. Check out my blog with last year’s emails. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com

Audrey

Organizing Your Library

Hello,
The school year is now underway and things will be settling down soon to a regular routine. When you feel you are settled into the year, take a look at your library. Do you have one? Or do you have a few shelves that just have some books on them? How is your library area organized? How do students check out books? If you have a few shelves with some books on them and no organization plan, it is time to get one going. Last year I reviewed two different library automation programs. Maybe this is the year to choose one and get your library automated. You can see the pros and cons of each on my blog in the February archives. sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.

Don’t be overwhelmed by this task. Also, don’t feel like YOU have to be the only one to do it. Chances are there are people in your community or church that would be very willing to help with the organizing and people who can help you make the decisions. I taught at a school where two retired women volunteered to help with the school library. Students may also be a good resource for you. They may be able to help organize or help with other tasks. I have a group of students that volunteer one lunch recess a week to help in the library.

Find out who and where your resources are. Maybe you have a university or college nearby. Check the local public library or public school libraries. It is possible that the librarian knows of someone who is able to help. You may have a student who you trust to follow directions. Put a request in the local church bulletin asking for volunteers to help organize the library.

When the job is done, don’t forget to thank those who were a part of the job. Put a thank you in the church bulletin naming the volunteers, send a nice card in the mail with the students’ signatures, or dedicate a new book in your library for each volunteer with a nice bookplate inside. There are many other ways to show appreciation. Let me know of other ways that you have shown appreciation for your helpers.

I hope you have a great school year. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.
Audrey

Summer Reading Ideas for Teachers

When summer comes, many teachers might want to veg out with a good book. I think it is interesting to find what other friends are reading and often I check out those books and try them to see if they are a good fit for me. When I am visiting at someone’s house, I browse their personal libraries to see what books I might like to read.

Here is a list of books that I have read and reread. If you aren’t familiar with them, you might like them, too. You really never know.

1. Jan Karon’s Mitford series is a set of novels about an Episcopalian minister and his life in small town Mitford, North Carolina. I discovered these books about ten years ago and have lent them to my parents who then lent them to my siblings. Our whole family has enjoyed these books. My brother named his dog ‘Dooley’ after one of the characters in the book. Start with “At Home in Mitford” and go on from there.
2. Phillip Gulley is a Quaker minister who writes novels about a Quaker minister in a very small town. As you read these books, you get to know the members of his congregation and their idiosyncrasies. If you like the Mitford books, you will probably enjoy these. You might want to start with “Home to Harmony”. You really don’t need to read these in any particular order, but if you like to read books in order, this is the first one.
3. Michael Ruhlman has written three books about the fascinating world of the culinary arts. I picked up the first one while visiting a friend and got permission to take it home to finish it. “The Making of a Chef” takes you into the rigors of culinary school and what chefs need to do to make it. Michael then wrote two more books about chefs titled “The Soul of a Chef” and “The Reach of a Chef”.
4. In elementary school I happened to read Helene Hanff’s “84 Charing Cross Road” and began a life-long yearning to visit Great Britain. A group of my friends also read this book and we loved it. Years later when I was actually planning a visit to that wonderful land, I got out my copy and wrote down places I wanted to see that Helene had mentioned. A few years ago one of my elementary school friends wrote and sent me the obituary of Helene Hanff. I felt like I had lost a friend. Miss Hanff also wrote “The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street” which is a continuation of her life, then again continued with “Q’s Legacy”. She went a different route and wrote of her beginnings in “Underfoot in Show Business” and also wrote a travel diary of her hometown New York City in “Apple of My Eye”. If you can get your hands on these, they are well worth it. All of them are quick reads.
5. I want to put in a special plug for my second favorite physicist – Richard Feynman. (My husband is my first favorite physicist!) Feynman is not your normal science geek, but is delightful as he writes about his life. In “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” he tells of his childhood and his unorthodox ways of doing math and science. He also writes about his life in “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” Both of these books are written with humor and in the language of normal people.
6. Other authors you might enjoy reading include James Herriot, Garrison Keillor, and Tracy Kidder.

Now, if you have any ideas of books that I might want to read, send them to me soon. I am almost out of reading material! (Not really, but I always like something new.)
Have a great summer and I’ll be back next August. I’ll see some of you at the Small Schools Workshop in August.
Audrey

Preparing your library for summer

Hello,
School is winding down for us here in the Pacific Northwest. I am busily working to get all our books returned to the library here and I know most of you are doing the same. Once you have those books returned, here are some ideas to help get your library ready for next year.

