Greetings!
I hope you are all rested and ready for school again. This week I am going to talk about periodicals. These can get quite pricey and we can wonder if it is worth the cost. I happen to think that magazines are worth the price, at least the ones I am going to share with you. I am not going to address magazines for teachers or adults, just ones for children and young people.
If I could have only three magazines in my library, I would choose these three. All three can and should be kept for future reference and will be a great addition to your library for a low price. We process these and check them out like a book. You can request single review copies to check out what the magazine is like by going to the websites.
1. Cobblestone – This is published by The Cricket Group and focuses on American History for ages 9 – 14. The cost is $33.95 for 9 issues. This magazine is one that will be kept and used for research and supplementary material so the cost isn’t as bad as you might think.
2. Kids Discover – Each issue presents a single nonfiction subject in full color photographs along with activities and interesting articles for ages 7 - 12. Subjects are from Science, Social Studies and Reading. This is another magazine that can and should be kept for reference. The cost is $19.95 for 12 issues. You might find copies at used book stores or thrift stores.
3. Appleseeds – Another publication from The Cricket Group which focuses on kids around the world and through time. Geared toward kids aged 6 – 9 and costs $33.95 for 9 issues. Subjects from 2010 include Outer Space, Medieval times, Farms, and Spies.
Those three magazines cover grades 1 – 8 and the subjects of history, science, social studies, and reading. But if I found money for three more magazines, I would then add:
4. National Geographic Kids – At a special cost of $15.00 for 12 issues, this is a very good deal. The regular price is normally around $34.00, but today (January 4, 2011) I checked and the magazine is on special. This covers topics in science, nature, and animals.
5. Faces – This is yet another from The Cricket Group. Faces deals with different cultures around the world. Issues usually have titles like Peru, Bolivia, Scandinavia, or Vietnam. The magazine discusses the different ways people live, dress, study, play, eat, and work in the country. You get 9 issues for $33.95.
6. Dig –If you have students who are interested in ancient history and archeology, this is a great resource to have. For students aged 9 – 14, this is yet another offering from The Cricket Group. Nine issues for $33.95.
Just these six magazines cost over $170.00 which is a lot of money. If your budget can’t handle this, see if you can get some church families to sponsor one subscription. If you had ten people donate just $10.00, you would already have $100.00 toward these subscriptions. What about a bake sale? Have students bring in loose change for a week or two. Be creative and see what you can do to bring good quality reading to your library.
I can hear you now wondering about old classics like Ranger Rick or National Geographic. I haven’t forgotten them at all. I know that likely someone in your school or church gets one or both of these magazines and would be willing to donate them when they are finished. We get National Geographic through a parent donation. The reason it works for us is that the parent arranged to donate his issues when he is finished with them. We have the same parent donating every time, not one parent here and there. You likely have someone who would be happy to help the school with the donation of National Geographic. Ranger Rick is also one that many parents get and may be willing to donate their issue to the school.
Don’t forget the obvious magazines like Winner, Listen, Primary Treasure, Guide, and Insight. Winner (for kids) and Listen (for teens) are health magazines with an Adventist focus. You can subscribe to them through the conference office if you aren’t already getting them. Primary Treasure, Guide, and Insight are the story magazines with Bible lessons that are given weekly at Adventist churches. You might pick up an extra one each week at your church, or even order a copy for the school through the church. It may be that a student would be willing to donate their copy when they are finished.
Set up a way to accept these donations. You may not always want them to be handed to you especially if you are in class when they arrive. Is there a box that the people can put them in? Should they bring them to the library or the office? Also, decide what you might do if you get extra copies. Some can be given away, or used for cutting out pictures.
I have a few more magazines to share next week.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Spruce Up Your Space
Hello,
Christmas vacation is almost upon us and before you know it January will be here. What does your library space look like right now? Think about how you might spruce that space up and make it more inviting. Winter is a perfect time to get those kids reading.
Think about the shelves. What do they look like? Do they need to be dusted? A student can dust around the edges. A pair of students might even be able to take books off the shelves, dust, and then replace the books exactly. Also, putting students to work in the library can get them interested in a book they happen to see on the shelf. You never know!
What about seating? Do you have seating in the library? I don’t have very much, but some of you might have room for a few bean bag chairs. Those are kid magnets. Even if you don’t have room for too much, try to put something interesting in to sit on.
Did you put up posters at the beginning of the year? Are the same ones still up? You might change the posters. You can find fun posters through Highsmigh library supply or Demco.
You can also start a contest of some kind. A poster contest, a reading contest, making book marks. Let your imagination come up with something to promote the library and reading.
