Hello,
I had a great question last week from a librarian wondering about allowing the community to check out books from the school library. Likely many of us have this same issue. Do you have homeschoolers wanting to use your library? How about church members? Parents? What are the ramifications of letting people other than your students use the library?
Here are some pros and cons to this particular situation.
Pros
1. It is good PR for your school. We all need as much good PR as we can get.
2. Our job is to promote literacy and this puts reading materials into more hands.
3. It is a low-key recruiting tool. It brings in future students. Parents with young children visit the library for books and the children get used to coming to the school. Homeschoolers may be impressed by what you offer at your school and decide to enroll. At the very least, they will be supporting your school verbally.
4. It can offer a service to the church members. It is a solid connection for church and school. You will reach people who don’t have children in the school, but they may visit the library and will feel a part of the school in that way.
Cons
1. You may lose some books. Face it. When we check books out to others, books will be lost.
2. If you check out to patrons other than students, the books may not be available when students need them for school purposes.
3. The visitors may come at an inopportune time.
4. Your library is not a public library. The purpose of your library is to support the school curriculum.
If we agree that it is a good idea to have community patrons, let’s make a policy for them to avoid some of those cons. Write up a policy for your library materials.
It may be that your church family considers the school library to be theirs, too. This should not be a problem. Make them library patrons with a card for themselves. You can have a separate card file for the community patrons and give them supervised library times. I have a simple policy for community patrons and a simple library card application. Each year patrons fill out a new application and update any information. Basic information to include on the application is name, address, all phone numbers. I also have a space to write the names of their school-age children.
I give each community patron a copy of our library policy and specifically mention the first one to them so they know that we may ask them to return the books ahead of time if a teacher or student needs that particular book. They all have understood and don’t seem to mind this at all. I also let them know the best times for them to come to check out books and which times the library will not be available to them. This information can be on the policy page.
Here is a copy of my policy. You are welcome to adapt this to your particular situation. If you have a policy for community members and are willing to share it with us, please send it to me. I’ll be happy to pass this information along.
Library Policies
1. Please note that the students and faculty of Rogers Adventist School have priority to all library materials. All loaned materials may be recalled at short notice if they are required for use by a student and/or faculty member.
2. If items are lost or damaged beyond repair, the borrower must pay a fee to replace the item. The fee will be the cost of the book plus a $5.00 nonrefundable processing fee. The Library does not accept materials in lieu of payment.
3. Books may be borrowed for a one-week period. However, books may be renewed each week. Patrons must bring in the books in order to renew them.
4. There are no fines for overdue materials. However, patrons will not be allowed check-out privileges when they have overdue materials.
5. The loan of seasonal books (i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) may be limited. Also certain subjects that classes are studying will be limited for the time period the class needs them.
6. The suggested limit is five books. This number may vary as need and availability dictates.
I would caution you about one thing. Our school libraries are there to support the school curriculum, not the wishes of the community.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Book Fair
Post for April 20, 2010
Book Fair Ideas
Hello,
This week I am in the middle of my spring Scholastic Book Fair and I thought I would just tell you what I do and how I run one. That way, you can use my experience to decide if you want to try this or not.
I hold two Scholastic Book Fairs a year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Scholastic is very good at helping and supporting me with each fair. A few weeks before the fair I receive a box filled with posters to personalize and flyers to send home with the students. I fill in the posters with the dates and times and I make stickers for the flyers. I use Avery # 5163 2” X 4” shipping labels and put the dates and times of the fair on that label. I also use Avery # 5160 address label and put a disclaimer on that. “Please note that not all the books seen in this flyer may be available at our book fair.” This is a good job for kids to do. I have my Library Club members place the stickers on the flyers. They love this job.
About a week before the fair I put up the posters around the school and send the flyers home. I hold my fair in the library and sometimes I decorate for the particular theme that Scholastic is using. The flyers and decorating and posters help to increase the excitement for the fair. Often there is a DVD in the box with information about a few of the books and authors. I preview this ahead of time and choose which segments I plan to show to the students.
