Greetings!
This week we move on to the 300s and see what needs to be done there.
This section is the most confusing to me. It is Social Science, and is easily mistaken for Social Studies by children which is confusing since Social Studies (History and Geography) are in the 900s! Another reason it can be confusing is that there seem to be so many categories there. It isn’t as straight forward as the 200s – Religion or 400s – Languages. Here is a list of what is included in the 300s.
300 Social Science
306 Family, marriage, divorce, death
310 Collections of general statistics
320 Political science
325.1 Ellis Island, Immigration
326 Slavery
330 Economics
331 Careers
332 Money; allowances
333 Energy
333.95 Endangered species
340 Law
350 Public Administration and Military science
360 Social problems and services, associations
362.4 Physical disabilities
362.7 Personal safety
363.7 Recycling
370 Education
371.3 Study Skills – testing,
372 Elementary Education
372.4 Old reading series books
372.44 Vocabulary
372.6 Language Arts
372.61 Grammar
372.623 Writing – reports, essays, themes
372.63 Spelling
372.7 Math
380 Commerce, communications and transportation
383 Pony Express, Mail
390 Customs, etiquette and folklore
391 Costumes, clothing history
394.2 Holidays (Rogers separates the holidays out as shown below)
394.2 Christmas
394.21 Thanksgiving
394.26 All other holidays
395 Manners
398 Folklore, fairy tales, legends
So, let’s ignore 310 and 340. You likely won’t use these sections much if at all in the elementary library. Instead here is what you will likely be using most.
306 Family, Marriage, Divorce, Death
320 Political Science
325.1 Ellis Island, Immigration
326 Slavery
330 Economics
331 Careers
332 Money; allowances
333 Energy
333.95 Endangered species
350 Public Administration and Military science
360 Social Problems and services
362.4 Physical disabilities
362.7 Personal safety
363.7 Recycling
370 Education
371.3 Study Skills – testing
372 Elementary Education
372.4 Old reading series books
372.44 Vocabulary
372.6 Language Arts
372.61 Grammar
372.623Writing – reports, essays, themes
372.63 Spelling
372.7 Math – Teaching of math
380 Commerce, communications and transportation
383 Pony Express, Mail
390 Customs, etiquette and folklore
391 Costumes, clothing history
394.2 Holidays (Rogers separates the holidays out as shown below)
394.2 Christmas
394.21 Thanksgiving
394.26 All other holidays
395 Manners
398 Folklore, fairy tales, legends
Use this somewhat shorter list to see what you might put in your library. Do you have books on divorce? Consider how many of your students come from divorced families. It may well be a subject that is important to include in your library.
Books in immigration, Ellis Island and slavery will help support your curriculum as you teach these subjects.
Do you have any books on careers? Allowances? Money? Our Adventist Book Centers have a few books on money management and one or two are particularly focused toward children. Other subjects that are important to have in your library are books on endangered species, recycling, study skills, holidays, and manners.
Some subjects that are fun to include are books with costumes and clothing, and the Pony Express.
What should we weed out of this section? Check to see if the books you have are older than five years. If they are, it is possible that the information inside is outdated. Take a look inside to see what information is given and make a quick evaluation to decide if the book is still worthwhile to have in the library. If you aren’t sure, make a notation inside the front cover of the date you considered discarding the book. If in a year or two the book still has not circulated, you may then feel more comfortable about discarding it.
Look at the books in each section quickly.
1. Check the physical condition of the books. Weed out books that are marked up, shabby, have very small print or poor quality pictures, missing pages, warped cover or wavy pages damaged by water.
2. Check the content. Is the information obsolete? Do you have travel books from the 1960s? Do you have multiple copies that aren’t needed?
3. Do you have materials that aren’t circulating? Why aren’t they being used? Can you promote them so they will be used or would it be better to find other materials to replace them?
4. Is there other information on the same subject in your collection to justify discarding the book?
I was in a school a few years ago that had multiple shelves of old Reader’s Digest and Time Life books on countries and travel. The books were in good condition, and there was a lot of information and pictures in them. I would have discarded them since they were outdated but the teacher wanted to keep them. The books helped to support the study of different countries and any outdated information could be updated quickly by using the internet. You decide if the book will help support your curriculum or not. You might want to discard them, but if there is nothing else to replace the information, it might be best to keep the books until you can upgrade to a new set. Then you can discard the old set.
You might want to consider subscribing to a database such as CultureGrams from Proquest or Scholastic’s database GO!
CultureGrams includes a section about the United States and another section about the countries of the world. The information is updated every few hours so what the students learn is up to the minute.
GO! is a database that I don’t have, so I went to the website to find out about it. It looks like it includes three encyclopedias, two science resources – one on animals and one on science, a United States resource and a world resource, plus a Spanish resource for Spanish speakers. I don’t know anything about price, but you can check it out at this site. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/grolier/
I hope things are going well for you and that you have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, April 13, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Working with Dewey - 200s
Greetings!
This week we will tackle the 200s and do our best to get them in shape. For most of us this section – the Religion and Bible section – is plentiful. We are Christian schools and we have access to Christian materials and can freely add in this section.
