Hello,
My favorite thing as a teacher and librarian is finding books for students. It is usually pretty easy to find books for the students who love to read. It is not too difficult to find books for the students who are learning to read. But what about the students who can read, but will not read unless prodded with a cattle prod? Forced to read for the book report, but pick up a book for recreational reading? Never!
I will say it now – I love the challenge. I also will blow my own horn a little bit here – I am very good at this. I can find a book for that kid. How do I do this, you may be asking? Well, if you will keep this a secret, I will tell you what I do as the librarian.
First, I do my best to establish a relationship with the student. I need for him to feel more comfortable with me and to start to trust me. (Since this type of student is more often a boy, I will refer to said student as ‘he’.) I ask what kind of book he is looking for. The answer is usually a noncommittal, “I don’t know,” or “I need a book that is at least 100 pages.” I nod and restate the situation. “You need a book for your book report that is at least 100 pages. Do you want a story or an informational book?” Answer is usually a shrug. Next I ask, “What was the last book you read that you really liked?” All the while, I am talking to him respectfully and listening carefully to his answers. Usually by this time, the student is starting to relax a little. So now I have established a rapport and gotten some information to help me. “What do you like to read? What do you need to read? What have you read previously that you enjoyed?”
Second, we walk through the shelves together as I scan and point out books. I DO NOT just take books off the shelf and have a big pile, but instead tip the book out so he can see the cover a little bit. I also am book talking a little bit. “You might like this one. It is about a boy whose family had to go into the witness protection program. Here is one that a lot of junior high students have liked. It is about a girl who lived in Puritan times and made friends with an older woman who was later accused of being a witch.” I go through the library like this in a very noncommittal way. Please notice that I said, “YOU MIGHT LIKE this book.” I NEVER say, “Oh, you’ll really like this one”, or “You’ll love this book.” First, I don’t know what this student will like or not. Secondly, I DO know that statements like this can easily be the kiss of death to a book. She says I will like it; therefore I will NOT like it just to show her. Thirdly, if the student did not like the book and I said he would, why would he trust me on another book? I already have proven that I do not know what he wants and therefore will not be able to help him. Also, notice that I said “Other junior high students have liked this book”. I deliberately choose the grade he is in or even a grade higher. Some students like the idea of reading a book that other students in a higher grade read and that may be my selling point. I quickly run through the shelves and point out about 8 to 10 books, and then I casually ask if he saw anything that looked interesting to him. If he did, problem solved. If he didn’t, then he needs a little more encouragement and I am ready. I pull a book that I really believe he will like and hand it to him while saying, “Why don’t you take this book and read the first two chapters? If you don’t like it, bring it back and let me know because then I will have a better idea of what you like and what you don’t like.” I am giving him permission to not like a book and I have also given him an ‘out’. He does not have to read the whole book, just a part of it. I seldom have to choose a second book for a student because the first one wasn’t good.
I can hear you saying, “But I am not a librarian!” Calm down. Your job is actually a little bit easier if you are the classroom teacher. You have more time for reading and talking about books. You know the students better and can be much more helpful to them than the librarian can. Here are some strategies for the classroom teacher.
1. Choose books to read to the class. Read snippets of the book to whet their appetite or read the whole book. Students love to reread a book the teacher read.
2. Have a Silent Reading time. Call it whatever you like, but just do it. During this silent reading time, you should be reading too. Try reading a book that is funny and during the silent reading time, just laugh a little bit, or quietly giggle. Students will notice and some will come up to you and ask what you were reading. You can also share the funny part with the class after the silent time is up. I often checked out books that were age appropriate for my class and read them during the silent reading time. This is also a good time to catch up on current children’s literature. Many teachers comment to me, “Who has time to read the children’s literature and keep up with what is being printed?” Well, you may not be able to keep up with everything that is printed, but you certainly can get to know books from your school or classroom library during this time. What a wonderful model for the students in your class!
3. If a student cannot find a book that he likes, let him bring one from home. Emphasize that the book needs to be appropriate for your school and have him show the book to you for approval. This is yet another way to learn his preferences so you can help him find books at school. This is also a good lesson you can teach your students on the importance of choosing appropriate reading material.
4. Try a read around. Place a variety of books around, one at each desk. Everyone reads from the book on their own desk for one or two minutes, then they pass their book to the left (or right) and read the book handed to them. They can read at the beginning or anywhere they like, but they just read. Keep passing the books for ten or fifteen minutes. Even reluctant readers enjoy the novelty of this and you just may have placed a book near them that they might return to. Also, they know there is a short time limit and they aren’t stuck with the book for the whole time! Try variations on this theme. You may have done this with writing, why not with books?
