Hello,
This week I am trying something new. I want to show you how to tape a paperback book to extend its life on your library shelves. I am also going to try to insert pictures to make this easier for those of you who are visual learners like me.
You may have a method of taping that works well for you and I am glad, but many schools do not tape the paperback books and may not realize how helpful it can be in the long run. Once you do a few, you can easily teach one or two older students to do this and they can take over the job of taping books for you.

First, you need a paperback book. I put the spine label on first so the taping will be the protector and I don’t have to use a separate label protector. You also need tape. I really like Scotch 845 Book Tape and I have found that the 2-inch wide tape is the best and most versatile. It fits all but the widest books and there are so few of them in paperback that it is just not worth purchasing wider tape for them. I just use two strips on the spines for those. You will need scissors to cut the tape and a bone folder to burnish the tape down. Fingers work OK, but having something hard to smooth out the tape is really best. You can probably find something other than the bone folder to use, but you can purchase one from Highsmith for less than $1.50 and it is just a nice tool to have.

















Measure out the tape visually so a bit extends on each end of the books’ spine.



















I sometimes put the book between my knees to center the tape visually before putting it down.










Smooth the spine with your finger, the burnish it with the bone folder.

























Carefully smooth each side down one at a time, smoothing with fingers, then the bone folder.
























For the edges of the cover, visually measure out the length again having a bit extend on each end. Place carefully so the center of the tape is on the edge of the cover. Smooth and burnish, then open the cover to smooth down the tape on the inside of the cover.



































Trim the tape flush with the book so no edges of the tape show. It may be that there is a small bubble of air under the tape. Often this can be pushed out using the bone folder, but if not, then make a small prick in the bubble and burnish it down.




















Now you have taped a book and have covered the parts that are used the most by children’s hands. Some people tape the entire cover, but I have found that this often makes the cover curl up and not lie nice and flat.

Here are the supplies I used and the approximate cost of them from Highsmith, the library supply source I use most often. I have found that one roll of tape will cover the spines and edges of approximately 20 – 24 paperback books. You might be tempted to purchase packing tape and use that since it is cheaper, but we have learned that the Scotch book tape is easier to apply and our helpers agreed it was worth the extra amount.

Scotch 845 Book Tape, 2-inch wide $6.34 - $6.80 each
Bone folder $1.44 each
Scissors


Please note that I am not being paid by Highsmith for promotion. I mention them because other teachers have asked me where they can get the supplies I use.

By the way, if you haven’t read the book I just taped, Dewey by Vickie Myron, it is an enjoyable story and would be a great read aloud for your students.

I hope this has been helpful for you. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great week,
Audrey

Automating your Library

Greetings!
Would you like to automate your library? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list of the books your school owns and be able to find them quickly and easily? Well, you can do it and for less money than you might expect. I sound like a commercial for library automation software, but it is nice to be able to locate books quickly and know instantly whether you have a book on a particular subject without going to the shelves and perusing them hoping to find the subject you need.

You may have read the Journal of Adventist Education Summer 2011 issue on Libraries. I wrote an article with the help of my assistant, Joy Palmer, on how to organize a small library. If you read it, you will have a good start on getting your library organized.

However, this post is focused on what kind of automation program would be best for your school. The NPUC has recommended two automation programs; Readerware and ResourceMate.

Readerware is the less expensive of the two programs. Readerware is easy to use and is cheap. The prices you pay are one-time fees. The database can hold between 10,000 and 20,000 items which is perfect for most of our small SDA schools. The program extracts reviews and cover art for most books. There is a free tutorial and they offer a free 30-day trial. The program uses either Windows or Mac. I could not find any information to find out if a bar code scanner is included in the purchase price. Three years ago when I gave this information out, each item was purchased separately, but the prices are changed slightly and it appears that the program includes a complete package with all items needed. There are three options for purchase.
1. Standard Edition $40.00 – this is a single user and includes all the Readerware features needed.
2. Client/Server Edition $90.00 – This version includes all the features of the Standard Edition and supports up to five concurrent users.
3. Client/Server Enterprise Edition $500.00 – Includes all the features of the Standard Edition but has no user limit.

If you choose to go with Readerware, I would recommend the Client/Server Edition because you will be able to have one computer as the data station that can be password protected so students cannot alter the data and you can have four other computers as the card catalog in use at a time.

ResourceMate is another automation program that you might consider. There are four options for purchase.
1. ResourceMate Regular ($195.00) has the following features.
a. There is no limit to the number of items.
b. It uses Windows.
c. It is easy to use. You input the ISBN and search for the book. You can get Dewey information and subject information. It is also easy to add information that your school might need. For example a teacher wants to remember the books he or she used for the rainforest unit they just taught. Type in ‘rainforest’ for each book that does not already come up with you search for the rainforest books.
d. A demo is available. You must enter information to access this.
e. Training videos are available. There are three videos. You must purchase these for $35.00 each or two for $59.00, or three for $89.00. (Schools may be able to share these or maybe talk the NPUC into purchasing these for check-out.)
f. Online training is available for $35.00 for each subject taught. Examples include cataloguing basics, printing labels and cards, etc. There is a list of subjects on the website. You choose the session or sessions you want and sign up for the particular class on a specific date.
g. Tech support – the first 3 months are free, and then support is about $70 - $110 a year. Tech support is optional. The NPUC also has a few other teachers who are using this program and might be able to help you with any problems.
h. A user manual is included.
i. Built-in reports such as author, categories, call number, circulation, etc.
j. Password protected so the computer can be used for searching and the information cannot be damaged by someone searching on the computer.