Below this post is the Dewey section of the 200s. I keep in mind that I have an elementary school library and not a university library or a theology major’s library. I can probably not worry about 210, 230, or 250. So, starting with 200, in this number would go anything that doesn’t really fit in any of the other sections. This is a more generic section. It is very likely that you won’t use this number, so don’t worry about it.
On to the 220’s. In this section we have copies of The Holy Bible, and a set or two of The Bible Story books. You probably have at least one set of these blue books in your library and possibly even in your classroom libraries, too. Older people often cull their libraries and like to donate these to schools. We also put our ‘Bible Biographies’ here. The books that are written about Bible characters such as Ruth, Samuel, Esther, and so forth call ‘Bible Biographies’. We have quite a collection at our school and have actually divided them into Old Testament and New Testament characters. If you don’t have too many of these I recommend that you keep them all together.
Next would be the 240s. I see lots of devotional books in schools that I visit and here is the place they belong. Put them in 242 and they will look nice all together.
Mission books belong in the 260s – in 266 to be specific.
If you have any books on the history of the church or history of Christianity, put them in 270. Books about the Waldenses specifically go in 272.
Books about Seventh-day Adventists go in 286.7, and other Christian denominations would be in 280.
If you have books about other religions, put them in 290.
Now, what should you weed out? This might be tough for you, since we never want to throw away Christian books. It might appear as though we are throwing away Christianity! Well, don’t worry about it. You are putting your house in order.
So, how many Bibles do you have? How many do you need? Are any of the Bibles in bad condition? Missing pages? Marked up and difficult to read? Here is a place to start. How many sets of The Bible Story do you need? Most schools only need one set. Choose one that is complete and attractive and get rid of the others.
How many devotional books do you need? I have been in small schools that have so many devotional books that each student could have two or three. Look at them and choose the ones that are child-friendly. Any that are for adults can be donated to the church and let the adults take them and read them. (Don’t accept them back in a year or two!) In fact, take a look and take ALL the books that are on an adult level to the church. These are probably too difficult for the children to read or not interesting for them and they take up space on the shelf that is needed for other things.
What about our Ellen White books? We actually have a separate section for Ellen White’s books. Take a look at all of the ones you have. I would expect that you have multiple copies of many of her books. Pull out one good set of the Conflict of the Ages series, one set of the Testimonies, and one of any of the others that will actually be used in the curriculum. Send the rest to the church library or put them on a table for members to take. Just because she wrote it does not mean that it is meant for children. Keep what you NEED and donate what you don’t need.
Now look and see what the other books look like. Discard any that are too adult, have few pictures or illustrations and tiny print, are too old or beat up, or aren’t attractive.
I hope this is a great week for you.
Audrey
200s
200 Religion
210 Philosophy and theory of religion
212 Bible atlas
220 The Bible
220.92 Bible Biographies (or can separate OT 221.9’2 from NT 225.9’2)
221 The Shoebox Kids, Guide’s Greatest, etc
230 Christianity and Christian theology
240 Christian moral and devotional theology
242 Devotional Literature (or can separate Daily Devotionals 242.2)
248 Christian experience
250 Christian orders and local church (preaching, texts of sermons, pastoral work and office, parish administration, pastoral care of families and kinds of persons)
260 Social and ecclesiastical theology (sacraments, other rites, religious education, spiritual renewal, public worship, associations for religious work)
266 Mission Stories
270 History of Christianity and the Christian church
272 Waldenses
280 Christian denominations and sects; general Christianity
286.7 Seventh-day Adventist denomination
290 Other religions (Greek, Roman, Judaism, Islam, etc.)
This week we will tackle the 200s and do our best to get them in shape. For most of us this section – the Religion and Bible section – is plentiful. We are Christian schools and we have access to Christian materials and can freely add in this section.
Below this post is the Dewey section of the 200s. I keep in mind that I have an elementary school library and not a university library or a theology major’s library. I can probably not worry about 210, 230, or 250. So, starting with 200, in this number would go anything that doesn’t really fit in any of the other sections. This is a more generic section. It is very likely that you won’t use this number, so don’t worry about it.
On to the 220’s. In this section we have copies of The Holy Bible, and a set or two of The Bible Story books. You probably have at least one set of these blue books in your library and possibly even in your classroom libraries, too. Older people often cull their libraries and like to donate these to schools. We also put our ‘Bible Biographies’ here. The books that are written about Bible characters such as Ruth, Samuel, Esther, and so forth call ‘Bible Biographies’. We have quite a collection at our school and have actually divided them into Old Testament and New Testament characters. If you don’t have too many of these I recommend that you keep them all together.
Next would be the 240s. I see lots of devotional books in schools that I visit and here is the place they belong. Put them in 242 and they will look nice all together.
Mission books belong in the 260s – in 266 to be specific.
If you have any books on the history of the church or history of Christianity, put them in 270. Books about the Waldenses specifically go in 272.
Books about Seventh-day Adventists go in 286.7, and other Christian denominations would be in 280.
If you have books about other religions, put them in 290.