What about displays in the library? When your teachers assign projects for the students such as models or dioramas, ask to display them in the library for a time. That will also bring in parents. Other library displays could be based around a theme. Pick a word such as ‘sailing’, then put out all the information you have on sailing. Put a few boats with the books and magazines to add interest. The student that always chooses a story might be tempted to choose a nonfiction book for a change. After a couple of weeks, choose a new word and keep that going for a while.
Some teachers have their students ‘read around the library’ meaning they require students to read books from each of the Dewey sections. You can make cards or bookmarks that they keep track of the different genres and which book they read for each genre.
I hope there are a couple of new ideas for you in adding interest to your library. See what you can do to invite the students in to your space.
Have a great week, a very Merry Christmas, and a Joyous New Year! I’ll see you in January.
Audrey
Christmas vacation is almost upon us and before you know it January will be here. What does your library space look like right now? Think about how you might spruce that space up and make it more inviting. Winter is a perfect time to get those kids reading.
Think about the shelves. What do they look like? Do they need to be dusted? A student can dust around the edges. A pair of students might even be able to take books off the shelves, dust, and then replace the books exactly. Also, putting students to work in the library can get them interested in a book they happen to see on the shelf. You never know!
What about seating? Do you have seating in the library? I don’t have very much, but some of you might have room for a few bean bag chairs. Those are kid magnets. Even if you don’t have room for too much, try to put something interesting in to sit on.
Did you put up posters at the beginning of the year? Are the same ones still up? You might change the posters. You can find fun posters through Highsmigh library supply or Demco.
You can also start a contest of some kind. A poster contest, a reading contest, making book marks. Let your imagination come up with something to promote the library and reading.
What about displays in the library? When your teachers assign projects for the students such as models or dioramas, ask to display them in the library for a time. That will also bring in parents. Other library displays could be based around a theme. Pick a word such as ‘sailing’, then put out all the information you have on sailing. Put a few boats with the books and magazines to add interest. The student that always chooses a story might be tempted to choose a nonfiction book for a change. After a couple of weeks, choose a new word and keep that going for a while.
Some teachers have their students ‘read around the library’ meaning they require students to read books from each of the Dewey sections. You can make cards or bookmarks that they keep track of the different genres and which book they read for each genre.
I hope there are a couple of new ideas for you in adding interest to your library. See what you can do to invite the students in to your space.
Have a great week, a very Merry Christmas, and a Joyous New Year! I’ll see you in January.
Audrey
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Holiday Books
Hello,
I go one response from a librarian who sent in two favorites that I hadn’t mentioned. Thanks, Brenda, for your ideas. She mentioned The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Night Tree by Eve Bunting. I don’t know the Eve Bunting book, but I really like other books she wrote, so will have to find this one.
Now, for more Christmas favorites from me.
Tasha Tudor wrote about her family and how they celebrated Christmas long ago in Becky’s Christmas. This was back in the day when families made decorations and gifts for each other rather than purchase them like many of us do today. This is a darling book and may be out of print. If you find a copy, you would be smart to purchase it and hang on to it. While you are at it, Tasha Tudor also wrote The Doll’s Christmas which also is a great purchase.
One book that is in the top three favorites of mine is The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden. Rumer wrote a number of books about girls and dolls but this one is still in print. I happen to like the one illustrated by Barbara Cooney, but the story is wonderful no matter who illustrates it. Holly is a doll and Ivy is a little orphan girl. They get together through a series of events that are fun and interesting. I read this one every other year to the third and fourth graders and next year will be time for this one again. Last year I planned ahead and decorated my display case outside the library to match closely the toy shop window in the Barbara Cooney illustrated book. The kids loved it.
Another book in my top three is by Madeline L’Engle called The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas. I happened to read this story in a magazine about twenty-some years ago. I loved it so much; I went right out and bought my own copy of the magazine. Each year I reread the story and one day I found that it had been published in a book, so of course I bought the book and was finally able to toss the ragged magazine. It is the story of the Austin family and one special Christmas.
One of my favorite illustrators is Tomie DePaola. He has many, many books out and some of them are Christmas ones such as The Legend of the Poinsettia, but I really love the book he illustrated for the song The Friendly Beasts. Our music teacher sometimes uses that song for Christmas programs and we sing it in library class along with the book.
Other artists have illustrated Christmas songs and Ezra Jack Keats did a wonderful job with The Little Drummer Boy. It is a classic that is loved by many.
A newer book that is becoming a favorite of mine is Merry Christmas, Merry Crow. A crow gathers items as crows will and takes them away. At the end of the book, a tree is decorated with all the items that the crow has taken. Children love being surprised when they see the tree.
Amy Krouse Rosenthal is the author of a book called Christmas Cookies: Bite-Sized Holiday Lessons. This is one of the three ‘Cookies’ books she has written. The other two are Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love and Cookies: Bite-sized Life Lessons.