5. Keep track of the books the class reads. Do it with some kind of goal device. Add titles to a growing list on poster board, cut out book shapes and write on each the title and student’s name and post on a wall, fill the wall with different shapes for each month (apples for September, pumpkins for October, etc.) and write book information on each. This way you can see at a glance how many books each month. Also, the new shape each month keeps the motivation going. Set a goal for the month or for the year and have a reward party when you reach the goal.
This is really my passion. I love to read and I love to get others reading, as well. I hope you have a good week and find just the right book for yourself.
Audrey
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Library Policies
Greetings!
Our topic this week is policies. It is quite important that you have some policies in place in the event a problem occurs. It may be that you are a very small school and feel that this is something only for larger schools. Not true. Smaller schools are just as likely to have library problems arise as larger schools. Here is what your policy should include.
1. Selection Policy - How do you or your school decide what books to place in the school library? What are the criteria for choosing?
2. Circulation Policy – How many books may students have out at a time? Is there a limit? When will books be due? Will there be a fine for late books or lost books? Will you allow community members such as church members or home school families use the school library?
3. Challenged Books Policy – What is the procedure to follow if a patron challenges a book and wants you to remove the book? I covered this in more detail in the March 2010 post. Check my blog for more information. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
4. Collection Maintenance – How will you maintain your collection? When will books be weeded out?
You can probably put all these parts in one general Library Policy and have different headings for each section. The most important of the above policies is the Selection and Challenged Books policies. How you choose books for the library will help in case a book is challenged.
If you have a policy in place, take a quick look to see if any parts need to be updated and mark the date that you reviewed and updated it. I just checked ours here at Rogers and was embarrassed to find that I had not checked or reviewed it since 2005! Needless to say, I am taking my own advice and checking and updating.
We have a number of community patrons here at our school and I have a separate form for them to fill out letting us know how we can be in touch with them. I give them a paper with the policies for the community patrons so they know how our library works and what we need from them.
If you don’t yet have a library policy in place, you can search online for other school’s library policies and adapt yours from theirs. If you would like a copy of the Library Policy from Rogers Adventist School, contact me and I will send ours to you for your review. Just give me a day or two to get it back in shape!
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Our topic this week is policies. It is quite important that you have some policies in place in the event a problem occurs. It may be that you are a very small school and feel that this is something only for larger schools. Not true. Smaller schools are just as likely to have library problems arise as larger schools. Here is what your policy should include.
1. Selection Policy - How do you or your school decide what books to place in the school library? What are the criteria for choosing?
2. Circulation Policy – How many books may students have out at a time? Is there a limit? When will books be due? Will there be a fine for late books or lost books? Will you allow community members such as church members or home school families use the school library?
3. Challenged Books Policy – What is the procedure to follow if a patron challenges a book and wants you to remove the book? I covered this in more detail in the March 2010 post. Check my blog for more information. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
4. Collection Maintenance – How will you maintain your collection? When will books be weeded out?
You can probably put all these parts in one general Library Policy and have different headings for each section. The most important of the above policies is the Selection and Challenged Books policies. How you choose books for the library will help in case a book is challenged.
If you have a policy in place, take a quick look to see if any parts need to be updated and mark the date that you reviewed and updated it. I just checked ours here at Rogers and was embarrassed to find that I had not checked or reviewed it since 2005! Needless to say, I am taking my own advice and checking and updating.
We have a number of community patrons here at our school and I have a separate form for them to fill out letting us know how we can be in touch with them. I give them a paper with the policies for the community patrons so they know how our library works and what we need from them.
If you don’t yet have a library policy in place, you can search online for other school’s library policies and adapt yours from theirs. If you would like a copy of the Library Policy from Rogers Adventist School, contact me and I will send ours to you for your review. Just give me a day or two to get it back in shape!
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Bookmarks
Hello,
Have you ever seen those lovely bookmarks in stores with the tassels and pictures and wished you could afford to give those out to your students? I have three inexpensive ideas for bookmarks.
1. You could order them from a library supply source. They have many different bookmarks from which to choose. Usually you can get 200 full color bookmarks for about $8.00 - $10.00. That is only about $0.04 - $0.05 per bookmark. One downside to this is that most of the time, you have 200 of the same picture. You can save them from year to year, but for a small school those would last quite a while.