Now, what should you weed out? This might be tough for you, since we never want to throw away Christian books. It might appear as though we are throwing away Christianity! Well, don’t worry about it. You are putting your house in order.
So, how many Bibles do you have? How many do you need? Are any of the Bibles in bad condition? Missing pages? Marked up and difficult to read? Here is a place to start. How many sets of The Bible Story do you need? Most schools only need one set. Choose one that is complete and attractive and get rid of the others.
How many devotional books do you need? I have been in small schools that have so many devotional books that each student could have two or three. Look at them and choose the ones that are child-friendly. Any that are for adults can be donated to the church and let the adults take them and read them. (Don’t accept them back in a year or two!) In fact, take a look and take ALL the books that are on an adult level to the church. These are probably too difficult for the children to read or not interesting for them and they take up space on the shelf that is needed for other things.
What about our Ellen White books? We actually have a separate section for Ellen White’s books. Take a look at all of the ones you have. I would expect that you have multiple copies of many of her books. Pull out one good set of the Conflict of the Ages series, one set of the Testimonies, and one of any of the others that will actually be used in the curriculum. Send the rest to the church library or put them on a table for members to take. Just because she wrote it does not mean that it is meant for children. Keep what you NEED and donate what you don’t need.
Now look and see what the other books look like. Discard any that are too adult, have few pictures or illustrations and tiny print, are too old or beat up, or aren’t attractive.
I hope this is a great week for you.
Audrey
200s
200 Religion
210 Philosophy and theory of religion
212 Bible atlas
220 The Bible
220.92 Bible Biographies (or can separate OT 221.9’2 from NT 225.9’2)
221 The Shoebox Kids, Guide’s Greatest, etc
230 Christianity and Christian theology
240 Christian moral and devotional theology
242 Devotional Literature (or can separate Daily Devotionals 242.2)
248 Christian experience
250 Christian orders and local church (preaching, texts of sermons, pastoral work and office, parish administration, pastoral care of families and kinds of persons)
260 Social and ecclesiastical theology (sacraments, other rites, religious education, spiritual renewal, public worship, associations for religious work)
266 Mission Stories
270 History of Christianity and the Christian church
272 Waldenses
280 Christian denominations and sects; general Christianity
286.7 Seventh-day Adventist denomination
290 Other religions (Greek, Roman, Judaism, Islam, etc.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Working with Dewey - 100s
Greetings!
I understand that you might not be familiar with Dewey and the different sections and also wonder what in the world should I put in each section? What do I weed out? Each week we will have a section or two for you to take a look at and make quick decisions. I’ll help you with ideas of what to discard and what to keep and what to add to make your library attractive and more functional for your students.
At the end of this post is a quick overview of the Dewey 100’s. As I look over this, I can see that in an elementary setting we probably don’t need anything in divisions 110 – 140, so that makes things a bit easier. There might not be much in the 160 division – Logic – either. This is not the logic puzzle category. Logic puzzles will go in the 700’s section. As I look at the 180 and 190 section, this is also not a usual category for an elementary school, so we will concentrate on the 150’s and 170’s here.
The 150’s include books on emotions and dealing with these feelings.
The 170’s section will have books on family relationships including marriage and divorce, friendships, and the vices and virtues. Check your library and see if you have any books to help students whose parents are going through a divorce. Are any students having trouble making friends?
This is not a large section and if you have a small handful of books here you will be fine as far as the ‘official Dewey distribution’ goes.
Here are a few books that you might consider for your library.
1. Boom by Michael Ross, Editor. The subtitle is “A guy’s guide to growing up”. This is a great book for guys who are going through puberty and the book helps answer a lot of intimate questions that boys have and don’t know how to ask others. It is published by Focus on the Family and has a religious bent. A page on having sex has two sides – one side is what Hollywood says and the other side is what God says. I highly recommend this book along with the ‘girl’ version titled Bloom by Susie Shellenberger also published by Focus on the Family.
2. Young Man: a Christian Boy’s Guide to Teenage Sexuality and Young Woman: A Christian Girl’s guide to Teenage Sexuality are written by Jonathan and Ana Gallagher and are the Adventist counterpart of Boom and Bloom. We don’t have either of these books in our library at present. The books are quite attractive and well done but they appear to be more appropriate for high school rather than elementary.
3. You have heard of Steven Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This book and others like it would go in this 170’s section. But I recommend Sean Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective TEENS. Sean is Steven’s son and this title is much more attractive to our students because of the word ‘TEENS’ in it. Even though our students aren’t yet teens, they are approaching them quickly and want to think of themselves as teens. It is entirely possible that they will pick this book up and read parts of it.
4. PowerKiDs press has a series of books on feelings and problems that students encounter in life. The titles in this set begin with “How to deal with . . .” and include Anger, Bullies, Competitiveness, Discrimination, Feeling Left Out, Fighting, Hurt Feelings, Insults, Jealousy, Lying, Secrets, and Teasing. These books can be bought individually and are only about 24 pages each. This series fit nicely in the 150’s.