1. Take a quick look over your library and pull out books that need repair or need to be discarded. If you don’t have time to discard or repair these books right now, then find a space on your library shelves and pile them there. Label the piles so you will remember why you put them there in the first place or so the next person who comes along will know why they are there. When you or someone has time to repair the books, they will be ready and easily accessible.
2. After your library is ready for next school year, one librarian friend of mine suggests wrapping the shelves with butcher paper. She worked in a few schools where the library was open and children and church members felt free to borrow books over the summer vacation. If your school library is also a church library then you will not want to do this, but if you have books that disappear over the summer, you can always use the excuse “The paper will keep the dust off the books over the summer.”
3. Check with your school board to see if you might have some money to use to purchase books that you happen to see over the summer. It is frustrating to later wish you had gotten that special book. I know reimbursement works fine, but if you don’t have extra money, it would be handy to have some petty cash for those expenses.

Next week I thought it would be fun to have a list of books that YOU might want to read over the summer. I am open to suggestions from you as to titles that you think other teachers would enjoy reading, too.

Happy reading!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com

Picture books for Older Students

Most of the time middle grade students shy away from picture books thinking they are for babies. This is simply not the case. Librarians call the section with picture books “Everybody Books” because they are for everyone. There are some books that are difficult to place since they have wonderful information or stories but they happen to be shorter and have illustrations. We usually end up putting them in the “E” section and guide the older student there when they need a book on that particular subject. Our students are now getting used to finding good information in the “Everybody Books” section. Here is a nice selection of books that you might also find interesting for your middle graders or even older students.

Jerry Palotta’s ABC books are stuffed to the gills with information. Read one to your class and challenge them to make their own ABC book.

Patricia Polacco writes wonderful stories; many of them about her childhood and other historical time period. Try reading “Thank You, Mr. Falcker” without crying. I cannot. “Mr. Lincoln’s Way” is about a school principal of an integrated school. Betty Doll, An Orange for Frankie, Butterflies, the list goes on and on. You may want to steer clear of Welcome Comfort. It is a Christmas story about a boy who is teased and who ends up becoming Santa Clause. There may be others that you might not want, but most of her books are on our shelves.

Allen Say writes mostly for young children and I particularly enjoy his stories about his childhood. There are two that I do not read to the younger children. The Sign Painter and Home of the Brave. The subject matter is a bit too mature for kindergarteners.

Myron Uhlberg grew up as a hearing child with deaf parents. He tells the story of his father and other deaf workers in a printing press. His father noticed a fire and was able to warn the others to leave in the book The Printer. He also wrote again about his father in Dad, Jackie and Me.

Crow Boy is an old book by Taro Yashima. It is much longer than traditional picture books, therefore is suited more for older students and the subject is also for older students. The story is about a Japanese boy who is an outcast at school.

Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War by Yukio Tsuchiya. I will not read this to any class younger than fifth grade. The story is about a zoo in Japan during the war. The government was concerned about the possibility of animals escaping during a bombing and therefore ordered that the animals in the zoo be killed. The trained elephants were the last to be killed. Their hide was too tough for bullets, they were too smart to eat the poisoned food, and finally were starved to death. They were doing their tricks to try to earn food and the keepers were devastated with the whole situation. When I read this to a class, I couldn’t keep from crying. It gives another picture to what war does to a country and innocent.

Louise Borden has written two books that I love. Across the Blue Pacific about World War 2 and The Greatest Skating Race which is also a World War 2 story from the Netherlands.

Karen Hesse is known for her World War 2 stories. She has taken a wonderful story of young people who are able to outwit the Nazis and put it in a picture book. The Cats in Krasinski Square is enjoyed by everyone I have ever read it to.

If you aren’t tired of World War 2 stories yet, I have one more for you. Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon. This is the story you may have heard of the German side singing Christmas carols and the American side joining in with them. My copy has a CD with the author reading the story and music along with it. It is wonderful to put the CD in a player and sit and turn the pages.

At Ellis Island: History in Many Voices by Louise Peacock tells a story and also includes a secondary section with historical information and photos and drawings. It is a like a scrapbook.

Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford. Take Arabic calligraphy, a young boy who loves to draw the calligraphy and put them together for a unique look at the culture of Iraq.

Across the Alley by Richard Michelson is the story of a white boy who has to take violin lessons but longs to lay baseball and a black boy who plays baseball and has no money for music lessons. They live across an alley and throw a ball back and forth between their windows. The story ends happily as each boy gets his wish.

Fannie in the Kitchen by Deborah Hopkinson is the story of Fannie Farmer and how she wrote her cookbook. That line I just wrote sounds like it is a boring book, but it really is a delightful story.

If you have some books that you would like to share, send them along to me and I will post them in the next week or two. We can work together to make our libraries grow.

Hello,
This week we are going into the virtual kitchen and take a look at cookbooks for children. I must admit that I love cookbooks and especially children’s cookbooks. We have cookbooks of all kinds, but are adding more and more vegan or vegetarian cookbooks. I can’t resist a new one and my assistant is giving me a hard time about it. (All in fun.) Here is a list of cookbooks that you might like to add to your library.