Older students may enjoy learning how the different holiday traditions got started. They can find this out in Holly, Reindeer and Colored Lights by Edna Barth.
A picture book that older students will enjoy is Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon. This tells the story of the Christmas truce between the Germans and the allied forces during World War 1. John McCutcheon also wrote a song about this and a CD is included in the book. You can also play the CD and hear the author read the story. Another book about this time in history is called Truce by Jim Murphy. This is not a picture book for young children, but there are many pictures and letters included in the historical account.
I hope that two weeks of Christmas books is enough to get you through the holidays. There are hundreds and hundreds more, but we must stop sometime.
Have a good week and keep well!
Audrey
I go one response from a librarian who sent in two favorites that I hadn’t mentioned. Thanks, Brenda, for your ideas. She mentioned The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Night Tree by Eve Bunting. I don’t know the Eve Bunting book, but I really like other books she wrote, so will have to find this one.
Now, for more Christmas favorites from me.
Tasha Tudor wrote about her family and how they celebrated Christmas long ago in Becky’s Christmas. This was back in the day when families made decorations and gifts for each other rather than purchase them like many of us do today. This is a darling book and may be out of print. If you find a copy, you would be smart to purchase it and hang on to it. While you are at it, Tasha Tudor also wrote The Doll’s Christmas which also is a great purchase.
One book that is in the top three favorites of mine is The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden. Rumer wrote a number of books about girls and dolls but this one is still in print. I happen to like the one illustrated by Barbara Cooney, but the story is wonderful no matter who illustrates it. Holly is a doll and Ivy is a little orphan girl. They get together through a series of events that are fun and interesting. I read this one every other year to the third and fourth graders and next year will be time for this one again. Last year I planned ahead and decorated my display case outside the library to match closely the toy shop window in the Barbara Cooney illustrated book. The kids loved it.
Another book in my top three is by Madeline L’Engle called The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas. I happened to read this story in a magazine about twenty-some years ago. I loved it so much; I went right out and bought my own copy of the magazine. Each year I reread the story and one day I found that it had been published in a book, so of course I bought the book and was finally able to toss the ragged magazine. It is the story of the Austin family and one special Christmas.
One of my favorite illustrators is Tomie DePaola. He has many, many books out and some of them are Christmas ones such as The Legend of the Poinsettia, but I really love the book he illustrated for the song The Friendly Beasts. Our music teacher sometimes uses that song for Christmas programs and we sing it in library class along with the book.
Other artists have illustrated Christmas songs and Ezra Jack Keats did a wonderful job with The Little Drummer Boy. It is a classic that is loved by many.
A newer book that is becoming a favorite of mine is Merry Christmas, Merry Crow. A crow gathers items as crows will and takes them away. At the end of the book, a tree is decorated with all the items that the crow has taken. Children love being surprised when they see the tree.
Amy Krouse Rosenthal is the author of a book called Christmas Cookies: Bite-Sized Holiday Lessons. This is one of the three ‘Cookies’ books she has written. The other two are Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love and Cookies: Bite-sized Life Lessons.
Older students may enjoy learning how the different holiday traditions got started. They can find this out in Holly, Reindeer and Colored Lights by Edna Barth.
A picture book that older students will enjoy is Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon. This tells the story of the Christmas truce between the Germans and the allied forces during World War 1. John McCutcheon also wrote a song about this and a CD is included in the book. You can also play the CD and hear the author read the story. Another book about this time in history is called Truce by Jim Murphy. This is not a picture book for young children, but there are many pictures and letters included in the historical account.
I hope that two weeks of Christmas books is enough to get you through the holidays. There are hundreds and hundreds more, but we must stop sometime.
Have a good week and keep well!
Audrey
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Christmas Favorites
Hello,
I am not sure which books I recommended for Christmas previously, but I do have some wonderful favorites. Some of these are good read alouds, and others are good picture books. Some are heartwarming and others might be a bit sad in spots, but all are good books for someone.
A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill. I LOVE this story about a family in the Appalachian hills. Jamie, a young mute boy, is thoughtlessly assigned to sing with the chorus in the school nativity play. Soon he is reassigned to play a young shepherd which he embraces wholeheartedly. On the date of the Christmas pageant, a blizzard sweeps in and Jamie is disappointed when the pageant is canceled. Through the snowy night comes a couple in need of shelter. Father takes them to the nearby church and soon they have a baby. When Jamie sees the new baby, he runs back to his house then returns to the church wearing his shepherd costume. For the first time he speaks aloud and gives his own Christmas gifts – an orange and a dime – to the family. Other Rebecca Caudill books you might enjoy are A Pocketful of Cricket and Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charlie?