So, how do I weed in this section? If you have any copies of the old books titled “On Becoming a Woman” or “On Becoming a Man” by Shryock in your library, this would be a good time to get rid of them and update to the suggestions above. Check publication dates. Anything published before 1990 would be books to look over and see if they are still valuable to your library. Check the covers of the books for wear and tear. If they are old and beat up, toss them. Are pages missing? Toss it. Is the book in bad condition, but popular at your school? Can you get a better copy or a newer edition? Toss the old one and get a new one.
Each week I’ll have ideas for you to get your library into shape a little at a time. Don’t be intimidated. You can do it.
Have a great week,
Audrey (with help from Joy)
100 Philosophy, psychology
110 Metaphysics (cosmology, space, time, change, structure, force and energy, number and quantity)
120 Epistemology, causation and humankind (the unconscious and subconscious, origin and destiny of human souls, determinism and indeterminism)
130 Parapsychology and occultism (also phrenology, dreams and mysteries, etc)
140 Specific philosophical schools (humanism, sensationalism, naturalism, pantheism, eclecticism, liberalism)
150 Psychology – Emotions, Death, Dying, Sadness
160 Logic
170 Ethics (ethics of family relationships, occupational ethics, recreation and leisure, sex and reproduction, social relations, consumption, etc)
177.6 Friendship, friends
179.8 Vices – anger, cheating, covetousness, envy, hatred, jealousy, pride, sloth
179.9 Virtues – gratitude, cheerfulness, gentleness, honesty, humility, modesty, patience, prudence, self-control, self-reliance, toleration
180 Ancient, medieval and eastern philosophy
190 Modern western philosophy
I understand that you might not be familiar with Dewey and the different sections and also wonder what in the world should I put in each section? What do I weed out? Each week we will have a section or two for you to take a look at and make quick decisions. I’ll help you with ideas of what to discard and what to keep and what to add to make your library attractive and more functional for your students.
At the end of this post is a quick overview of the Dewey 100’s. As I look over this, I can see that in an elementary setting we probably don’t need anything in divisions 110 – 140, so that makes things a bit easier. There might not be much in the 160 division – Logic – either. This is not the logic puzzle category. Logic puzzles will go in the 700’s section. As I look at the 180 and 190 section, this is also not a usual category for an elementary school, so we will concentrate on the 150’s and 170’s here.
The 150’s include books on emotions and dealing with these feelings.
The 170’s section will have books on family relationships including marriage and divorce, friendships, and the vices and virtues. Check your library and see if you have any books to help students whose parents are going through a divorce. Are any students having trouble making friends?
This is not a large section and if you have a small handful of books here you will be fine as far as the ‘official Dewey distribution’ goes.
Here are a few books that you might consider for your library.
1. Boom by Michael Ross, Editor. The subtitle is “A guy’s guide to growing up”. This is a great book for guys who are going through puberty and the book helps answer a lot of intimate questions that boys have and don’t know how to ask others. It is published by Focus on the Family and has a religious bent. A page on having sex has two sides – one side is what Hollywood says and the other side is what God says. I highly recommend this book along with the ‘girl’ version titled Bloom by Susie Shellenberger also published by Focus on the Family.
2. Young Man: a Christian Boy’s Guide to Teenage Sexuality and Young Woman: A Christian Girl’s guide to Teenage Sexuality are written by Jonathan and Ana Gallagher and are the Adventist counterpart of Boom and Bloom. We don’t have either of these books in our library at present. The books are quite attractive and well done but they appear to be more appropriate for high school rather than elementary.
3. You have heard of Steven Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This book and others like it would go in this 170’s section. But I recommend Sean Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective TEENS. Sean is Steven’s son and this title is much more attractive to our students because of the word ‘TEENS’ in it. Even though our students aren’t yet teens, they are approaching them quickly and want to think of themselves as teens. It is entirely possible that they will pick this book up and read parts of it.
4. PowerKiDs press has a series of books on feelings and problems that students encounter in life. The titles in this set begin with “How to deal with . . .” and include Anger, Bullies, Competitiveness, Discrimination, Feeling Left Out, Fighting, Hurt Feelings, Insults, Jealousy, Lying, Secrets, and Teasing. These books can be bought individually and are only about 24 pages each. This series fit nicely in the 150’s.
So, how do I weed in this section? If you have any copies of the old books titled “On Becoming a Woman” or “On Becoming a Man” by Shryock in your library, this would be a good time to get rid of them and update to the suggestions above. Check publication dates. Anything published before 1990 would be books to look over and see if they are still valuable to your library. Check the covers of the books for wear and tear. If they are old and beat up, toss them. Are pages missing? Toss it. Is the book in bad condition, but popular at your school? Can you get a better copy or a newer edition? Toss the old one and get a new one.
Each week I’ll have ideas for you to get your library into shape a little at a time. Don’t be intimidated. You can do it.