These books you may be able to get from your Adventist Book Center.

• The Optimal Diet: The Official CHIP Cookbook by Darlene Blaney and Hans Diehl

• Cooking with Catie by Catie Sanner

• Cooking Entrees with the Micheff Sisters and Cooking with the Micheff Sisters

• Sabbath Dinner Cookbook 1 and 2 and the International Sabbath Dinner Cookbook

• Vital Vittles by Heather Leno (a CHIP bookbook)

• Fix-It-Fast Vegetarian Cookbook by Heather Houck Reseck, R. D.

• Apple a Day – don’t forget the old standbys. These aren’t beautiful, but parents will remember these and may come to check them out, too.

Vegetarian cookbooks for kids are more and more popular with the secular population. It is easier and easier to find good cookbooks in local bookstores.

• Cooking With Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon by Jules Bass

• The Jumbo Vegetarian Cookbook by Judi Gillies and Jennifer Glossop

• Simply in Season by Mark Beach and Julie Kauffman

• Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson

• Salad People by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson

• Snack Food by Sharon Dalgleish (part of a set titled ‘Healthy Choices’)

• The Teen’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Judy Krizmanic (This one is not colorful, but has some good recipes and ideas. It is 10 years old, and may be difficult to locate. It may not be worth it to you.)

Very popular but not vegetarian:

• The Sleepover Cookbook by Hallie Warshaw

• The Children’s Step-By-Step Cookbook by Angela Wilkes (contains photographic lessons)

• Simple 1 – 2 – 3 Cooking for Kids


Children’s cookbooks put out by Food Network stars such as Rachel Ray and Paula Deen are quite popular. Even if the books aren’t vegetarian, we can get some good ideas to use with our meat substitutes, or ideas to make some great healthy snacks.

My next few books are about food, but not really cookbooks.

• Raising Healthy Eaters: 100 Tips for Parents by Henry Legere, M.D.

• It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! By James Solheim True food facts from around the world and throughout history. Can’t you just see the kids grabbing for this one!

• Eat Your Words by Charlotte Foltz Jones A fascinating look at the language of food

• Super-Sized Kids by Walt Larimore, M.D., Sherri Flynt, MPH, RD, LD; Steve Halliday How to rescue your child from the obesity threat. This would be great for parents in your school, too. This one is also found at the ABC stores.


Don’t forget to check out my blog in case you missed a week. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com

Hope your week is great and you find a wonderful new recipe. Let me know if you also see a great new cookbook for kids. I’ll try to sneak it past my assistant.

Audrey

Children's Book Week

If you are interested in celebrating Children’s Book Week, you have just over a week to go. What is Children’s Book Week? Children’s Book Week is sponsored by The Children’s Book Council, an organization dedicated to promoting children’s literature. It used to be that you paid a onetime fee and then would receive a booklet four times a year with author information, plus a wonderful section where you could write for promotional materials such as bookmarks, postcards, posters, teaching guides, and other free items. All you paid was the postage for them. I am not sure if they do this any longer, but if I find out they do, I will let you know.

This year Children’s Book Week is May 12 - 18. You can go to the website and see loads of ideas for celebrating. Don’t be overwhelmed, but just pick one or two that you like and ignore the rest. Here is what my school will be doing this year.

I have an author coming for a small group presentation to the 3rd and 4th graders. (I got really lucky here. Sandy Zaugg lives in the Portland area now and called to see if she could do an author visit. She came to our school a few years ago and gave a talk to our school, so it will be nice to have her visit again for a small group.)

We will have a Read-In for an assembly period. The students will bring a pillow from home if they like and settle down with books to read for about 10 – 15 minutes. All books will be checked by the classroom teachers before they come to assembly to make sure the books are suitable for our school. I would like to go longer, but we have a limited time period, so I am not sure if we will have time to last longer than 15 minutes.

Each classroom will decorate their classroom door to promote children’s literature. Some classrooms may assign a small group to do the decorating, or they may choose to do it as a class. That will be at the discretion of the teachers themselves. The students will go in groups to visit each door as part of another school assembly and will evaluate the doors according to attractiveness and neatness. Since we have fifteen classroom doors, it will take a little while.

Take a look at the website and see if you are interested in celebrating Children’s Book Week this year, too.

www.bookweekonline.com

Also, check my blog (sdalibrarian.blogspot.com) for previous questions and information.
Have a good week and weekend!
Audrey

Historical Fiction titles

Hello,
This week my focus is on Historical Fiction. (If you don’t like to word “fiction”, you can use the term one of our teachers here uses – “Historical Realism”.) Many of these authors write other books that you might also like to check out. In most cases, I have listed just a few of the books from each author.