The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot. You may be familiar with James Herriot’s All Things Bright and Beautiful and other books about his experiences as a veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. This story is taken from one of his books and made into a picture book. On Christmas Day a young mother cat brings her kitten to a home where she has experienced friendliness. She is ill and does not survive. The kitten becomes part of the family. Trust me, the story is much better than I tell it here!
Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant. This is another Appalachian Christmas story about a wealthy man who brings a Christmas train each year to give gifts wrapped in silver to the children. One young boy wishes each year for a doctor’s kit. You likely have heard this story but you will enjoy the wonderful paintings by Chris Soentpiet. (Pronounced SOON pete)
Patricia Polacco is a prolific writer and has a few books about Christmas. Two that are wonderful true stories of her family are The Trees of the Dancing Goats and An Orange for Frankie. Patricia’s family celebrates Hanukkah but the neighbors celebrate Christmas. One year scarlet fever is rampant in the neighborhood so Patricia’s family decorates small Christmas trees with their own brightly painted little wooden toys and deliver the trees to the neighbors. When the neighborhood recovers, they return the gift with one that Patricia’s family appreciates. In An Orange for Frankie, the family is excitedly preparing for Christmas and hoping Father is able to return in time. Father will be bringing the oranges which are a once-a-year treat for the family. When Father brings the oranges, Frankie just wants to hold his and smell it so he stuffs it inside his sweater and the family attends the Christmas pageant. When they return home, Frankie is horrified to realize that he has lost his orange! Mother solves this problem for him in a wonderful way. Most of Patricia Polacco’s books are fantastic, but she has a few that are pure fantasy and might not be a book you wish to place on your shelves. Be careful and read the book first before purchasing it just to make sure it is one you really want.
The Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell. Have you ever wondered where those Christmas trees in the parking lots or grocery lots come from? How do they care for those trees during the year? What happens to Christmas trees in summer or spring? This book answers these questions and more plus includes facts about Christmas trees that your students will find fascinating.
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto. Tamales are a traditional Mexican holiday meal and Maria’s family makes twenty-four of them in preparation for the family that will be arriving soon. Maria eyes her mother’s diamond ring and wishes to wear it for just a little while, but when she cannot find it later she realizes that the ring is lost in the tamales! She and her cousins eat all the tamales in order to find the ring, but no one finds it. Weeping, Maria confesses to her mother about the lost ring and the tamales, but then sees the ring on her mother’s hand. The family laughs over the picture of the cousins eating so many tamales, and all pitch in to make more tamales.
I hope you enjoy these titles. If you have some Christmas favorites, please let me know and I will include them next week.
Have a good week,
Audrey
I am not sure which books I recommended for Christmas previously, but I do have some wonderful favorites. Some of these are good read alouds, and others are good picture books. Some are heartwarming and others might be a bit sad in spots, but all are good books for someone.
A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill. I LOVE this story about a family in the Appalachian hills. Jamie, a young mute boy, is thoughtlessly assigned to sing with the chorus in the school nativity play. Soon he is reassigned to play a young shepherd which he embraces wholeheartedly. On the date of the Christmas pageant, a blizzard sweeps in and Jamie is disappointed when the pageant is canceled. Through the snowy night comes a couple in need of shelter. Father takes them to the nearby church and soon they have a baby. When Jamie sees the new baby, he runs back to his house then returns to the church wearing his shepherd costume. For the first time he speaks aloud and gives his own Christmas gifts – an orange and a dime – to the family. Other Rebecca Caudill books you might enjoy are A Pocketful of Cricket and Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charlie?
The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot. You may be familiar with James Herriot’s All Things Bright and Beautiful and other books about his experiences as a veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. This story is taken from one of his books and made into a picture book. On Christmas Day a young mother cat brings her kitten to a home where she has experienced friendliness. She is ill and does not survive. The kitten becomes part of the family. Trust me, the story is much better than I tell it here!
Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant. This is another Appalachian Christmas story about a wealthy man who brings a Christmas train each year to give gifts wrapped in silver to the children. One young boy wishes each year for a doctor’s kit. You likely have heard this story but you will enjoy the wonderful paintings by Chris Soentpiet. (Pronounced SOON pete)
Patricia Polacco is a prolific writer and has a few books about Christmas. Two that are wonderful true stories of her family are The Trees of the Dancing Goats and An Orange for Frankie. Patricia’s family celebrates Hanukkah but the neighbors celebrate Christmas. One year scarlet fever is rampant in the neighborhood so Patricia’s family decorates small Christmas trees with their own brightly painted little wooden toys and deliver the trees to the neighbors. When the neighborhood recovers, they return the gift with one that Patricia’s family appreciates. In An Orange for Frankie, the family is excitedly preparing for Christmas and hoping Father is able to return in time. Father will be bringing the oranges which are a once-a-year treat for the family. When Father brings the oranges, Frankie just wants to hold his and smell it so he stuffs it inside his sweater and the family attends the Christmas pageant. When they return home, Frankie is horrified to realize that he has lost his orange! Mother solves this problem for him in a wonderful way. Most of Patricia Polacco’s books are fantastic, but she has a few that are pure fantasy and might not be a book you wish to place on your shelves. Be careful and read the book first before purchasing it just to make sure it is one you really want.
The Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell. Have you ever wondered where those Christmas trees in the parking lots or grocery lots come from? How do they care for those trees during the year? What happens to Christmas trees in summer or spring? This book answers these questions and more plus includes facts about Christmas trees that your students will find fascinating.
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto. Tamales are a traditional Mexican holiday meal and Maria’s family makes twenty-four of them in preparation for the family that will be arriving soon. Maria eyes her mother’s diamond ring and wishes to wear it for just a little while, but when she cannot find it later she realizes that the ring is lost in the tamales! She and her cousins eat all the tamales in order to find the ring, but no one finds it. Weeping, Maria confesses to her mother about the lost ring and the tamales, but then sees the ring on her mother’s hand. The family laughs over the picture of the cousins eating so many tamales, and all pitch in to make more tamales.
I hope you enjoy these titles. If you have some Christmas favorites, please let me know and I will include them next week.
Have a good week,
Audrey
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tips and Ideas
Hello,
I am sorry that I didn’t send a post last week, but I was out all week with a horrible upper respiratory infection. I made it to school this week, but still have some residual symptoms. Anyway, I am doing better, but this post will be blessedly short. Call it a Thanksgiving gift.
While perusing one of my library journals I noticed a few really interesting ideas. Here are some that may be helpful to you.
1. Inside some gift cards these days there is a little cell that can be used to record a message. You can use this technology to do ‘book talks’. Print a small cover of the book and place the cell with the recorded message behind the cover to make your own book talks. Students just push the button and hear a short book talk about the book. Or you could let students record book talks for books.
2. Signage for libraries can be very expensive, but you can make your own with a large coffee can, a yardstick, pebbles or rocks, spray paint, and paper. Spray the outside of the coffee can and both sides of the yardstick. Fill the can partway with the pebbles or rocks. Attach a sign to one end of the yardstick and stick the other end into the pebbles. Put these types of sign on table or shelving or wherever works in your library. These can be changed easily when needed.
3. Have a hard time getting your boys to read? Try what one school did. They took pictures of the adult males on campus reading a book and made a bulletin board titled “Real Men Read Books”. This really increased interest in reading and the boys began asking the men about the books they were reading. What if you are a small school and don’t have many adult males on staff? Use pastors, parents, or older siblings. I would advise that you have these males hold books from your library, possibly books that they enjoyed as a young person.
4. Encourage reading by using vendor’s catalogs. Cut out all the colored pictures of books that the library owns, laminate them and glue them to clothes pins. They can be used for bookmarks, genre sorts, library skills games or whatever you can think of. Don’t have vendor’s catalogs? Try using the book jacket. I usually cover the book jacket in plastic and affix to the book. But if you don’t use those book jackets, cut the cover off, then laminate and hang with clothes pins along a line in your library to call attention to the books and promote them.
5. One school had a Junior Prom Etiquette check day. Students were invited to bring their lunches to the library and different situations were reenacted such as introducing their date to their parents, table manners, and tips for awkward situations. We might not have the same situation, but our students can still profit from learning more about manners. Showcase books on manners and etiquette and have students act out etiquette tips and situations.
I hope these ideas were helpful to you. I was inspired when I read them and thought that you might be, too.
Have a great week and a very happy, safe, and warm Thanksgiving!
Audrey
I am sorry that I didn’t send a post last week, but I was out all week with a horrible upper respiratory infection. I made it to school this week, but still have some residual symptoms. Anyway, I am doing better, but this post will be blessedly short. Call it a Thanksgiving gift.
While perusing one of my library journals I noticed a few really interesting ideas. Here are some that may be helpful to you.
1. Inside some gift cards these days there is a little cell that can be used to record a message. You can use this technology to do ‘book talks’. Print a small cover of the book and place the cell with the recorded message behind the cover to make your own book talks. Students just push the button and hear a short book talk about the book. Or you could let students record book talks for books.
2. Signage for libraries can be very expensive, but you can make your own with a large coffee can, a yardstick, pebbles or rocks, spray paint, and paper. Spray the outside of the coffee can and both sides of the yardstick. Fill the can partway with the pebbles or rocks. Attach a sign to one end of the yardstick and stick the other end into the pebbles. Put these types of sign on table or shelving or wherever works in your library. These can be changed easily when needed.