Have a great week,
Audrey (with help from Joy)
100 Philosophy, psychology
110 Metaphysics (cosmology, space, time, change, structure, force and energy, number and quantity)
120 Epistemology, causation and humankind (the unconscious and subconscious, origin and destiny of human souls, determinism and indeterminism)
130 Parapsychology and occultism (also phrenology, dreams and mysteries, etc)
140 Specific philosophical schools (humanism, sensationalism, naturalism, pantheism, eclecticism, liberalism)
150 Psychology – Emotions, Death, Dying, Sadness
160 Logic
170 Ethics (ethics of family relationships, occupational ethics, recreation and leisure, sex and reproduction, social relations, consumption, etc)
177.6 Friendship, friends
179.8 Vices – anger, cheating, covetousness, envy, hatred, jealousy, pride, sloth
179.9 Virtues – gratitude, cheerfulness, gentleness, honesty, humility, modesty, patience, prudence, self-control, self-reliance, toleration
180 Ancient, medieval and eastern philosophy
190 Modern western philosophy
Monday, March 16, 2015
Books Boys (and Girls) Like
Greetings!
Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to find books that boys like and will read? I hate to label books as ‘boy books’ or ‘girl books’, but face it, books about cupcakes and girls being unkind to other girls in school really don’t appeal to most boys. It seems that girls who are readers will read anything – books that appeal to both girls and boys. Boys will seldom pick up a book with girls as the main character. So, I went looking for authors and titles that appeal to many boys in my school. One real plus for purchasing these is that the girls will probably read them, too!
One suggestion was the author Ralph Moody (1898 – 1982). You or your parents may have read his books as young people. Little Britches, Man of the Family, and The Home Ranch are three of his books. Most of his books are set in the American West and the ones I mentioned above are autobiographical. If you like these, they continue with Mary Emma & Company, The Fields of Home, Shaking the Nickel Bush, The Dry Divide, and Horse of a Different Color. You may even already have some of these in your library, but they may look old and dry. I suggest you begin with Little Britches and just start reading that book aloud to your students. This is very likely to get them started and interested in reading more from Ralph Moody.
Another author that was suggested to me is John D. Fitzgerald (1906 – 1988). He wrote a series called The Great Brain which are also loosely based on his childhood. The main character – The Great Brain – is based on his mischievous older brother, Tom. There is a movie of the first book on YouTube with Jimmy Osmond playing the main character.
Roland Smith (1951 - ) is really one of my favorite authors. He writes exciting adventures and I haven’t noticed any problems with language in the ones that I have. Roland lives near Portland, Oregon. He has had some very interesting jobs over his lifetime which translate into his books. He was a zookeeper and also was one of those who worked to save wildlife after Exxon Valdez spill. He writes both fiction and nonfiction. My favorites are Peak, Jack’s Run, Zach’s Lie, The Storm Runner series, and Legwork (only available in Kindle edition). I am looking forward to a sequel of Peak called The Edge which is coming Fall 2015. He has also written a few alphabet books that are beautifully illustrated. His book Sea Otter Rescue is the story of his work helping to rescuing sea otters after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Will Hobbs is an author I happened upon in the public library. I picked up one of his books and read it, then returned to see what else he had written. Then I bought a bunch of them for our school library. He writes for upper elementary, middle school, and young adult readers. When students need to read an adventure story, I point them to his books. So far, he has written nineteen books for young people and two picture books for younger ones. His goal is to “take young people into the outdoors and engage their sense of wonder” so he sets his stories in wild places he knows from firsthand experience. He has won multiple awards for some of his books and some have been translated into other languages. I suggest Crossing the Wire, Far North, Jason’s Gold, Take Me to the River, River Thunder, and Leaving Protection.
If you boys and girls like to read about war, what about a true story about a Seventh-day Adventist man? The Seventh Escape by Jan Doward will fit that requirement. This is the story of Walter Loge’s escape from a prison camp hoping to reunite with his wife and children and might be a great read aloud when studying World War 2 (or any other time). The Adventist Book Center sells this book and if you go online, to their site, you can read the first chapter.
Another World War 2 true story is the story of John Weidner, a Seventh-day Adventist who helped save the lives of Jews and other who were fleeing the Nazis. Check out Flee the Captor by Herbert Ford.
If you haven’t read any books by Farley Mowat, you really must find one and get started. I recommend beginning with Owls in the Family. This is the story of Farley’s boyhood and the animals he collected in his Canadian prairie hometown. Be prepared to laugh and even cry as you read it. It is a wonderful read aloud, but I have a difficult time not bawling at the end. No spoilers here. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be has a few of the same incidents in it, but focuses more on his dog than the owls. Lost in the Barrens is a wonderful survival story about a Canadian teen and an Inuit teen who decide to go on a quick adventure rather than staying in the spot where they were told.
Finally, keep in mind the classic ‘captured by Indians’ stories. You really must have a copy of Swift Arrow by Josephine Cunnington Edwards and Spotted Boy and the Comanches by Mabel Earp Cason. Countless SDA teachers have read these stories to their students and loved them. Students then check these books out and read them again. (and again!) I used to wonder what I would do if I were captured by Indians, but knew the chances were slim in Orlando, Florida.
I hope you can find some books here that will appeal to your boys (and girls) and get them started reading. If you have other suggestions, I would love to add them to my list.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to find books that boys like and will read? I hate to label books as ‘boy books’ or ‘girl books’, but face it, books about cupcakes and girls being unkind to other girls in school really don’t appeal to most boys. It seems that girls who are readers will read anything – books that appeal to both girls and boys. Boys will seldom pick up a book with girls as the main character. So, I went looking for authors and titles that appeal to many boys in my school. One real plus for purchasing these is that the girls will probably read them, too!