Avi – Avi is one of my favorite authors. He is very prolific and also write in a variety of genres. Watch out for some of his fantasy books. I enjoy them, but I would not put them in my library.
Crispin, the Cross of Lead
Iron Thunder
The Secret School
Night Journeys
Never Mind (not historical fiction)
Nothing But the Truth (not historical fiction)

Christopher Paul Curtis – African American author and Newbery Medal Winner
Bud, Not Buddy
Elijah of Buxton

Will Hobbs – writes books about the Yukon and Alaska and Pacific Northwest. I read one of his books a few summers ago and went back to the library all summer to read every book of his that they had. Now, many of them are in our school library. Junior high students, especially boys, enjoy these.
Far North
Jason’s Gold
Down the Yukon

Elizabeth Winthrop – I don’t know anything about this author, but we have this one book of hers about children who had to quit school to work in the mills. Grace is left-handed and replacing the bobbins is a right-handed job. Grace makes mistakes which costs precious pennies.
Counting on Grace

Gloria Whelan – writes about foreign countries
Angel on the Square – St. Petersburg, Russia 1914
The Turning – Russian ballerina wants to escape Leningrad in 1991
Homeless Bird – India, a thirteen-year-old widow forced to beg for her living
Listening for Lions – Rachel Sheridan’s parents are missionaries in Africa and are stricken by influenza. Rachel’s story of being sent to England, forced into a life of deception until she can take control of her own destiny.

Laurence Yep – Chinese American author. Don’t be worried by the words in his titles such as “Dragon”, he writes about the Chinese immigrant experience.
The Cook’s Family
The Dragon’s Child – his ancestors’ immigrant experience at Angel Island

Elizabeth George Speare – She only wrote four books, but they are still in print for a reason; they are wonderful stories.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond – A Quaker woman is accused of witchcraft in Puritan New England
Sign of the Beaver – Boy is left alone to care for the cabin while father returns to bring back mother and siblings. Boy makes friends with local Indian tribe.
The Bronze Bow – Biblical fiction occurring during the time Jesus was preaching in Capernaum.
Calico Captive – Based on actual narrative diary of teenager Miriam Willard who is taken captive in an Indian raid.

Richard Peck – Some of his books might not be books you want in your library, so be sure to read them first just in case. He writes a number of humorous books, such as The Teacher’s Funeral in three parts. Some may not want that one in the library based on the title. I have not read that one, but the ones below I have read myself.
A Year Down Yonder – girl spends time with eccentric grandmother reluctantly at first, but gets to know her grandmother and respect her.
Fair Weather – Chicago World’s Fair story. The experiences of a family who unexpectedly is able to attend the fair.

Ann Jaramillo – Not really historical as in long ago, but this one book is about illegal immigration from Mexico to California from the immigrant’s point of view.
La Linea

One wonderful source of historical fiction is the Dear America series written in diary form. The Dear America books are about girls, the My Name is America books are about boys, and the My America books are easier and shorter books. I also have a set of Dear Canada books.

I hope some of these titles are helpful for some of you who are making lists for purchasing books during the summer for next school year.

Have a good week,
Audrey

Biblical Biographies

Hello.

Lots of us have old Adventist-published titles in our libraries especially old mission story books. I hope many of you are also adding newer Adventist-published titles to your libraries. I happen to really enjoy the historical stories about Biblical characters. I remember a teacher read the book Deborah by Margit Strom Heppenstall which is a story about the little captive maid in Naaman’s house. That story helped to bring Biblical characters to life for me. I also like the newer books in this same genre such as Ruth and Boaz, Samuel, and so forth. The authors of these Biblical biographies today have usually done quite a bit of research into ancient culture and it is very interesting to learn what the culture of Bible times was like. One consideration that a teacher may need to make is to note that a few of these books may contain some adult material. They were written for an adult audience. This is usually not graphic sexual content, but instead may be implied. If you are concerned about this you may want to be careful which of these books you place in your library. On the other hand, most of them are so thick that only your better readers will likely tackle them. I often make the comment to the students that are checking out these Biblical biographies that this book is meant for a “sophisticated reader.” If you are concerned about this type of book and you don’t have time to read these books yourself to look for adult themes, try asking a parent who loves to read. Ask the parent if they would be willing to read a book or two and check for any material they feel might not be appropriate for your school. This is a way that parents can help the school in a constructive way.

Recently I used these books in a unit for advanced students in our junior high. We used Ruth and Boaz as a literature set and they finished out their assigned pages by using other historical Biblical biographies of their choice. We discussed Biblical lifestyle and culture and compared it with our lifestyle today. These books really help to bring Biblical characters to life and add a great deal of interest to the simple Bible stories we learned as children.

Check out your local ABC and upcoming camp meeting sales to find books to add to your library. Meanwhile, here are a few titles in the Biblical historical characters genre you might like.