When the book fair actually arrives, it is usually delivered in Scholastic’s semi truck with Clifford the Big Red Dog painted on the side. Since I am the librarian and not a classroom teacher, I begin right away. The Scholastic delivery person brings the cases in to the school and I figure out the placement of each case. Most schools will have four or five cases plus boxes, but since we are a large school, I usually get seven cases plus boxes. Inside the cases are shelves with books arranged on them. Inside the boxes are more books, toys, plush animals, activities, games, software, pens and pencils, bookmarks, notepads, stickers, erasers, and more. I place the cases around and open them up, and then my assistant and I begin to organize all this stuff on tables and counters. She takes care of all the pens, pencils and other smaller items and I start to cull the books. I look over all the shelves in the cases carefully and pull off the ones that aren’t appropriate for our school. I put them on the top of the cases for the time being. As we arrange items from the boxes on tables and counters, I use the boxes we empty to pack away the books that I put on top of the cases. This way any inappropriate books are packed away and not seen. There have been times that I wondered if I would have any books left on the shelves! But I have always had enough other books to take their places. I often have volunteers come help with the set up. I am so happy when I can have a creative parent arrange items on a table since decorating is not really my gift. We put the boxes out of sight in a closet or under the tables.
As the fair runs, we have two cashier areas where people can pay. If I see that some items are getting low, I can send a restock request to Scholastic and within a couple of days my restock items will arrive and I put them on the shelves. I usually take a look around and see what titles I know will be popular and actually send a restock order before the fair even starts!
The benefits of holding a book fair are many. You will earn Scholastic Dollars to spend on books or other materials from the Resource Catalog. I always use some credit to buy books off the book fair to put in our library, or books to use for prizes throughout the year, and books for gifts for my helpers. I also have saved up and purchased items of furniture found in the catalog to spice up the library.
If you decide to hold a Scholastic Book Fair, you’ll have a wonderful, busy, exciting time. You can contact Scholastic to learn more. I would recommend attending a free Book Fair Workshop for ideas and help. If you are a classroom teacher as well as the librarian, you might get your Home and School to run a book fair for you.
Have a wonderful week!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Book Fair Ideas
Hello,
This week I am in the middle of my spring Scholastic Book Fair and I thought I would just tell you what I do and how I run one. That way, you can use my experience to decide if you want to try this or not.
I hold two Scholastic Book Fairs a year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Scholastic is very good at helping and supporting me with each fair. A few weeks before the fair I receive a box filled with posters to personalize and flyers to send home with the students. I fill in the posters with the dates and times and I make stickers for the flyers. I use Avery # 5163 2” X 4” shipping labels and put the dates and times of the fair on that label. I also use Avery # 5160 address label and put a disclaimer on that. “Please note that not all the books seen in this flyer may be available at our book fair.” This is a good job for kids to do. I have my Library Club members place the stickers on the flyers. They love this job.
About a week before the fair I put up the posters around the school and send the flyers home. I hold my fair in the library and sometimes I decorate for the particular theme that Scholastic is using. The flyers and decorating and posters help to increase the excitement for the fair. Often there is a DVD in the box with information about a few of the books and authors. I preview this ahead of time and choose which segments I plan to show to the students.
When the book fair actually arrives, it is usually delivered in Scholastic’s semi truck with Clifford the Big Red Dog painted on the side. Since I am the librarian and not a classroom teacher, I begin right away. The Scholastic delivery person brings the cases in to the school and I figure out the placement of each case. Most schools will have four or five cases plus boxes, but since we are a large school, I usually get seven cases plus boxes. Inside the cases are shelves with books arranged on them. Inside the boxes are more books, toys, plush animals, activities, games, software, pens and pencils, bookmarks, notepads, stickers, erasers, and more. I place the cases around and open them up, and then my assistant and I begin to organize all this stuff on tables and counters. She takes care of all the pens, pencils and other smaller items and I start to cull the books. I look over all the shelves in the cases carefully and pull off the ones that aren’t appropriate for our school. I put them on the top of the cases for the time being. As we arrange items from the boxes on tables and counters, I use the boxes we empty to pack away the books that I put on top of the cases. This way any inappropriate books are packed away and not seen. There have been times that I wondered if I would have any books left on the shelves! But I have always had enough other books to take their places. I often have volunteers come help with the set up. I am so happy when I can have a creative parent arrange items on a table since decorating is not really my gift. We put the boxes out of sight in a closet or under the tables.