One suggestion was the author Ralph Moody (1898 – 1982). You or your parents may have read his books as young people. Little Britches, Man of the Family, and The Home Ranch are three of his books. Most of his books are set in the American West and the ones I mentioned above are autobiographical. If you like these, they continue with Mary Emma & Company, The Fields of Home, Shaking the Nickel Bush, The Dry Divide, and Horse of a Different Color. You may even already have some of these in your library, but they may look old and dry. I suggest you begin with Little Britches and just start reading that book aloud to your students. This is very likely to get them started and interested in reading more from Ralph Moody.
Another author that was suggested to me is John D. Fitzgerald (1906 – 1988). He wrote a series called The Great Brain which are also loosely based on his childhood. The main character – The Great Brain – is based on his mischievous older brother, Tom. There is a movie of the first book on YouTube with Jimmy Osmond playing the main character.
Roland Smith (1951 - ) is really one of my favorite authors. He writes exciting adventures and I haven’t noticed any problems with language in the ones that I have. Roland lives near Portland, Oregon. He has had some very interesting jobs over his lifetime which translate into his books. He was a zookeeper and also was one of those who worked to save wildlife after Exxon Valdez spill. He writes both fiction and nonfiction. My favorites are Peak, Jack’s Run, Zach’s Lie, The Storm Runner series, and Legwork (only available in Kindle edition). I am looking forward to a sequel of Peak called The Edge which is coming Fall 2015. He has also written a few alphabet books that are beautifully illustrated. His book Sea Otter Rescue is the story of his work helping to rescuing sea otters after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Will Hobbs is an author I happened upon in the public library. I picked up one of his books and read it, then returned to see what else he had written. Then I bought a bunch of them for our school library. He writes for upper elementary, middle school, and young adult readers. When students need to read an adventure story, I point them to his books. So far, he has written nineteen books for young people and two picture books for younger ones. His goal is to “take young people into the outdoors and engage their sense of wonder” so he sets his stories in wild places he knows from firsthand experience. He has won multiple awards for some of his books and some have been translated into other languages. I suggest Crossing the Wire, Far North, Jason’s Gold, Take Me to the River, River Thunder, and Leaving Protection.
If you boys and girls like to read about war, what about a true story about a Seventh-day Adventist man? The Seventh Escape by Jan Doward will fit that requirement. This is the story of Walter Loge’s escape from a prison camp hoping to reunite with his wife and children and might be a great read aloud when studying World War 2 (or any other time). The Adventist Book Center sells this book and if you go online, to their site, you can read the first chapter.
Another World War 2 true story is the story of John Weidner, a Seventh-day Adventist who helped save the lives of Jews and other who were fleeing the Nazis. Check out Flee the Captor by Herbert Ford.
If you haven’t read any books by Farley Mowat, you really must find one and get started. I recommend beginning with Owls in the Family. This is the story of Farley’s boyhood and the animals he collected in his Canadian prairie hometown. Be prepared to laugh and even cry as you read it. It is a wonderful read aloud, but I have a difficult time not bawling at the end. No spoilers here. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be has a few of the same incidents in it, but focuses more on his dog than the owls. Lost in the Barrens is a wonderful survival story about a Canadian teen and an Inuit teen who decide to go on a quick adventure rather than staying in the spot where they were told.
Finally, keep in mind the classic ‘captured by Indians’ stories. You really must have a copy of Swift Arrow by Josephine Cunnington Edwards and Spotted Boy and the Comanches by Mabel Earp Cason. Countless SDA teachers have read these stories to their students and loved them. Students then check these books out and read them again. (and again!) I used to wonder what I would do if I were captured by Indians, but knew the chances were slim in Orlando, Florida.
I hope you can find some books here that will appeal to your boys (and girls) and get them started reading. If you have other suggestions, I would love to add them to my list.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, March 9, 2015
Taping paperback books
Greetings!
My post for September 27, 2011 was about taping paperback books so they will last longer. In a smaller school, this might not be quite so important simply because you have fewer students handling the books over and over. But in a school that is larger, taping the books is really a cost-saving procedure in the long run. Paperback books can look ‘used and old’ very quickly particularly on the spines and edges of the book. By covering the edges of the covers and the spine, the book is reinforced and the tape covers the parts of the book that are used the most so the book is better protected.
Some people put contact paper over the entire cover. This works, but can be more expensive to do. One positive thing about using contact paper is the book can be cleaned easily with a bit of soap and a rag and not harm the cover. One downside to covering the book with contact paper or tape is that the cover may tend to bend outward and not lie nice and flat.
My post of September 27, 2011 was about taping paperbacks and I demonstrated how I do our paperback books here with pictures. If you are interested in seeing the process, go to sdalibrarian.blogspot.com and find the post for September 27, 2011. (If you are reading this right now, you are already on my blog! You can just quickly click over to the September 27, 2011 entry.)
