Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Magazines, Part 2
Greetings!
Last week I talked about magazines and focuses on the secular options which are usually the ones that come into question. This week I will talk about some options for SDA publications.
You are likely associated with a church and can get your name on a list to receive the children’s weekly papers like Little Friend, Primary Treasure, Guide, and Insight. It may be that the church will pay for a copy of each for you. You might think that the children already have read them, but remember that many of our schools also have children from other denominations in them that may not have read them.
Other SDA publications that might work in your library are your local conference paper – North Pacific Union has the Gleaner.
Liberty magazine - information on religious freedom.
Listen and Vibrant Life – focus on health and nutrition.
Winner – health, temperance and focused toward middle grades.
Signs of the Times, The Review, and other publications could also be options for your school library.
It may be that families or church members might sponsor subscriptions to the magazines that you choose or may donate their copy when they are finished reading them.
How you subscribe to your magazines is another option. Your school may have a magazine campaign fundraiser and you get your subscriptions through the school. This is certainly an option. If you only have a few magazines, this is probably the best way to go for you. However, if you have many periodicals each month, you should seriously consider using a subscription service called “EBSCO”. I use EBSCO for these reasons. The price is competitive. It is easy for me to renew all the subscriptions at once rather than one at a time. If I miss an issue, I report it to EBSCO and they handle it for me.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
This is the last post until January. Have a blessed, restful, happy vacation.
Audrey
Monday, December 9, 2013
Magazines
Greetings!
Do you have any magazines in your library for kids to read? I hope so. If not, then here are some that you might consider. All these magazines have either been in my library or are currently in my library.
American Girl – very popular for all ages
The Cricket Group has a number of magazines they publish. Each magazine has a theme and all the articles, activities, and such are focused on that particular theme. These magazines are ones that we keep for reference like a book. We don’t discard them. Note: Not all of these magazines will be appropriate for your school. I really like the Cricket magazine that has stories and poetry, but occasionally the theme will be something like dragons or witches, so I don’t subscribe to this one. Consider writing to Cricket and requesting a packet to preview.
Appleseeds – cultural or historical topics for ages 6 - 9
Ask – science, history, inventors, artists for ages 6 - 9
Cobblestone – American history themes for ages 9 - 14
Dig – archaeology themes for ages 9 - 14
Faces – children and cultures around the world for ages 9 - 14
Odyssey – science for ages 9 – 14
Kids Discover – also has themes for each issue. The themes range from science, history, biography, current events, and more. This magazine is also one that we keep for reference. Appropriate for ages 9 – 14.
Ranger Rick – standard magazine on animals for kids.
Science World – current science topics; our 7th and 8th grades are usually the ones that use this magazine.
Current Health Teens – health and nutrition issues; also usually used by 7th and 8th grades.
Choices – a Scholastic magazine about teen issues and choosing the right thing to do. Our counselor requested this magazine and it has been a good purchase for us.
Kiki – this is a newer magazine that has fashion and design in it. The focus is not on being fashionable, but more on the design aspects of fashion. The clothing is appropriate and modest, without being weird or outlandish. Readers are given ideas on how to sew items, patterns, and much more. Ask for a sample issue if you have questions.
We also subscribe to Model Airplane News, Model Railroader, Motocross Action, Mountain Bike Action, National Geographic Kids, Ski, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Radio Control Car Action, and Ski. I am not sure that all of these are needed any longer and will do a survey of the students to find out which ones they actually read and want.
We have a few magazines for parents such as Consumer Reports, Popular Science, and National Geographic. National Geographic is donated to us by a family after they finish reading theirs.
People ask me how long they should keep magazines. If it is a popular magazine that quickly dates itself, discard it after five years or sooner if you need to. If it is a magazine that kids keep coming to no matter how old the issue is, such as American Girl, then keep them as long as they are still intact. We even do some minor mending on these. Use the needs of your library to help you decide.
I hope you have a great week. We are in the midst of the coldest weather I have ever been in. I hope you keep warm.
Audrey
Do you have any magazines in your library for kids to read? I hope so. If not, then here are some that you might consider. All these magazines have either been in my library or are currently in my library.
American Girl – very popular for all ages
The Cricket Group has a number of magazines they publish. Each magazine has a theme and all the articles, activities, and such are focused on that particular theme. These magazines are ones that we keep for reference like a book. We don’t discard them. Note: Not all of these magazines will be appropriate for your school. I really like the Cricket magazine that has stories and poetry, but occasionally the theme will be something like dragons or witches, so I don’t subscribe to this one. Consider writing to Cricket and requesting a packet to preview.