As the fair runs, we have two cashier areas where people can pay. If I see that some items are getting low, I can send a restock request to Scholastic and within a couple of days my restock items will arrive and I put them on the shelves. I usually take a look around and see what titles I know will be popular and actually send a restock order before the fair even starts!
The benefits of holding a book fair are many. You will earn Scholastic Dollars to spend on books or other materials from the Resource Catalog. I always use some credit to buy books off the book fair to put in our library, or books to use for prizes throughout the year, and books for gifts for my helpers. I also have saved up and purchased items of furniture found in the catalog to spice up the library.
If you decide to hold a Scholastic Book Fair, you’ll have a wonderful, busy, exciting time. You can contact Scholastic to learn more. I would recommend attending a free Book Fair Workshop for ideas and help. If you are a classroom teacher as well as the librarian, you might get your Home and School to run a book fair for you.
Have a wonderful week!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Choosing Fiction for the Library
Hello,
I received a great question today. Many of us have concerns about our fiction section and want to make sure we are putting in good quality books, but we also want the kids to be reading what we put in our libraries. We can put wonderful stories in there, but if the kids won’t read them, it is a waste of money.
So what do we want to put in our libraries? What are other libraries from Adventist Schools putting in their libraries? Am I the only one who hesitates to put fantasy or just silly stories on my shelves?
Here is one way that I select books for Rogers Adventist School library. I have the following goals and selection criteria in my library policy.
Goals
Rogers Adventist School Media Center has the following goals for the media center collection.
1. To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served.
2. To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.
3. To provide materials representative of many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contribution of our American heritage.
Criteria for Selection
The Media Center Director is guided in selection of materials by professional book reviews and standard bibliographies. Recommendations from the patrons will be given careful consideration for purchase.
The Library’s collection will be built to meet the needs and interests of Rogers School. Materials are selected to reflect the varying age groups, abilities, and interests of the patrons. All materials to be selected are subjected to the following criteria as they are applicable:
Current interest and usefulness
Permanent value
Comprehensive in scope
Relevance to the existing collection
High standards of quality in content
Cost in relation to the individual title and to the overall collection
Availability of funds and space
Attention of critics, reviewers, and public
Balance of viewpoints in the collection
Strengths and weaknesses of the existing collection
SDA values
Our students know that books such as Harry Potter and other high fantasy do not really belong in a SDA library. Most of us have no problem deciding on this. Some of us have no problem including the Chronicles of Narnia in our libraries since this is religious allegory, but other consider it high fantasy and choose not to have these books in their libraries. But what about books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Lemony Snicket series? What do we do with other fiction?
I know that many students are reading books that we as Adventist teachers and librarians do not really approve. One problem is that we have parents who either don’t care what their children read or they don’t know what they are reading. When a student comes to me to ask if I have a particular title, we look it up on the computer and when it isn’t there, I ask them what it is about that book that they especially like. Is it the adventure story, or about kids doing exciting things, or that it is a thick book? Then I tell them that we have books about adventures, or thick books and guide them to what I have in my library. If they seem hesitant, I say in a casual way, “Why don’t you take this and start reading it? If you don’t like it, bring it back tomorrow and we’ll find something else for you.” I cannot stress enough how important it is to say this in a casual, offhand way. I almost NEVER say, “You’ll love this book!” Too many times it is the kiss of death for that book. I WILL say, “You might like this book. A lot of the junior high students have enjoyed it.” Now THAT is high praise especially for a 5th or 6th grader. “I’m reading a ‘junior high’ book?”
If a student continues to question why a certain book isn’t in the library, I suggest you discuss this with them in an interested way. If you haven’t read the book, or even if you have, ask them why they feel that the book belongs in our church school library. You might make out a little form that students can fill out with the book information and a little essay describing how it fits SDA values. Ask them to help you evaluate the book by filling out the form. If the book is worthwhile, you might have a new book in your library. If not, the student will at least have been heard and treated with respect.