2. You could photocopy bookmarks from a book like “The Bookmark Book” by Carolyn S. Brodie, Debra Goodrich, and Paula K. Montgomery. It is filled with nearly 100 pages of bookmarks three to a page that you can photocopy for use in your school. That is nearly 300 different bookmarks plus there are two pages of blank bookmark forms for making your own. The downside to this is that the bookmarks will be one color depending on the color paper or cardstock you copy them onto. The upside is that you will have the number of bookmarks you need, great variety, and about $0.02 or less depending on the cost of your paper and the cost to photocopy. Another upside is that you can hand out blank copies and have students design their own bookmarks. This would be a wonderful way to supplement a book report.
3. You can design your own bookmark from scratch and have it look professional and be in full color simply by using Power Point. Here’s how to do it.
a. Open Power Point. While in the ‘Home’ tab, go to the ‘Slides’ box and click ‘Layout’. Choose the blank slide.
b. Click the ‘View’ tab and in the ‘Show/Hide’ box check the box next to ‘Ruler’. You should see a ‘0’ (zero) in the center and the numbers 1 – 4 to the right and left of the slide.
c. Click ‘Home’ again and in the ‘Drawing’ box select the straight line with an arrow. It should be in the top row. Draw a line at the ‘0’ (zero) mark from top to bottom to divide the page in half. Then draw two more lines at the 2 ½ mark on either side so the slide is divided in four equal parts. Now you have a basic bookmark. Personalize it however you wish inserting textboxes and clip art to make the exact bookmark you need. Copy and paste to all four sections or make each section different. Print it out on cardstock and decorate further if you wish. Cut apart and you are all set. Go another step and punch a hole to add a tassel. This bookmark project is also a great one for students to do and can support nearly any area in the curriculum. Don’t forget to model to your students and cite any outside sources you use.
I have a number of different kinds of bookmarks I’ve made for our library. Back in October of 2010, I mentioned a way to teach the Dewey Decimal System by comparing it to a person growing. The one hundreds are “Who Am I?” and in that section we learn about ourselves, the two hundreds are “Who Is My God?” and we learn about religion there, and so on. If you missed that post, check my blog and read it there. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. If you would like a copy of the bookmark I made, I’ll be happy to send it to you.
I hope you have a good time designing bookmarks. Enjoy!
Audrey
Have you ever seen those lovely bookmarks in stores with the tassels and pictures and wished you could afford to give those out to your students? I have three inexpensive ideas for bookmarks.
1. You could order them from a library supply source. They have many different bookmarks from which to choose. Usually you can get 200 full color bookmarks for about $8.00 - $10.00. That is only about $0.04 - $0.05 per bookmark. One downside to this is that most of the time, you have 200 of the same picture. You can save them from year to year, but for a small school those would last quite a while.
2. You could photocopy bookmarks from a book like “The Bookmark Book” by Carolyn S. Brodie, Debra Goodrich, and Paula K. Montgomery. It is filled with nearly 100 pages of bookmarks three to a page that you can photocopy for use in your school. That is nearly 300 different bookmarks plus there are two pages of blank bookmark forms for making your own. The downside to this is that the bookmarks will be one color depending on the color paper or cardstock you copy them onto. The upside is that you will have the number of bookmarks you need, great variety, and about $0.02 or less depending on the cost of your paper and the cost to photocopy. Another upside is that you can hand out blank copies and have students design their own bookmarks. This would be a wonderful way to supplement a book report.
3. You can design your own bookmark from scratch and have it look professional and be in full color simply by using Power Point. Here’s how to do it.
a. Open Power Point. While in the ‘Home’ tab, go to the ‘Slides’ box and click ‘Layout’. Choose the blank slide.
b. Click the ‘View’ tab and in the ‘Show/Hide’ box check the box next to ‘Ruler’. You should see a ‘0’ (zero) in the center and the numbers 1 – 4 to the right and left of the slide.
c. Click ‘Home’ again and in the ‘Drawing’ box select the straight line with an arrow. It should be in the top row. Draw a line at the ‘0’ (zero) mark from top to bottom to divide the page in half. Then draw two more lines at the 2 ½ mark on either side so the slide is divided in four equal parts. Now you have a basic bookmark. Personalize it however you wish inserting textboxes and clip art to make the exact bookmark you need. Copy and paste to all four sections or make each section different. Print it out on cardstock and decorate further if you wish. Cut apart and you are all set. Go another step and punch a hole to add a tassel. This bookmark project is also a great one for students to do and can support nearly any area in the curriculum. Don’t forget to model to your students and cite any outside sources you use.