Young Readers
• Bible Arch books – These are easy to read picture books. May be available from your local Christian book store.
• Ruth Redding Brand – Abraham, Adam and Eve, Joseph, Jacob. Available at the ABC.

Middle Readers
• Carl Haus – faith-building stories for kids. Available at the ABC.
• Thurman C. Petty – Fire in the Gates, Siege at the Gates. Available at the ABC.
• Detective Zack books by Jerry D. Thomas. Available at the ABC

Older Readers –
• Samuel, One Small Light by Daniel J. Drazen
• Hannah by Lois N. Erickson
• Leah, a Love Story by Lois N. Erickson
• Joseph by Terri L. Fivash
• Dahveed: Yahwey’s Chosen by Terri L. Fivash
• Esther by Trudy Morgan-Cole
• Deborah and Barak by Trudy Morgan-Cole
• Ruth A Love Story by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
• John, Son of Thunder by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
• Hagar God’s Beloved Stranger by Hester Thomasen
• Peter, Fisher of Men by Noni Beth Gibbs
• The Prodigal by Bradley Booth
• Malchus by Noni Beth Gibbs

All of the above and more may be available at the ABC.

Have a great week.
Audrey

More Science titles

Question: What are some good science titles to add to my library?

Response: Science books are difficult to recommend since they become outdated rather quickly. Keep an eye out for books that your students will enjoy reading. Choose books that you want to read or that look interesting to you. Here are a few that are quite popular in my school.

• What Einstein Told His Barber by Robert L. Wolke. Also, What Einstein Didn’t Know, and What Einstein Told His Cook.
• Gonzo Gizmos: Projects and Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek by Simon Quellen Field
• Animals Attack! Series. This series is perfect for the reluctant reader. Each book is short (40 pages or so), interesting, and can be gross which delights many students!

Check and see if you have any books on science experiments or science fair projects. Students love to try out experiments. Look for those that have photos to illustrate each step. Dorling Kindersley (DK Publishing) usually has a good selection for this. While you are looking at DK Publishing, check out the Eyewitness series. If you don’t have any Eyewitness books, get as many as you can!

Another science series is the Science on the Edge books. These offer information on cutting edge developments. One title in the series is Test Tube Babies. The book discusses the pros and cons of the procedure.

An important section of your library that you may need to supplement would be books on particular health issues that students or their families may be facing. We have a few books on anorexia nervosa and bulimia. A few years ago one student checked out each book we had on eating disorders. I learned that she had a sibling who was suffering with an eating disorder and she wanted to educate herself. I was glad I had information for her. Think also of students with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and other issues. What about the student whose parent is dealing with cancer? Do you have information for them in your library? Seriously consider adding to this section of your library.

Have a great week,
Audrey

Science books

Question: What are some interesting science books to purchase?

Response: I pulled some great titles of new books off my cart of books waiting to be processed.

SPORTS SCIENCE by Jim Wiese ISBN 0471442585
Full of interesting experiments such as why a Frisbee flies, what makes a curve ball curve, why ice skates have metal blades, and more.

SCIENCE WARRIORS: THE BATTLE AGAINST INVASIVE SPECIES by Sneed B. Collard III ISBN 0618756361 or ISBN 9780618756360
This one deals with brown tree snakes and how they have invaded Guam and what can be done about it. Also deals with the problem of red fire ants in the South, Melaleuca plants and more.

ALL ABOUT SLEEP FROM A TO ZZZZZ by Elaine Scott ISBN 9780670061884
The title says it all. Cartoon drawings, only 55 pages. A good choice for reluctant readers.


WRITTEN IN BONE: BURIED LIVES OF JAMESTOWN AND COLONIAL MARYLAND. By Sally M. Walker. ISBN 9780822571353
This book tells the story of the grave inside the remains of James Fort in Jamestown, VA and the forensic research being done to solve long ago mysteries. This is a beautiful book with colorful photos and illustrations on every page.


THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF DINOAURS. By Paul Dowswell, John Malam, Paul mason, Steve Parker. ISBN 07550020x
I really am not a fan of dinosaur books, but there are so many children who love them and devour them. This is a nice, thick book with two pages dedicated to each type of dinosaur, lots of color and other information. The main problem with this book is the same as most all dinosaur books – the “millions of years ago” part. I have a small label I made to put inside all books that disagree with our Adventist belief that says something like “Please note that this book does not follow the Bible teaching.” You can say something like that or use your own judgment. If you don’t feel comfortable having that kind of book in your library, there are two dinosaur books we have from a creationist point of view. Elaine Graham-Kennedy wrote DINOSAURS: WHERE DID THEY COME FROM AND WHERE DID THEY GO? Another one is DINOSAURS BY DESIGN by Duane T. Gish.


WHEN IS A PLANET NOT A PLANET? THE STORY OF PLUTO by Elaine Scott. ISBN 9780618898329
This could help update your astronomy section.