For the record, I do not have Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Lemony Snicket series in our library. I feel that those books they can get at the public library or at a book fair. I have kept both those titles on my book fair shelves, and read the Lemony Snicket series myself. When I am asked by students why I don’t get them for our library, I tell them that they really aren’t the kind of books that fit in an Adventist school library. If you have them in your library, I am not here to criticize you for it. I just decided that it wasn’t a fight I was willing to fight. Those titles weren’t worth the fight.
I hope this helps. Library life can get a little sticky sometimes. For those of you who are new this year, check out my blog and see my previous posts.
Have a great week.
Audrey
I received a great question today. Many of us have concerns about our fiction section and want to make sure we are putting in good quality books, but we also want the kids to be reading what we put in our libraries. We can put wonderful stories in there, but if the kids won’t read them, it is a waste of money.
So what do we want to put in our libraries? What are other libraries from Adventist Schools putting in their libraries? Am I the only one who hesitates to put fantasy or just silly stories on my shelves?
Here is one way that I select books for Rogers Adventist School library. I have the following goals and selection criteria in my library policy.
Goals
Rogers Adventist School Media Center has the following goals for the media center collection.
1. To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served.
2. To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.
3. To provide materials representative of many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contribution of our American heritage.
Criteria for Selection
The Media Center Director is guided in selection of materials by professional book reviews and standard bibliographies. Recommendations from the patrons will be given careful consideration for purchase.
The Library’s collection will be built to meet the needs and interests of Rogers School. Materials are selected to reflect the varying age groups, abilities, and interests of the patrons. All materials to be selected are subjected to the following criteria as they are applicable:
Current interest and usefulness
Permanent value
Comprehensive in scope
Relevance to the existing collection
High standards of quality in content
Cost in relation to the individual title and to the overall collection
Availability of funds and space
Attention of critics, reviewers, and public
Balance of viewpoints in the collection
Strengths and weaknesses of the existing collection
SDA values
Our students know that books such as Harry Potter and other high fantasy do not really belong in a SDA library. Most of us have no problem deciding on this. Some of us have no problem including the Chronicles of Narnia in our libraries since this is religious allegory, but other consider it high fantasy and choose not to have these books in their libraries. But what about books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Lemony Snicket series? What do we do with other fiction?
I know that many students are reading books that we as Adventist teachers and librarians do not really approve. One problem is that we have parents who either don’t care what their children read or they don’t know what they are reading. When a student comes to me to ask if I have a particular title, we look it up on the computer and when it isn’t there, I ask them what it is about that book that they especially like. Is it the adventure story, or about kids doing exciting things, or that it is a thick book? Then I tell them that we have books about adventures, or thick books and guide them to what I have in my library. If they seem hesitant, I say in a casual way, “Why don’t you take this and start reading it? If you don’t like it, bring it back tomorrow and we’ll find something else for you.” I cannot stress enough how important it is to say this in a casual, offhand way. I almost NEVER say, “You’ll love this book!” Too many times it is the kiss of death for that book. I WILL say, “You might like this book. A lot of the junior high students have enjoyed it.” Now THAT is high praise especially for a 5th or 6th grader. “I’m reading a ‘junior high’ book?”
If a student continues to question why a certain book isn’t in the library, I suggest you discuss this with them in an interested way. If you haven’t read the book, or even if you have, ask them why they feel that the book belongs in our church school library. You might make out a little form that students can fill out with the book information and a little essay describing how it fits SDA values. Ask them to help you evaluate the book by filling out the form. If the book is worthwhile, you might have a new book in your library. If not, the student will at least have been heard and treated with respect.
For the record, I do not have Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Lemony Snicket series in our library. I feel that those books they can get at the public library or at a book fair. I have kept both those titles on my book fair shelves, and read the Lemony Snicket series myself. When I am asked by students why I don’t get them for our library, I tell them that they really aren’t the kind of books that fit in an Adventist school library. If you have them in your library, I am not here to criticize you for it. I just decided that it wasn’t a fight I was willing to fight. Those titles weren’t worth the fight.
I hope this helps. Library life can get a little sticky sometimes. For those of you who are new this year, check out my blog and see my previous posts.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, April 5, 2010
Weeding in the 500s Part 1
Greetings!