I have a number of different kinds of bookmarks I’ve made for our library. Back in October of 2010, I mentioned a way to teach the Dewey Decimal System by comparing it to a person growing. The one hundreds are “Who Am I?” and in that section we learn about ourselves, the two hundreds are “Who Is My God?” and we learn about religion there, and so on. If you missed that post, check my blog and read it there. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. If you would like a copy of the bookmark I made, I’ll be happy to send it to you.
I hope you have a good time designing bookmarks. Enjoy!
Audrey
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Motivating Reading
Before I begin I have a request from a teacher at a mission school in China. They are using Accelerated Reader in the mission school and have a number of the SDA books in their library. These books do not have the quizzes. She has heard that some schools have prepared quizzes for these books and would like to contact someone who can help her. If you are that someone, please let me know and I will put you in contact with her.
One reason schools might consider using AR is to help students become better readers. I haven’t used AR and I checked their website. The main reason for AR is to determine whether or not a child has read the book. I understand that a student chooses a book and reads the book, then takes a quiz on that particular book. If a book does not have a quiz, teachers can create custom quizzes. However, this takes time and many teachers may not choose this option. As with all programs there are pros and cons to it. If your school is considering AR, I would encourage you to research the program and see if it fits your needs. Many schools may decide to forego AR simply because of the cost of quizzes.
If you want to motivate your students to read, one of the very best and cheapest ways is to have SSR – Sustained Silent Reading. Some schools call this “DEAR time” for “Drop Everything And Read.” I can hear some of you saying right now – “I already have SSR.” Wonderful! For those who don’t have SSR, here is what I did in my classroom. I first put it on my schedule so it had a specific time and I treated it like a class. Second, I never asked students to do reports or school assignments on the reading that was done in SSR. Third, students were not to read school assignments during this time; only recreational reading. And lastly, but most importantly – I read silently during this time as well. I modeled the behavior I wanted from the students. I did not grade papers during this time, or do other desk work that needed to be done. I read my book while they read theirs. We all read. Silently. It was usually our favorite time of day. In my third grade classroom, I started the year with 5 minutes a day for the first week, then increased the time to 10 minutes for about two or three weeks. After a couple of months we were reading for 20 minutes a day. At the end of the school year, all my students were reading six months to a year or more above grade level and nearly all of them liked to read. I personally loved the time reading and would read my professional books at times, but usually I read books that they might like. Often I would giggle softly at a part, then after the silent reading time was over, I would share the funny part. That strategy usually got kids reading MY book, too. I really do encourage you to start SSR and make time for this every day. I promise you will see reading improvement in your students.
Another way to motivate reading is to have a contest. You can choose to have a personal contest or a school-wide contest. I like the school-wide contest where the whole school wins a reward of some kind if a particular goal is met. The goal could be a number of pages or number of books. You can keep track with any kind of device. The ever popular bookworm, apples on a tree, bricks building a wall, gumballs in a large machine, let your imagination soar.
One of our middle grade teachers challenged her students to see if they could read forty books this year. She has certain guidelines set as far as what books are allowed, but the only recordkeeping is the bibliography information on an index card and a sentence or two describing the plot so they could remember it more easily. The students seem to be enjoying the challenge and are reading a lot.
If you have ways that you motivate students to read, I’d be happy to share them with others. Please let me know if you have any questions. I enjoy hearing from you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
One reason schools might consider using AR is to help students become better readers. I haven’t used AR and I checked their website. The main reason for AR is to determine whether or not a child has read the book. I understand that a student chooses a book and reads the book, then takes a quiz on that particular book. If a book does not have a quiz, teachers can create custom quizzes. However, this takes time and many teachers may not choose this option. As with all programs there are pros and cons to it. If your school is considering AR, I would encourage you to research the program and see if it fits your needs. Many schools may decide to forego AR simply because of the cost of quizzes.