3. Have a hard time getting your boys to read? Try what one school did. They took pictures of the adult males on campus reading a book and made a bulletin board titled “Real Men Read Books”. This really increased interest in reading and the boys began asking the men about the books they were reading. What if you are a small school and don’t have many adult males on staff? Use pastors, parents, or older siblings. I would advise that you have these males hold books from your library, possibly books that they enjoyed as a young person.
4. Encourage reading by using vendor’s catalogs. Cut out all the colored pictures of books that the library owns, laminate them and glue them to clothes pins. They can be used for bookmarks, genre sorts, library skills games or whatever you can think of. Don’t have vendor’s catalogs? Try using the book jacket. I usually cover the book jacket in plastic and affix to the book. But if you don’t use those book jackets, cut the cover off, then laminate and hang with clothes pins along a line in your library to call attention to the books and promote them.
5. One school had a Junior Prom Etiquette check day. Students were invited to bring their lunches to the library and different situations were reenacted such as introducing their date to their parents, table manners, and tips for awkward situations. We might not have the same situation, but our students can still profit from learning more about manners. Showcase books on manners and etiquette and have students act out etiquette tips and situations.
I hope these ideas were helpful to you. I was inspired when I read them and thought that you might be, too.
Have a great week and a very happy, safe, and warm Thanksgiving!
Audrey
Monday, November 8, 2010
Weeding Guidelines
Hello,
Today I will be tackling the difficult subject of weeding in the library. No matter what size your library is, you must periodically weed out books that are no longer useful. This can be a problem in most schools. Parents, church members, or even other teachers might criticize when you throw away books. Comments you may get are, “Why are you throwing away perfectly good books?” or “You ask for money for books, then you go and throw them away!” The best response is to have specific guidelines for this procedure that you can refer to as to WHY this book or that book has been discarded. Here are some guidelines that will be a good starting place for you.
General guidelines for weeding:
1. Information in the book is outdated, inaccurate, false information or obsolete. Imagine having a book on space travel written in 1960! Things have changed drastically since then.
2. Mediocre writing style or repetitious series– you likely have books in your library that were churned out to meet a popular interest which has passed and is not longer popular. Some of these may still be popular with your students, but if no one reads them and you cannot generate interest in them, they are taking up valuable real estate on your library shelves.
3. Material containing biased, racist, or sexist views or terminology. These don’t need to be kept for ‘historical purposes’. This kind of thinking is wrong. Is this what you want your students to learn? If not, then get rid of it.
4. Unused sets of books. Check these carefully to make sure they are useful to your school. If they aren’t something that you need, and they fit one in criteria #1 above, toss them out.
5. Duplicate books – if you have more than one copy of a book, consider if it is needed or not. If not, then get rid of the duplicate.
6. Superseded editions – it is usually not necessary to keep older editions if you have the newer one. Keep in mind that if your library is using all editions, then by all means keep them.
7. Weed out any material is worn out, ragged, shabby, dirty, warped, bug-infested, marked up, mutilated, missing pages, poor quality pictures or illustrations, or ‘edited’ by patrons.
8. Has the book been sitting on the shelf without circulating? Maybe it is no longer useful.
The guidelines above are just that - guidelines. It may be that you discard a book, while another school chooses to keep the same title. It will depend on your school and your particular needs. If you are having a difficult time with the idea of throwing away ‘good books’, keep in mind that you are improving your library and making it the best place for your children to study and learn. How can we do this with old, useless information?
Discard Process
Books may need to be discarded in a particular way. Delete them from the computer or shelf list if you have one. Black out the school name, spine label, and any other information that may bring the lost sheep home once it leaves. If you truly will be criticized heavily for removing them from shelves, put them in a black trash bag, drive to another town, and find a dumpster.
If you have older books that are in good condition that aren’t circulating, try a trick I sometimes use. Pull a student aside and ask them in a confidential way if they would be willing to help you with a problem. Give them the book and ask them to read it and let you know if they think it is a good choice for the library or if they think it should be discarded. Most students are willing to do this. I have also pulled out a shelf of books that look like they might need to be discarded and asked a class or two of students to help me decide if these books are worthy of shelf space.
I also have designated a shelf and titled it “Lonely Books: Please Read Us”. Then I do my best to sell these to the students.
What do you do with discarded books? If they are in truly deplorable condition, find a dumpster and dump. If they are in decent reading condition, I put them on a ‘Sale’ shelf and sell them for a quarter each. Parents even come in a check the sale shelf for books. It puts a little bit of money in the library kitty. You may have a better idea of what to do with discarded books.