Some minor changes have been made to the details of the materials I used back in 2011. I used to order nearly all my library materials from Highsmith, an online library supply source. Since then, Demco bought Highsmith and now I buy my supplies from Demco. I used to buy Scotch 845 book tape, and last year learned that Demco has book tape that is less expensive. I tried it and it works just as well.
We learned that using packing tape just does not work and is NOT a good idea. I recommend the Demco Premium brand which is just like the Scotch 845 brand and is at least $1.00 cheaper per roll.
I encourage you to go to my blog and see the pictures of me taping a book and you can decide for yourself if this is something you want to do. Some people don’t want to tape old beat up paperbacks, but start taping the new ones as they come in. This job is fairly easy and careful students can be trained to do this for you.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
My post for September 27, 2011 was about taping paperback books so they will last longer. In a smaller school, this might not be quite so important simply because you have fewer students handling the books over and over. But in a school that is larger, taping the books is really a cost-saving procedure in the long run. Paperback books can look ‘used and old’ very quickly particularly on the spines and edges of the book. By covering the edges of the covers and the spine, the book is reinforced and the tape covers the parts of the book that are used the most so the book is better protected.
Some people put contact paper over the entire cover. This works, but can be more expensive to do. One positive thing about using contact paper is the book can be cleaned easily with a bit of soap and a rag and not harm the cover. One downside to covering the book with contact paper or tape is that the cover may tend to bend outward and not lie nice and flat.
My post of September 27, 2011 was about taping paperbacks and I demonstrated how I do our paperback books here with pictures. If you are interested in seeing the process, go to sdalibrarian.blogspot.com and find the post for September 27, 2011. (If you are reading this right now, you are already on my blog! You can just quickly click over to the September 27, 2011 entry.)
Some minor changes have been made to the details of the materials I used back in 2011. I used to order nearly all my library materials from Highsmith, an online library supply source. Since then, Demco bought Highsmith and now I buy my supplies from Demco. I used to buy Scotch 845 book tape, and last year learned that Demco has book tape that is less expensive. I tried it and it works just as well.
We learned that using packing tape just does not work and is NOT a good idea. I recommend the Demco Premium brand which is just like the Scotch 845 brand and is at least $1.00 cheaper per roll.
I encourage you to go to my blog and see the pictures of me taping a book and you can decide for yourself if this is something you want to do. Some people don’t want to tape old beat up paperbacks, but start taping the new ones as they come in. This job is fairly easy and careful students can be trained to do this for you.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, March 2, 2015
Library Distribution Guidelines
Hello,
Some of you have asked at different times about guidelines for library distribution. 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?
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.
For a really quick check, look in the 000s to see if you have books on world records, and question and answer books.
Do you have books about libraries, friendship and friends, and computer information in the 100s?
We are all well over the recommendation for the 200s since we usually have lots of Bible stories.
In the 300s, you’ll find careers, military, holidays, ecology, immigration, recycling, study skills, language arts, manners, and much more.
The 400s include books on languages. Books like The First 1000 Words in Spanish or sign language fit in here. We’re usually pretty good with the 500s since we have lots on science, animals, and nature.
Most of us have plenty of books in the 500s, but do you have books on other sciences such as chemistry, math, physics, astronomy, earth science, paleontology, rocks and minerals? Try to include a wide variety here.
The 600s include technology, medicine, health, diseases, transportation, agriculture, pets, cooking, carpentry and building, plus the ever popular Lego books (in my library!).
In the 700s we have art, artists, drawing books, photography, games, recreation, sports, and jokes and riddles.
Most of us are doing fine in the 800 section and have plenty of stories and literature. Don’t forget that poetry also belongs here. See if you have any poetry books for children to read and enjoy.
We are usually doing well in the 900s, too. History and geography books belong here. At my school we separate out the biography into its own section and our schools usually do just fine in the Biography section, too. One thing to look for is atlases and maps.
Here is a table with some guidelines for distribution. (This information does not read as a table on the blog. I apologize.)
Dewey Subject Percentage of collection for K - 6 Percentage of collection for 7 - 12 Approximate # for a total collection of 4000 books (elementary)
000 – 099 General Works and Reference 2- 5% 6 – 8% 80 - 200
100 – 199 Philosophy, Psychology 0.5% 1 – 2% 20
200 – 299 Religion (Mythology) 1 – 2% 1 – 2% 40 - 80
300 – 399 Social Sciences, Folklore 5 – 10% 5 – 10% 200 – 400
400 – 499 Language 0.5% 2 – 5% 80 – 200
500 – 599 Pure Science 10% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
600 – 699 Applied Science 10% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
700 – 799 Fine Arts, Recreation 5% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
800 899 Literature and
Fiction 25% 25 – 35% 1000 - 1400
900 – 999 History, Geography, Biography 20% 20% 800
E Picture books 20 – 25% 800 - 1000
The table above was found in the book Administering the School Library Media Center, fourth edition, by Betty J. Morris, page 339. (I provided the number of books for your convenience.)
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. Have a great week.
Audrey
Some of you have asked at different times about guidelines for library distribution. 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?
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.
For a really quick check, look in the 000s to see if you have books on world records, and question and answer books.