ONE WELL: THE STORY OF WATER ON EARTH. By Rochelle Strauss. ISBN 9781553379546


THE STORY OF SALT. By Mark Kurlansky ISBN 0399239987
Based on the New York Times adult best seller “Salt: A World History“.


THE BROOK BOOK: EXPLORING THE SMALLEST STREAMS. By James Arnosky. ISBN 9780525477167


EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK by Frieda Wishinsky. ISBN 9780545003988
The subtitle says “Weird Stuff You Didn’t Know About Food”. A real kid-pleaser.

PROJECTS FOR A HEALTHY PLANET by Shar Levine and Allison Grafton. ISBN 9780471554844
Simple environmental experiments for kids.


That should get you started. If you have a great new title, please share it with us. Click on the section on my blog to leave comments.

Have a great week and a great spring vacation. I’ll be back in two weeks.
Audrey

What are some conferences or workshops that I can attend?

Question: What are some conferences or workshops I can attend?

Response: I love going to conferences and workshops. A number of years ago someone recommended that all teachers belong to a professional organization and I have ever since. Here are some organizations that I belong to now or have belonged to in the past. Below are some of the conferences and workshops I have attended that pertain to libraries and books and reading.

IRA – International Reading Association – Yearly conferences, local chapters, monthly journal.
At the conferences authors are brought in to speak by the IRA, and some of the exhibitors also bring in authors to autograph books. Usually you have to purchase their book to get an autograph. I enjoy hearing authors speak, but there are many other sessions to choose from as well. One year I decided to focus on poetry, another year I went to a lot of Reader’s Theatre sessions. There are many sessions to choose from and if you don’t like one, you can leave and find another one. I make out a schedule for each day for myself listing the time slots and the sessions that I like during those time slots. I use this as a quick reference for the day and can quickly go from session to session. If you have attended the NAD Teacher’s Convention, you will have a glimpse of an idea of what an IRA is like. The NAD convention had about 6000 people in attendance and an IRA usually has an attendance of about 15,000 – 18,000.

ALA – American Library Association – yearly conferences, local chapters, monthly journal.
Very similar to the IRA, but geared more toward librarians. In fact, geared toward public libraries more than school libraries. Similar in size and attendance to IRA. One difference I noticed was that there were many many free books from publishers. The books were advanced reading copies. Most of the books were not for a school library. (One example: I did pick up one book that looked interesting for our school. It was titled “Brooklyn Bridge” and was by Karen Hesse. We have a number of her books in our library; you very possible have as well. I am glad I read the book first because even though the history part is wonderful, there are short incidental chapters that have a ghost child living under the bridge. Needless to say, I did not purchase the book for our library.)

ASDAL – Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians – Yearly conferences, held just before the ALA and in a spot nearby. Last year ALA was held in Anaheim, CA and ASDAL was held the week before in Loma Linda, CA. This year ALA will be in Chicago, IL and ASDAL will be at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI. Most members are college or university librarians, but they are encouraging elementary school librarians and academy librarians to join also.


I also have found that the workshops offered by BER – Bureau of Education and Research are excellent. The information I receive is timely, the workshops are small enough to get personal attention or to have questions answered, the presenters are qualified and entertaining, and I leave with a booklet that I can refer to for years.

Have a great week,
Audrey

How do I promote old books?

Question: How do I promote some of the “Old books” that are in my library?

Response: This is a very good question. We all have some wonderful stories in our libraries, but the covers are worn, or the book jackets are worn out, faded, and just not as attractive as new books can be. Here are some ideas that I have used.

1. Set up a shelf or a special display area and put up a sign that proclaims this to be the “Lonely Books shelf”. Pull out some of the older books that have not been checked out for a while. The books are lonely because no one has checked them out for a long time.

2. Ask the students to read an old book and design a new book jacket for the book. This could even be their book report.

3. Read the book aloud or read parts of different books to stimulate interest.

4. Tell the students that it is time to weed the books to make room for newer books. Ask for their help since you cannot read all of the books. Ask them to read some of the older books and give you their opinion of the book as to whether it is a book that others would like or if it isn’t worthy of a place on the shelves any longer. When the student(s) have read the book, they will report to you their opinion. Remember, just because a student doesn’t like it doesn’t mean you HAVE to get rid of it. If they liked it, they may promote it themselves.

5. Usually minor repairs can be done to keep books looking less tattered and torn.


Have a great week,
Audrey

Inappropriate books from home

Question: Do I allow my students to read books from home that I regard as not appropriate for Adventist Schools? What can I offer as a substitute?

Answer: Here are my thoughts on this. I want to specify that my answer is geared toward the upper elementary grades as this situation is more common in those grades.