If you want to motivate your students to read, one of the very best and cheapest ways is to have SSR – Sustained Silent Reading. Some schools call this “DEAR time” for “Drop Everything And Read.” I can hear some of you saying right now – “I already have SSR.” Wonderful! For those who don’t have SSR, here is what I did in my classroom. I first put it on my schedule so it had a specific time and I treated it like a class. Second, I never asked students to do reports or school assignments on the reading that was done in SSR. Third, students were not to read school assignments during this time; only recreational reading. And lastly, but most importantly – I read silently during this time as well. I modeled the behavior I wanted from the students. I did not grade papers during this time, or do other desk work that needed to be done. I read my book while they read theirs. We all read. Silently. It was usually our favorite time of day. In my third grade classroom, I started the year with 5 minutes a day for the first week, then increased the time to 10 minutes for about two or three weeks. After a couple of months we were reading for 20 minutes a day. At the end of the school year, all my students were reading six months to a year or more above grade level and nearly all of them liked to read. I personally loved the time reading and would read my professional books at times, but usually I read books that they might like. Often I would giggle softly at a part, then after the silent reading time was over, I would share the funny part. That strategy usually got kids reading MY book, too. I really do encourage you to start SSR and make time for this every day. I promise you will see reading improvement in your students.
Another way to motivate reading is to have a contest. You can choose to have a personal contest or a school-wide contest. I like the school-wide contest where the whole school wins a reward of some kind if a particular goal is met. The goal could be a number of pages or number of books. You can keep track with any kind of device. The ever popular bookworm, apples on a tree, bricks building a wall, gumballs in a large machine, let your imagination soar.
One of our middle grade teachers challenged her students to see if they could read forty books this year. She has certain guidelines set as far as what books are allowed, but the only recordkeeping is the bibliography information on an index card and a sentence or two describing the plot so they could remember it more easily. The students seem to be enjoying the challenge and are reading a lot.
If you have ways that you motivate students to read, I’d be happy to share them with others. Please let me know if you have any questions. I enjoy hearing from you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hold a Book Swap
Hi,
Last week I read an article in a library journal about book swaps and I thought you might be interested in this. It’s a great way to recharge the personal libraries of your students. I have held a couple of them and they are really pretty easy if you have some guidelines and know what mistakes others made so you don’t have to make those same mistakes! The basic swap is simple. Students bring in books they no longer want in their libraries and swap them for someone else’s books. One book for another book.
First, decide how and when you will hold the swap. Talk it up to your students and designate the time period for collecting books and the swap. You can do the swap itself in one day or less. Collecting the books can be over a period of days or weeks. I had students bring in their books on Monday and Tuesday and we had the swap on Wednesday morning. As students brought their books to me, I gave them a ticket for each book they brought. I checked the books quickly to see if they were appropriate for our school. Students were responsible to keep track of their tickets.
On Wednesday at swap time, students came into the library with tickets in hand and ‘bought’ books. I had stressed previously that even if they brought in ten books, they might not find ten books that they wanted and this was OK. I had the older students come first, then younger students. Other schools learned that this worked best. They saw Kindergarten students leave with large chapter books and there were not many choices for the older students. So they had older students choose first, then younger ones.
After all students with tickets had had a chance to choose their books, then I let students come in who didn’t have tickets. They could buy books for a dime each. I got a lot of books sold that way and the library got to keep the small amount of cash generated.
It was pretty easy and the kids had a ball. Students can run the swap and take tickets and be in charge. A teacher should be the one to collect the books, and make the decision, but after that students can run the swap with little help if need be.
Here are some guidelines to follow if you decide to hold a Book Swap at your school.
1. Collect books. Give a week or two notice on this and encourage families to bring in books that are in gently used condition. Make sure that students have parent permission to swap their books. Books that are missing pages, or beat up should not be brought in to the swap. Also stress that books need to be appropriate for our school. Give a ticket or token for each book. I have included books that were weeded from the library shelves in the swap, too.
2. Set a time for students with tickets to buy their books. Only students with tickets were allowed to come in and browse. Then set a time that anyone can come and buy a book with cash. You will be left with some books, but I am willing to bet that most of them will be gone. Leftover books can be saved until the next swap, or given away, or disposed of however you choose. I read that some donate to daycare centers, homeless shelters, or Goodwill.
3. Some libraries restrict the contributions and don’t allow board or toddler books, encyclopedias, or adult books. That would be up to you but it seems like a good idea to me.
I think you will enjoy a book swap. One of the problems that you may have is the students who will be asking when the next swap will be.
Have a good week.
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Last week I read an article in a library journal about book swaps and I thought you might be interested in this. It’s a great way to recharge the personal libraries of your students. I have held a couple of them and they are really pretty easy if you have some guidelines and know what mistakes others made so you don’t have to make those same mistakes! The basic swap is simple. Students bring in books they no longer want in their libraries and swap them for someone else’s books. One book for another book.