Do you have books about libraries, friendship and friends, and computer information in the 100s?
We are all well over the recommendation for the 200s since we usually have lots of Bible stories.
In the 300s, you’ll find careers, military, holidays, ecology, immigration, recycling, study skills, language arts, manners, and much more.
The 400s include books on languages. Books like The First 1000 Words in Spanish or sign language fit in here. We’re usually pretty good with the 500s since we have lots on science, animals, and nature.
Most of us have plenty of books in the 500s, but do you have books on other sciences such as chemistry, math, physics, astronomy, earth science, paleontology, rocks and minerals? Try to include a wide variety here.
The 600s include technology, medicine, health, diseases, transportation, agriculture, pets, cooking, carpentry and building, plus the ever popular Lego books (in my library!).
In the 700s we have art, artists, drawing books, photography, games, recreation, sports, and jokes and riddles.
Most of us are doing fine in the 800 section and have plenty of stories and literature. Don’t forget that poetry also belongs here. See if you have any poetry books for children to read and enjoy.
We are usually doing well in the 900s, too. History and geography books belong here. At my school we separate out the biography into its own section and our schools usually do just fine in the Biography section, too. One thing to look for is atlases and maps.
Here is a table with some guidelines for distribution. (This information does not read as a table on the blog. I apologize.)
Dewey Subject Percentage of collection for K - 6 Percentage of collection for 7 - 12 Approximate # for a total collection of 4000 books (elementary)
000 – 099 General Works and Reference 2- 5% 6 – 8% 80 - 200
100 – 199 Philosophy, Psychology 0.5% 1 – 2% 20
200 – 299 Religion (Mythology) 1 – 2% 1 – 2% 40 - 80
300 – 399 Social Sciences, Folklore 5 – 10% 5 – 10% 200 – 400
400 – 499 Language 0.5% 2 – 5% 80 – 200
500 – 599 Pure Science 10% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
600 – 699 Applied Science 10% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
700 – 799 Fine Arts, Recreation 5% 5 – 10% 200 - 400
800 899 Literature and
Fiction 25% 25 – 35% 1000 - 1400
900 – 999 History, Geography, Biography 20% 20% 800
E Picture books 20 – 25% 800 - 1000
The table above was found in the book Administering the School Library Media Center, fourth edition, by Betty J. Morris, page 339. (I provided the number of books for your convenience.)
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. Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, February 23, 2015
Library Shelving and Safety
Greetings!
I was checking my email this morning and something caught my eye. It was a question on an email digest about shelving and safety issues. The writer asked this question.
“Can anyone tell me what is the correct type of shelving to be used in a Media Center to place books on? We currently have shelving units that you can purchase at Lowes or Target, but I have noticed that they are beginning to “bow” plus the shelving units are not attached to the wall so they can tip over easily. Is there a certain requirement by law for school shelving? If so, what is it?”
I thought that was an interesting question. I decided to see what I could learn about safety regulations for school library shelving and was a bit surprised to not find a lot. What I did learn is that any shelving – library or other – that is over 6 feet tall must be attached to the wall or floor and ceiling. The shelves need to be attached to studs, not the drywall. One other thing is that ADA regulations give a minimum of 36” between stacks and 42” is preferred if there is room. My information comes from the FEMA and ALA (American Library Association) websites.
So check your library shelving and also any other shelving in your school. Make sure that any shelves 6 feet or taller are attached firmly to the wall.
If you are using shelving from Lowes or Target or other similar places, check to make sure your shelves aren’t bowing. (I have this kind of shelving at home and am having no problems even though they are FULL.) If you are looking for new shelving, consider bookstore shelving. The shelving is a slight triangle from the side, and the shelves are slightly slanted to make reading titles easier. Ours are just under 5 feet tall and are very sturdy.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
I was checking my email this morning and something caught my eye. It was a question on an email digest about shelving and safety issues. The writer asked this question.
“Can anyone tell me what is the correct type of shelving to be used in a Media Center to place books on? We currently have shelving units that you can purchase at Lowes or Target, but I have noticed that they are beginning to “bow” plus the shelving units are not attached to the wall so they can tip over easily. Is there a certain requirement by law for school shelving? If so, what is it?”
I thought that was an interesting question. I decided to see what I could learn about safety regulations for school library shelving and was a bit surprised to not find a lot. What I did learn is that any shelving – library or other – that is over 6 feet tall must be attached to the wall or floor and ceiling. The shelves need to be attached to studs, not the drywall. One other thing is that ADA regulations give a minimum of 36” between stacks and 42” is preferred if there is room. My information comes from the FEMA and ALA (American Library Association) websites.
So check your library shelving and also any other shelving in your school. Make sure that any shelves 6 feet or taller are attached firmly to the wall.
If you are using shelving from Lowes or Target or other similar places, check to make sure your shelves aren’t bowing. (I have this kind of shelving at home and am having no problems even though they are FULL.) If you are looking for new shelving, consider bookstore shelving. The shelving is a slight triangle from the side, and the shelves are slightly slanted to make reading titles easier. Ours are just under 5 feet tall and are very sturdy.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
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