2. ResourceMate Regular Multi ($395.00) includes the features above plus
a. Multiple people (up to 3) can install the program on their computers and enter items there and the data can be merged to the main database. This makes it easy for volunteers to help with the automation process.
b. Bar coding – need to purchase the bar codes and a scanner
c. Inventory reporting
d. History of circulation activity
3. ResourceMate Plus ($395.00) includes the features of the Regular version and the Regular Multi version. There are some extra features as well.
4. ResourceMate Plus Multi ($595.00) – similar to the above with some extras.
5. ResourceMate School Basic bundle – ($1042) This includes the following
a. ResourceMate Plus software
b. 1 patron search license
c. Bar code scanner
d. Bar code labels (1000)
e. Extended circulation
f. Spell check
g. One package of 1000 labels (spine)
h. Level 1 Training video

If you opt for ResourceMate, I would recommend the ResourceMate Plus for $395.00. The Regular Multi also costs $395.00, but the Plus version seems to have some features that aren’t listed with the Regular Multi version. I am not sure why, but you can do more research on the website.

If you are deciding between the ResourceMate and the Readerware, I would recommend the ResourceMate simply because it is a more robust program, no limit to the number of items, and we have other teachers who can help with questions you may come across.

I hope you find this information helpful if you are considering automating your library. This post and all previous posts are available on my blog sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.

Have a great week!
Audrey

Oldies but Goodies

Greetings!
If your library looks a little like my library you have lots of great books that don’t look too attractive on the outside. You try to get your students to read these stories, but they naturally gravitate to the newer, books with clean, attractive, full-color covers. We understand since these books naturally appeal to us, too. But how can we get students to pick up the older stories and read them? I have a few ideas for you.

Clean the books that you can clean. I have found that the books with a shiny, but dirty cover can usually be cleaned fairly easily. There are products on the market you can buy, special cleaners and erasers, but I was not having much luck with them and tried a dab of hand soap by the sink. I had a damp rag and put a bit of soap on the rag and started rubbing. Then I carefully wiped it all off with a clean rag that was a bit damper and dried the book. It looked almost new. This worked with the books that have a protective sheen, NOT a cloth cover.

Cover books with a ‘new’ dust jacket. I have covered books using two methods. I found a nice color cover from a place like Amazon or Barnes and Noble and copied it in a Word document, then pasted it on a dust jacket that I cut to fit the book. I have a plastic dust jacket protector I use to keep the jackets looking nice. Other schools laminate the dust jackets or cover with clear contact paper.

Get students to do as much of the work as you can. I set up a small shelf that I labeled “Lonely Books” and acted very sad that the books hadn’t been read for a long time. Then I asked students to choose a book, read it and let me know if they thought the book was good enough to keep in the library or if they thought it was time to weed that title out. If they liked it and thought others would like it, then they made a dust jacket for the book. I learned that it worked better if I cut the dust jacket out and lightly sketched out the area for artwork, title, spine label, and blurb. Then I let them make a wonderful cover. I promoted the ‘new’ books and other students checked some of them out. (This would make a great book report idea!)

Go with the theme. When you are studying a unit, check out as many books on the theme that you can. Get all levels of books, picture books, informational books, stories, magazines. Display these in your classroom so students can browse through them. If you are the librarian, find out what units the teachers are studying for the year and make sure that there is a variety of material to support the unit.
I hope these ideas have helped you continue to make your library or classroom the fun place to be and read.

Have a great week,
Audrey

Inexpensive Shelving Ideas

Greetings!

This week I am going to tell you how to get stuff for cheap. Or at least I can tell you how we have been able to add furniture and shelving to our library for very little money.

When we moved into the new school facility seven years ago, I had little furniture for the library. The shelving along the walls was custom built shelving and exactly fit the space in the old school. There originally was some talk of taking down the old shelving and moving it to the new school, but soon we all realized that this was not an option. The school was able to purchase new shelving along the walls and two magazine units. I was very grateful. We chose a light wood to match some stand alone shelf units we brought from the old school.

A local retired carpenter was hired to help cover the old low bookcases. He put the old bookcases back to back and covered them with a new top. He also custom built two new cases on casters that exactly matched the old ones. These were built for much less that would cost to purchase them. We were fortunate that our builder was willing to do this for much less money that he could normally charge. I rescued four shelf units (approximately 36 w x 30 h x 15 d) that teachers did not want and brought them into the library. Two are in the library proper and two are in my storeroom space.

For a short while we had some brick and board shelving while we were waiting for new shelves to arrive, but this can pose some safety issues and is not recommended. The shelves could topple over and harm a child. Shelves should be affixed to the wall or made very sturdy to avoid this problem.

By having Scholastic Book Fairs, I saved enough points over a few years to purchase furniture that I wanted and I have four pieces this way. I have a four-sided unit that swivels, a wooden library cart with shelves, and a two-sided unit that has a slanted top on each side. We keep dictionaries and other reference books in it. I also have a rolling two-sided unit with a space for sharing books and small shelves. I use that at times for story time.

Over the last ten years our area has had two or three stores go out of business and liquidate their stock. Usually we think of the clothing or items that were sold in the store, but if you think of the furniture, you can get some great things for very cheap. We have gotten Lucite holders and stands, wooden furniture, and sign holders this way.

If you think outside the box, you can obtain what you need for not too much money. Do you have a retired carpenter in your church? It may be that for the price of materials he or she would be willing to make the items you need. At least you can get an estimate. Did you notice a display or a poster in your local bookstore that you like? When they are finished with the display, they might let you have it. Take a look at your local flea market or garage sales and see if there is anything that might work in your library. A little cleaning or paint can really spruce up an old bookshelf.

You can make your library space look nice without spending a lot of money. I would love to hear of the ways you have saved money in your library space.

Have a good week,
Audrey