First, decide how and when you will hold the swap. Talk it up to your students and designate the time period for collecting books and the swap. You can do the swap itself in one day or less. Collecting the books can be over a period of days or weeks. I had students bring in their books on Monday and Tuesday and we had the swap on Wednesday morning. As students brought their books to me, I gave them a ticket for each book they brought. I checked the books quickly to see if they were appropriate for our school. Students were responsible to keep track of their tickets.
On Wednesday at swap time, students came into the library with tickets in hand and ‘bought’ books. I had stressed previously that even if they brought in ten books, they might not find ten books that they wanted and this was OK. I had the older students come first, then younger students. Other schools learned that this worked best. They saw Kindergarten students leave with large chapter books and there were not many choices for the older students. So they had older students choose first, then younger ones.
After all students with tickets had had a chance to choose their books, then I let students come in who didn’t have tickets. They could buy books for a dime each. I got a lot of books sold that way and the library got to keep the small amount of cash generated.
It was pretty easy and the kids had a ball. Students can run the swap and take tickets and be in charge. A teacher should be the one to collect the books, and make the decision, but after that students can run the swap with little help if need be.
Here are some guidelines to follow if you decide to hold a Book Swap at your school.
1. Collect books. Give a week or two notice on this and encourage families to bring in books that are in gently used condition. Make sure that students have parent permission to swap their books. Books that are missing pages, or beat up should not be brought in to the swap. Also stress that books need to be appropriate for our school. Give a ticket or token for each book. I have included books that were weeded from the library shelves in the swap, too.
2. Set a time for students with tickets to buy their books. Only students with tickets were allowed to come in and browse. Then set a time that anyone can come and buy a book with cash. You will be left with some books, but I am willing to bet that most of them will be gone. Leftover books can be saved until the next swap, or given away, or disposed of however you choose. I read that some donate to daycare centers, homeless shelters, or Goodwill.
3. Some libraries restrict the contributions and don’t allow board or toddler books, encyclopedias, or adult books. That would be up to you but it seems like a good idea to me.
I think you will enjoy a book swap. One of the problems that you may have is the students who will be asking when the next swap will be.
Have a good week.
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Library Distribution Guidelines
Hello,
Last week I received a great question from one of you wondering if there were guidelines as to the number of books required in each section particularly regarding school evaluations and inspections. What a great question! I did some research and found that the form used for many school evaluations ask you to put the total number of volumes in front of each section listed. Also they ask for a total number of titles (not including reference), total number of reference books, total number of denominational periodical subscriptions, and total number of secular magazine/newspaper subscriptions. The form has another page that gives a simple rubric for implementation in two areas: 1. Does the Media Center have a balanced collection of appropriate library materials and 2. Do personnel provide orientation in locating and evaluating information sources that support student learning.
According to the form that I have, it appears that ‘balanced’ is subject to interpretation. This is a good thing. I also did some research and found a source that has general guidelines for distribution of the library collection. Each section has recommended percentages for the Dewey sections. Keep in mind that these are general suggestions, not requirements. It would be interesting to check your collection and see what the percentages actually are. If you find that you are well below the recommendations, you might consider supplementing that particular section when you have money for it. If this is in your plans, it also looks good to the evaluation committee. You know where your library is weak and you have plans to improve it.
Dewey Subject Percentage of Collection
Classification K – 6 7 – 12
000 – 099 General works and Reference 2 – 5% 6 – 8%
100 – 199 Philosophy, Psychology .5% 1 – 2%
200 – 299 Religion & Mythology 1 – 2% 1 – 2%
300 – 399 Social Sciences, Folklore 5 – 10% 10 – 15%
400 – 499 Language .5% 2 – 5%
500 – 599 Pure Science 10% 5 – 10%
600 – 699 Applied Science 10% 5 – 10%
700 – 799 Fine Arts, Recreation 5% 5 – 10%
800 – 899 Literature 5% 5 – 10%
Fiction (often included in 800s) 20% 20 – 25%
900 – 999 History, Geography, Biography 20% 20%
E Easy books, Picture books 20 – 25%
The table above was found in the book Administering the School Library Media Center, fourth edition, by Betty J. Morris, page 339.
If you would like a copy of the form used for school evaluations, contact your local conference office. They can email this information to you.
I hope this information is helpful to you. And I also hope you have a great week – what’s left of it!