If after all this you STILL have reservations about weeding in your library, tell me and I will come there myself and weed! Well, I probably won’t, but I hope you will see the importance of improving your library and making it the best it can be.
Last school year I discussed weeding in specific Dewey Decimal Classification areas and we went from the 100’s into the 500’s. If you weren’t a part of the email list or if you want to be reminded of what kinds of things to weed in those Dewey Decimal Classifications, you can check my blog at sdalibrarian.blogspot.com for that information.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Today I will be tackling the difficult subject of weeding in the library. No matter what size your library is, you must periodically weed out books that are no longer useful. This can be a problem in most schools. Parents, church members, or even other teachers might criticize when you throw away books. Comments you may get are, “Why are you throwing away perfectly good books?” or “You ask for money for books, then you go and throw them away!” The best response is to have specific guidelines for this procedure that you can refer to as to WHY this book or that book has been discarded. Here are some guidelines that will be a good starting place for you.
General guidelines for weeding:
1. Information in the book is outdated, inaccurate, false information or obsolete. Imagine having a book on space travel written in 1960! Things have changed drastically since then.
2. Mediocre writing style or repetitious series– you likely have books in your library that were churned out to meet a popular interest which has passed and is not longer popular. Some of these may still be popular with your students, but if no one reads them and you cannot generate interest in them, they are taking up valuable real estate on your library shelves.
3. Material containing biased, racist, or sexist views or terminology. These don’t need to be kept for ‘historical purposes’. This kind of thinking is wrong. Is this what you want your students to learn? If not, then get rid of it.
4. Unused sets of books. Check these carefully to make sure they are useful to your school. If they aren’t something that you need, and they fit one in criteria #1 above, toss them out.
5. Duplicate books – if you have more than one copy of a book, consider if it is needed or not. If not, then get rid of the duplicate.
6. Superseded editions – it is usually not necessary to keep older editions if you have the newer one. Keep in mind that if your library is using all editions, then by all means keep them.
7. Weed out any material is worn out, ragged, shabby, dirty, warped, bug-infested, marked up, mutilated, missing pages, poor quality pictures or illustrations, or ‘edited’ by patrons.
8. Has the book been sitting on the shelf without circulating? Maybe it is no longer useful.
The guidelines above are just that - guidelines. It may be that you discard a book, while another school chooses to keep the same title. It will depend on your school and your particular needs. If you are having a difficult time with the idea of throwing away ‘good books’, keep in mind that you are improving your library and making it the best place for your children to study and learn. How can we do this with old, useless information?
Discard Process
Books may need to be discarded in a particular way. Delete them from the computer or shelf list if you have one. Black out the school name, spine label, and any other information that may bring the lost sheep home once it leaves. If you truly will be criticized heavily for removing them from shelves, put them in a black trash bag, drive to another town, and find a dumpster.
If you have older books that are in good condition that aren’t circulating, try a trick I sometimes use. Pull a student aside and ask them in a confidential way if they would be willing to help you with a problem. Give them the book and ask them to read it and let you know if they think it is a good choice for the library or if they think it should be discarded. Most students are willing to do this. I have also pulled out a shelf of books that look like they might need to be discarded and asked a class or two of students to help me decide if these books are worthy of shelf space.
I also have designated a shelf and titled it “Lonely Books: Please Read Us”. Then I do my best to sell these to the students.
What do you do with discarded books? If they are in truly deplorable condition, find a dumpster and dump. If they are in decent reading condition, I put them on a ‘Sale’ shelf and sell them for a quarter each. Parents even come in a check the sale shelf for books. It puts a little bit of money in the library kitty. You may have a better idea of what to do with discarded books.
If after all this you STILL have reservations about weeding in your library, tell me and I will come there myself and weed! Well, I probably won’t, but I hope you will see the importance of improving your library and making it the best it can be.
Last school year I discussed weeding in specific Dewey Decimal Classification areas and we went from the 100’s into the 500’s. If you weren’t a part of the email list or if you want to be reminded of what kinds of things to weed in those Dewey Decimal Classifications, you can check my blog at sdalibrarian.blogspot.com for that information.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Books and Such
Hello,
Don’t you need more ideas of books to get? I have a few good ideas again this week.
A friend of mine is a vet and has written a book about his experiences. Ask the Animals by Bruce R. Coston is one that you will enjoy. Bruce relates stories about his practice and his clients. Think James Herriot and add a Seventh Day Adventist point of view.
Dewey, The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter is about a tiny kitten that was put in the book return slot one wintry night. Vicki Myron found the kitten the next morning, cleaned him up and fed him not realizing that Dewey would claim the library as his home. The original book is wonderful and there are some picture books for younger readers about this cat named Dewey Readmore Books.