Appleseeds – cultural or historical topics for ages 6 - 9
Ask – science, history, inventors, artists for ages 6 - 9
Cobblestone – American history themes for ages 9 - 14
Dig – archaeology themes for ages 9 - 14
Faces – children and cultures around the world for ages 9 - 14
Odyssey – science for ages 9 – 14
Kids Discover – also has themes for each issue. The themes range from science, history, biography, current events, and more. This magazine is also one that we keep for reference. Appropriate for ages 9 – 14.
Ranger Rick – standard magazine on animals for kids.
Science World – current science topics; our 7th and 8th grades are usually the ones that use this magazine.
Current Health Teens – health and nutrition issues; also usually used by 7th and 8th grades.
Choices – a Scholastic magazine about teen issues and choosing the right thing to do. Our counselor requested this magazine and it has been a good purchase for us.
Kiki – this is a newer magazine that has fashion and design in it. The focus is not on being fashionable, but more on the design aspects of fashion. The clothing is appropriate and modest, without being weird or outlandish. Readers are given ideas on how to sew items, patterns, and much more. Ask for a sample issue if you have questions.
We also subscribe to Model Airplane News, Model Railroader, Motocross Action, Mountain Bike Action, National Geographic Kids, Ski, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Radio Control Car Action, and Ski. I am not sure that all of these are needed any longer and will do a survey of the students to find out which ones they actually read and want.
We have a few magazines for parents such as Consumer Reports, Popular Science, and National Geographic. National Geographic is donated to us by a family after they finish reading theirs.
People ask me how long they should keep magazines. If it is a popular magazine that quickly dates itself, discard it after five years or sooner if you need to. If it is a magazine that kids keep coming to no matter how old the issue is, such as American Girl, then keep them as long as they are still intact. We even do some minor mending on these. Use the needs of your library to help you decide.
I hope you have a great week. We are in the midst of the coldest weather I have ever been in. I hope you keep warm.
Audrey
Monday, December 2, 2013
Book Donations
Greetings!
Can you believe it is December already! I remember my grandparents and my parents talking about how quickly time passes, but it seemed to drag for me. Now I totally understand.
Very soon people will be cleaning and getting rid of things from their homes and sending them to thrift stores. When they come to books that they no longer need or want, they may think of you and bring them for you to use. Some of the books will be real treasures and you will be glad to have them, but some will be old, out of date, and not really useful for your library. So how should you handle this situation? You may have no problem with this, but I have had this happen so many times, that I have a standard speech I give. I am happy to share it with you.
“Thank you so much for the books. I will be happy to look through them and see which ones we need for the library. If I find that there are some that we don’t need, is it OK with you if I find another place for them, such as a classroom or would you rather have them back?”
At this point, the kind soul usually tells us to please keep them, they don’t want them. Now you are at liberty to do what you want with the books.
I look through the donations and see what we need in our library. I process for the library the books that we need. I may notice a book or two that I don’t need, but I know that a particular classroom studies that subject or I feel that it would be better used there than the library. Some duplicate copies are put in my “Sale” shelf or take to a used book store. I have credit at my local used book store and save up to get copies of books that I want or need. You also might sell your donations through an online source such as Amazon or Alibris. If you don’t want to bother with this, do not despair. You might have a parent or church member already doing this and can just add your books to their ‘store’ and sell them for you. Keep an eye out for old reading books as these can be valuable, particularly the Alice and Jerry series books.
I have a few of the old readers that I have processed for the library and encourage students to read. So consider that option, as well.
Good luck with your book donations.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Can you believe it is December already! I remember my grandparents and my parents talking about how quickly time passes, but it seemed to drag for me. Now I totally understand.
Very soon people will be cleaning and getting rid of things from their homes and sending them to thrift stores. When they come to books that they no longer need or want, they may think of you and bring them for you to use. Some of the books will be real treasures and you will be glad to have them, but some will be old, out of date, and not really useful for your library. So how should you handle this situation? You may have no problem with this, but I have had this happen so many times, that I have a standard speech I give. I am happy to share it with you.
“Thank you so much for the books. I will be happy to look through them and see which ones we need for the library. If I find that there are some that we don’t need, is it OK with you if I find another place for them, such as a classroom or would you rather have them back?”
At this point, the kind soul usually tells us to please keep them, they don’t want them. Now you are at liberty to do what you want with the books.
I look through the donations and see what we need in our library. I process for the library the books that we need. I may notice a book or two that I don’t need, but I know that a particular classroom studies that subject or I feel that it would be better used there than the library. Some duplicate copies are put in my “Sale” shelf or take to a used book store. I have credit at my local used book store and save up to get copies of books that I want or need. You also might sell your donations through an online source such as Amazon or Alibris. If you don’t want to bother with this, do not despair. You might have a parent or church member already doing this and can just add your books to their ‘store’ and sell them for you. Keep an eye out for old reading books as these can be valuable, particularly the Alice and Jerry series books.
I have a few of the old readers that I have processed for the library and encourage students to read. So consider that option, as well.
Good luck with your book donations.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)