Audrey
Last week I received a great question from one of you wondering if there were guidelines as to the number of books required in each section particularly regarding school evaluations and inspections. What a great question! I did some research and found that the form used for many school evaluations ask you to put the total number of volumes in front of each section listed. Also they ask for a total number of titles (not including reference), total number of reference books, total number of denominational periodical subscriptions, and total number of secular magazine/newspaper subscriptions. The form has another page that gives a simple rubric for implementation in two areas: 1. Does the Media Center have a balanced collection of appropriate library materials and 2. Do personnel provide orientation in locating and evaluating information sources that support student learning.
According to the form that I have, it appears that ‘balanced’ is subject to interpretation. This is a good thing. I also did some research and found a source that has general guidelines for distribution of the library collection. Each section has recommended percentages for the Dewey sections. Keep in mind that these are general suggestions, not requirements. It would be interesting to check your collection and see what the percentages actually are. If you find that you are well below the recommendations, you might consider supplementing that particular section when you have money for it. If this is in your plans, it also looks good to the evaluation committee. You know where your library is weak and you have plans to improve it.
Dewey Subject Percentage of Collection
Classification K – 6 7 – 12
000 – 099 General works and Reference 2 – 5% 6 – 8%
100 – 199 Philosophy, Psychology .5% 1 – 2%
200 – 299 Religion & Mythology 1 – 2% 1 – 2%
300 – 399 Social Sciences, Folklore 5 – 10% 10 – 15%
400 – 499 Language .5% 2 – 5%
500 – 599 Pure Science 10% 5 – 10%
600 – 699 Applied Science 10% 5 – 10%
700 – 799 Fine Arts, Recreation 5% 5 – 10%
800 – 899 Literature 5% 5 – 10%
Fiction (often included in 800s) 20% 20 – 25%
900 – 999 History, Geography, Biography 20% 20%
E Easy books, Picture books 20 – 25%
The table above was found in the book Administering the School Library Media Center, fourth edition, by Betty J. Morris, page 339.
If you would like a copy of the form used for school evaluations, contact your local conference office. They can email this information to you.
I hope this information is helpful to you. And I also hope you have a great week – what’s left of it!
Audrey
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
More Magazine Options
Hello,
Last week I gave you a list of magazines that I felt were worth getting for your school. This week I will continue with more magazines that I consider optional, but still may be worth your time and money.
You probably noticed a lot of options from The Cricket Group. I really like the magazines they put out. They do a quality magazine and children are usually interested in them. I would give one word of caution against getting every magazine they offer. They started in 1973 with Cricket magazine which focuses on quality literature for children. The editors choose a subject such as China and then select top authors and illustrators to contribute to the magazine in both fiction and nonfiction stories in each issue. So why don’t I have Cricket first on my list? I subscribed personally to Cricket for about 10 years when my son was quite young. I don’t have this on my list because about a third of the time the topic is one that is not appropriate for a Seventh-day Adventist school. Just for example one year the topics included magic, Gershwin, the queen, dragons, folktales, the USS Maine, dogs, rainforest, fairy tales, speaking with symbols, music, magicians, ghosts, whales, Ansel Adams, Paul Revere, hockey, ancient city of Petra, just to name a few. Those were from the year 2000 and were in about eight of the copies I have on hand. It seems that nearly every issue has some kind of fairy tale or folktale in it. My copies are sitting in magazine holders on one shelf in my cupboard. I have previously chosen stories that I wanted to use and read it to the classes, but I don’t subscribe to Cricket.
OK. On to other options from The Cricket Group. If you are looking for an arts and science magazine for children aged 6 – 9, you are looking for one called ASK. ASK includes lots of interesting information written in language easy for kids to understand. The subscription cost is $33.95 for 9 issues. This month is all about size. Why are things the size they are? Why is a mile a mile?
When students outgrow ASK, they next need Odyssey, the science magazine for ages 9 – 14. Each issue focuses on a theme and delves into lots of information about that theme. A recent issue is all about snow and has information on ice, snow, a snowflake contest, and much more.
We really like American Girl magazine here, but I also notice that the girls who love it the most often have their own subscription. This is why I didn’t put it higher on the list. It also is one that a student might donate after they are finished with it. Are you worried that it might look used? Never fear. My girls devour all issues even the back ones that are practically falling apart. I take out the extra inserts such as the tiny magazine or paper dolls and use them for prizes or gifts so having them gone isn’t a problem. For $22.95 you get games, crafts, stories, and more for a whole year.
In looking for a similar type of magazine for boys, one person suggested Boy’s Life. I do not have this and I do not have any information about it except the cost which is $24.00 for a year. I would request a sample magazine before subscribing and see if this is something you would like.