I don’t believe we should allow students to use books for school assignments that aren’t appropriate for Adventist schools. I make sure when I give the assignment that I am specific as to what kind of books will not be accepted. If I assign a book report and the students may choose their own books, I tell them that any book in the school or classroom library is fine. If they bring a book from home, it will need to be approved first. This has worked out fine.

Now what about the student who brings the latest fantasy novel to school to read and it isn’t for an assignment? He or she just wants to read it. I don’t want to make a huge issue of this for a couple of reasons. If the student’s parent bought it for them, then it might appear as though we are criticizing the parent. Also, it will make the book even more attractive to them and to others in the classroom. I talk to the student privately and tell them that I’m glad they are enjoying reading, but that particular book is not appropriate for a Seventh-day Adventist school. I ask that they take the book home and not bring it back to school.

For the student who doesn’t want to read anything but fantasy books or other inappropriate reading material, what books can we offer as a substitute that the students will read and possibly even enjoy? There is a lot of historical fiction that is exciting and interesting and sometimes I will read a book or parts of a book to the class to get them started. I know a teacher that calls this “Historical Realism” to avoid the word “Fiction”.

I learned very early to never say to a junior high student “You will love this book!” That can be the death knell for the book even if they do like it. They will usually not admit it. I say this instead, “Here’s one that a lot of junior high students have enjoyed in the past. Why don’t you read the first two chapters and if you don’t like it, bring it back and we’ll find something else for you.” Or I’ll tell them that I haven’t read this book and I’m not sure what grade levels it would be best for. Would they be willing to read it and let me know what they think? Or I’ll tell them that I am not sure if this book is one that we still need to keep in the library. It would be good to get a student’ view of the book. Do they think it is good enough to keep or would they recommend we discard it? Usually students who like to read are willing to at least try something.

Please feel free to share any ideas you use to get kids to read. Also share how you handle the sticky situation of inappropriate reading material.
Short list of books that most kids like (AND that you are likely to have in your classroom or school library already.)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This is NOT about a witch, but about a girl who lives during Puritan times and befriends a Quaker woman that is accused of being a witch. Kit ends up in the middle of the situation.

Swift Arrow by Josephine Cunnington Edwards. Boy is captured by Indians.

Spotted Boy and the Comanches by Mabel Earp Cason. Boy is captured by Indians.

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. Children of Norway carry gold hidden on their sleds past the Nazi soldiers.

A few newer titles that you may not have, but might consider purchasing. If you are at a school that has a very conservative population, check them out of the local library and read them first to make sure they are books you feel comfortable placing in your library. I have a somewhat liberal population but even my more conservative parents like these below. I do know that each school is different.

Dive, Island, Everest by Gordon Korman. Each set is a trilogy of shorter books that are about adventures. Realistic Fiction, exciting. If you purchase book 1 of Dive for example, you will have to purchase the other two. Each book ends with a cliff-hanger.

Andrew Clements’ school stories – Frindle, No Talking, The Janitor’s Boy, etc.

Crispin, the Cross of Lead by Avi. Medieval fiction adventure. Avi does good research so the time period is true, but the story itself is not true. Check out other books by Avi. Many are true, most are terrific reads.

Zach’s Lie by Roland Smith. About a boy and his family that have been placed in witness protection. Realistic Fiction. The sequel to this book is Jack’s Run. Roland Smith also writes other books that are exciting adventures: Elephant Run, Peak.

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. The story contains a local legend about a fairy ring that some may find objectionable, but this is one that even reluctant readers like to read.

I am sure there are many more, but those pop into my head each time I need to find a good book for a student who doesn’t like to read anything.

Have a good week.
Audrey

Which library automation software should I use?

Hi, Everyone.

OK. Now you are bring out the big guns in questions for me. I had two emails last week on which library automation software to use. I see that the Union recommends two different programs. Readerware and Resource Mate3.0 or Resource Mate 3.0 Plus. I looked at both websites and did a little research on them.

FIRST. I have not used either program. I am very interested in knowing if you use one or the other or even some other automation software. I am familiar with Alexandria COMPanion which we use here at Rogers and which was in place before I arrived here 8 years ago. Here is a quick overview of each program.

Readerware Automation Software

• Easy
• Cheap
• A Readerware database can hold between 10,000 and 20,000 items. It depends on the amount of data you store for each record. By default Readerware extracts reviews, these can be larger than the rest of the data combined. Without reviews you can get more than 20,000 items in a database.
• Tutorial available
• Free 30-day trial
• Support via email only, no phone support
• Newsletter
• Uses Windows or Mac
• Free upgrades
• Pictures for many books in print
• Often used for home libraries

Standard Edition includes the software for books only and no scanner $40.00

Standard Edition bundle includes the software for books, music, and $85.00
video and includes a free scanner (Pen type)


Resource Mate3
• No limit to the number of items
• Demo available (You must enter information to access this)
• Training videos available. There are three videos. One for $35, two for $59, three for $89. (Schools may be able to share these or the Union might purchase them and lend them out if enough schools choose this option.)
• Uses Windows
• Tech support – first 3 months is free, then $60 - $90 a year)
• Easy – input the ISBN and it searches. You can get Dewey information and subject information.
• Easy to add information that you want personally for your school
o Example: a teacher wants to remember the books he or she used for the rainforest unit they are teaching. Type in ‘rainforest’ for each book that does not already come up when you search for the rainforest books.