We have a popular series in our library called the ‘Dear America series’. These books are written in diary format by a fictional character but the reader learns about a particular event or time in history. If you don’t’ have any of the books in this series, consider getting them. One of the newest in this series is “The Fences Between Us: Seattle Washington, 1941”. The story revolves around Piper Davis, a young girl whose father is the pastor of a Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle. When his congregation is incarcerated in an internment camp, he follows them taking Piper with him. This could be a good introduction to this period in US history. The Dear America books are all diaries written by girls, but boys who aren’t interested in reading a book by a ‘girl’, might enjoy reading the series called “My Name is America” which are journals written by ‘boys’. I was visiting family in British Columbia and found three books called ‘Dear Canada’ which I bought and put in our library here. Lastly, “The Royal Diaries” written by historical royals are quite popular here, as well. All of these are published by Scholastic.
Another series that is loved by the same group that loves the Dear America books is the Sisters in Time series. I am about to place “Lydia the Patriot’, ‘Maria Takes a Stand’, ‘Nellie the Brave’, ‘Betsy’s River Adventure’, and ‘Meg Follows a Dream’ on our shelves. In a fashion similar to Dear America, these books help to chronicle a period of history through story format. ‘Lydia the Patriot’ is about the Boston Massacre, ‘Maria Takes a Stand’ is on the battle for women’s rights, ‘Nellie the Brave’ is about the Cherokee Trail of Tears, ‘Betsy’s River Adventure’ tells of the westward expansion, and ‘Meg Follows a Dream’ is on freedom for slaves. There are many more; just choose the subject or area of history you would like to have in your library.
I have heard that some of you print out and save my weekly posts. Some save them in a folder on their computer, and I am sure that many of you delete them. If you ever find yourself needing to refer to something that I have written or just need to check back, remember that I have each post on a blog. You can check back to each post dating from January 2009. (The blog was actually started in February and I posted January’s posts at that time, so you won’t see any posts for January, but they are there. I promise!) The blog is sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.
I hope you have a wonderful week. The sun is shining here and it is lovely weather. I hope the weather is good where you live, as well.
Audrey
Don’t you need more ideas of books to get? I have a few good ideas again this week.
A friend of mine is a vet and has written a book about his experiences. Ask the Animals by Bruce R. Coston is one that you will enjoy. Bruce relates stories about his practice and his clients. Think James Herriot and add a Seventh Day Adventist point of view.
Dewey, The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter is about a tiny kitten that was put in the book return slot one wintry night. Vicki Myron found the kitten the next morning, cleaned him up and fed him not realizing that Dewey would claim the library as his home. The original book is wonderful and there are some picture books for younger readers about this cat named Dewey Readmore Books.
We have a popular series in our library called the ‘Dear America series’. These books are written in diary format by a fictional character but the reader learns about a particular event or time in history. If you don’t’ have any of the books in this series, consider getting them. One of the newest in this series is “The Fences Between Us: Seattle Washington, 1941”. The story revolves around Piper Davis, a young girl whose father is the pastor of a Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle. When his congregation is incarcerated in an internment camp, he follows them taking Piper with him. This could be a good introduction to this period in US history. The Dear America books are all diaries written by girls, but boys who aren’t interested in reading a book by a ‘girl’, might enjoy reading the series called “My Name is America” which are journals written by ‘boys’. I was visiting family in British Columbia and found three books called ‘Dear Canada’ which I bought and put in our library here. Lastly, “The Royal Diaries” written by historical royals are quite popular here, as well. All of these are published by Scholastic.
Another series that is loved by the same group that loves the Dear America books is the Sisters in Time series. I am about to place “Lydia the Patriot’, ‘Maria Takes a Stand’, ‘Nellie the Brave’, ‘Betsy’s River Adventure’, and ‘Meg Follows a Dream’ on our shelves. In a fashion similar to Dear America, these books help to chronicle a period of history through story format. ‘Lydia the Patriot’ is about the Boston Massacre, ‘Maria Takes a Stand’ is on the battle for women’s rights, ‘Nellie the Brave’ is about the Cherokee Trail of Tears, ‘Betsy’s River Adventure’ tells of the westward expansion, and ‘Meg Follows a Dream’ is on freedom for slaves. There are many more; just choose the subject or area of history you would like to have in your library.
I have heard that some of you print out and save my weekly posts. Some save them in a folder on their computer, and I am sure that many of you delete them. If you ever find yourself needing to refer to something that I have written or just need to check back, remember that I have each post on a blog. You can check back to each post dating from January 2009. (The blog was actually started in February and I posted January’s posts at that time, so you won’t see any posts for January, but they are there. I promise!) The blog is sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.
I hope you have a wonderful week. The sun is shining here and it is lovely weather. I hope the weather is good where you live, as well.
Audrey
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