Instead we do have Sports Illustrated for Kids. This is an age appropriate (ages 9 – 12) magazine on sports. Cost = $24.95 for 12 issues.
Scholastic puts out a monthly magazine similar to Weekly Reader on Life Skills, Consumer Science, and Health geared to students in grades 7 – 12. The magazine is called Choices. This would be good for classroom sets since the cost is $8.95 for a year. A teacher’s edition is included along with activities and worksheets.
Weekly Reader has two magazines on health. One is for students in grades 4 – 7 called Current Health Kids and the other is for students in grades 7 – 12 called Current Health Teens. Both include teacher’s editions, activities, lesson ideas, and worksheets and come twice a month. Current Health Kids costs $37.95 and Current Health Teens costs $46.99. Sometimes they have special pricing and you can get good discounts.
That concludes my magazine review. I hope it has been helpful to you and that you have found something that will work for your school or classroom. Don’t forget to check out past postings on my blog at sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Last week I gave you a list of magazines that I felt were worth getting for your school. This week I will continue with more magazines that I consider optional, but still may be worth your time and money.
You probably noticed a lot of options from The Cricket Group. I really like the magazines they put out. They do a quality magazine and children are usually interested in them. I would give one word of caution against getting every magazine they offer. They started in 1973 with Cricket magazine which focuses on quality literature for children. The editors choose a subject such as China and then select top authors and illustrators to contribute to the magazine in both fiction and nonfiction stories in each issue. So why don’t I have Cricket first on my list? I subscribed personally to Cricket for about 10 years when my son was quite young. I don’t have this on my list because about a third of the time the topic is one that is not appropriate for a Seventh-day Adventist school. Just for example one year the topics included magic, Gershwin, the queen, dragons, folktales, the USS Maine, dogs, rainforest, fairy tales, speaking with symbols, music, magicians, ghosts, whales, Ansel Adams, Paul Revere, hockey, ancient city of Petra, just to name a few. Those were from the year 2000 and were in about eight of the copies I have on hand. It seems that nearly every issue has some kind of fairy tale or folktale in it. My copies are sitting in magazine holders on one shelf in my cupboard. I have previously chosen stories that I wanted to use and read it to the classes, but I don’t subscribe to Cricket.
OK. On to other options from The Cricket Group. If you are looking for an arts and science magazine for children aged 6 – 9, you are looking for one called ASK. ASK includes lots of interesting information written in language easy for kids to understand. The subscription cost is $33.95 for 9 issues. This month is all about size. Why are things the size they are? Why is a mile a mile?
When students outgrow ASK, they next need Odyssey, the science magazine for ages 9 – 14. Each issue focuses on a theme and delves into lots of information about that theme. A recent issue is all about snow and has information on ice, snow, a snowflake contest, and much more.
We really like American Girl magazine here, but I also notice that the girls who love it the most often have their own subscription. This is why I didn’t put it higher on the list. It also is one that a student might donate after they are finished with it. Are you worried that it might look used? Never fear. My girls devour all issues even the back ones that are practically falling apart. I take out the extra inserts such as the tiny magazine or paper dolls and use them for prizes or gifts so having them gone isn’t a problem. For $22.95 you get games, crafts, stories, and more for a whole year.
In looking for a similar type of magazine for boys, one person suggested Boy’s Life. I do not have this and I do not have any information about it except the cost which is $24.00 for a year. I would request a sample magazine before subscribing and see if this is something you would like.
Instead we do have Sports Illustrated for Kids. This is an age appropriate (ages 9 – 12) magazine on sports. Cost = $24.95 for 12 issues.
Scholastic puts out a monthly magazine similar to Weekly Reader on Life Skills, Consumer Science, and Health geared to students in grades 7 – 12. The magazine is called Choices. This would be good for classroom sets since the cost is $8.95 for a year. A teacher’s edition is included along with activities and worksheets.
Weekly Reader has two magazines on health. One is for students in grades 4 – 7 called Current Health Kids and the other is for students in grades 7 – 12 called Current Health Teens. Both include teacher’s editions, activities, lesson ideas, and worksheets and come twice a month. Current Health Kids costs $37.95 and Current Health Teens costs $46.99. Sometimes they have special pricing and you can get good discounts.
That concludes my magazine review. I hope it has been helpful to you and that you have found something that will work for your school or classroom. Don’t forget to check out past postings on my blog at sdalibrarian.blogspot.com.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)