Regular Version – $195.00
• Small to medium libraries
• No item limit
• Built-in reports such as author, categories, call number, circulation, etc.
• Password protected – the computer can be used for searching and the information cannot be damaged by someone searching on the computer
• Can print spine labels
• Spiral-bound user manual
• 3 months free tech support
• Easy to upgrade if you choose


Plus Version – includes the above and. . . $395.00
• Multiple people can install the program on their home computers and enter items there, then bring the disk or flash drive to the main computer and merge the items to the main database. This would be easy for volunteers to help.
• Barcoding – need to purchase the bar codes and a scanner
• Inventory reporting
• History of circulation activity.
ResourceMate® School Basic Bundle
The ResourceMate® School Basic Bundle is the perfect choice for a smaller school or a school just beginning the transition into an automated library. This package still has great features of circulation control for teachers and students, as well as everything you need to get your catalog up and running quickly. The School Basic Bundle includes…
• ResourceMate® 3.0 Plus
• 1 patron search license
• CCD bar code scanner
• Your first 1,000 laminated item barcode labels
• Extended Circulation
• Spell CheckOne package of labels
• One year of Support
• Level 1 Training Video
Price $ 992

ResourceMate® Non-profit and Association Basic Bundle
This ResourceMate® bundle is ideal for societies, associations and organizations. It contains everything you need to make an impressive and organized collection of many different types of resources. It also contains a module to let you track the many different types of brochures and pamphlets that you may be giving away. The Non-profit and Association Bundle includes…
• ResourceMate® 3.0 Plus
• Pamphlet Inventory
• Spell Check
• One package of labels
• One year of Support
• Level 1 Training Video
Price $ 657


Scanner Information
You will likely need to purchase a scanner if it doesn’t come with your software. The pen type is less expensive, but I noticed somewhere that they can be a bit tricky to use at first. There is a CCD Barcode Reader which is a point and shoot type, or you could go with the laser barcode reader. You will need to decide.

Barcodes and labels
You will need to purchase labels and barcodes at least at some point, so make note of that. Some labels and barcodes may be supplied at first, but you will need to get more eventually. Highsmith is a very good resource for library supplies and they have competitive prices. Demco is another good source for library supplies and they are very similar in price.

Other things to keep in mind.
1. Where should I put the barcode? Decide on a position and then put them all in the same area. Our barcodes are in the inside back cover of each book and on the front top left corner of each magazine. (Don’t ask me why our barcodes are INSIDE each book!) If I were setting up a library now, I would put them on the cover either front or back near the spine and cover them with a clear label. In any case, choose a place that will be easy for the barcode reader or scanner to read.
2. Remember to back up your information on a regular basis. I am busy enough here that I make a back up every day. That way if I have a problem, I don’t lose more than a day or two of information. If you are a small school, you might not want to do this every day, but I would make a back up at least once a week.
3. Consider using your automation program to check out your textbooks. It might be an idea you want to use or it might not.
So, after all that, here is my recommendation. I believe the Resource Mate program is what I would use if I were starting out. I think I would begin with the regular Version for $195.00 and I would get the tech support package along with that. That way if I had questions, I could feel free to call any time without worrying about extra costs, especially when I was setting up my program. Then I would decide later if I wanted to upgrade to the Plus program. It costs $200 to upgrade, which is the same price as if you bought the Plus program in the first place so you aren’t missing any savings. Actually, the School Basic Bundle looks pretty good to me, too. I haven’t calculated each item individually, but it might be a small savings by getting a bundle.
Costs can be one of the biggest hurdles. I am not good at fund raising and hate doing it, but I think I might see if I could get people to donate parts of the program. If a scanner costs $125.00, then maybe someone would donate the scanner, or even two or three people could buy the scanner. You may have much better ideas.
Let me know how it is coming for you. I would like to know which program you use now or which program you choose to use if you decide to automate your library.
Have a good week.
Audrey

PS Alexandria’s costs are $1,000.00 for the software for one user with a yearly fee of $300. This included 24 hour tech support (and they are very good), all upgrades, and a user manual either in print or download format. I believe they give quite a lot of set-up support and training at the beginning. If you have more than one computer to use the program on, the next level is a 5-user level which is $2,000.00 software cost and $500 yearly fee. This may not be feasible for most of you, but I thought you might like to know about it anyway.