This month we will be weeding in the 500’s. This may be a very large section so we will just do part of it in order to keep it easier for you.
The 500 – 510 section has basic science overviews and science experiments. Science experiments are very popular in many schools. Science experiments tend to be the same year after year, but watch for some of the older books that may have outdated or unsafe material. One suggestion I have for this section is adding the “Einstein” books. “What Einstein Told His Barber” and “What Einstein Told His Cook” are both very popular with our junior high students. My paperback copies are now getting beat up, and I now buy these in hard cover.
The 510 section consists of Mathematics books. Math does not change rapidly so you will not likely have outdated books. Weeding here will be done on books that are in need of repair or aren’t being used.
Next comes the 520 section. This includes books on Space and Astronomy. Major changes happen regularly in these subjects. Check that the information in your library is up-to-date and correct. Pluto is not a planet any longer. These books need to be replaced as soon as possible. Do you have books on the Space Station? What about Mars expeditions? Let’s do our best to keep up-to-date in this section.
That is plenty to take care of for now. In all these sections, take a look at the date and look carefully through any book over five years old. Many of them you will be able to keep, but others may have information that is incorrect. Keeping these books for ‘historical’ purposes is doing a disservice to our children. It is better to have a few good books in this section and have them be accurate than to have many inaccurate ones.
Have a great week!
Audrey
This month we will be weeding in the 500’s. This may be a very large section so we will just do part of it in order to keep it easier for you.
The 500 – 510 section has basic science overviews and science experiments. Science experiments are very popular in many schools. Science experiments tend to be the same year after year, but watch for some of the older books that may have outdated or unsafe material. One suggestion I have for this section is adding the “Einstein” books. “What Einstein Told His Barber” and “What Einstein Told His Cook” are both very popular with our junior high students. My paperback copies are now getting beat up, and I now buy these in hard cover.
The 510 section consists of Mathematics books. Math does not change rapidly so you will not likely have outdated books. Weeding here will be done on books that are in need of repair or aren’t being used.
Next comes the 520 section. This includes books on Space and Astronomy. Major changes happen regularly in these subjects. Check that the information in your library is up-to-date and correct. Pluto is not a planet any longer. These books need to be replaced as soon as possible. Do you have books on the Space Station? What about Mars expeditions? Let’s do our best to keep up-to-date in this section.
That is plenty to take care of for now. In all these sections, take a look at the date and look carefully through any book over five years old. Many of them you will be able to keep, but others may have information that is incorrect. Keeping these books for ‘historical’ purposes is doing a disservice to our children. It is better to have a few good books in this section and have them be accurate than to have many inaccurate ones.
Have a great week!
Audrey
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Challenged Books
Hello,
Long, long ago I taught grades 5 – 8 in a two teacher school. I read the book Cheaper By the Dozen aloud to them after lunch and we all enjoyed the story. If you have read this book you know that there are a couple of places where the father swears. As I was reading, I seamlessly inserted the harmless “Oh, my goodness!” in those places. However, one spot came where I had to stop and explain that the story is true and wonderful, but the father used language that we felt was inappropriate and I had been substituting other words instead. One child took that book home and within a few days, father and pastor were visiting me after school. I mentioned the value of the book but they wanted it off the shelves. I then asked if either of them had read the book. They had not. I requested they read it first, but neither of them were interested in reading it. I then told them that I would check with the conference and another source to see what they thought of the book. Both the conference and my other source said that the book was a good one, but there was a bit of a language problem and they recommended I keep the book, but keep it in the upper grade classroom. I met with the pastor and told him of my decision to keep the book and why.
It certainly would have made my life easier if I had a policy in place ready in case anyone challenged a book from my library.
Recently I heard about a man who accessed the local school library catalog online and searched the terms ‘witch’ and ‘magic’. He came up with titles about magic tricks and also The Witch of Blackbird Pond. (If you haven’t read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, I highly recommend it for two very good reasons. One, it is a wonderful, well-written story about a Puritan family and the niece from Barbados who comes to live with them. Kit, the niece, makes friends with a Quaker woman who is different from the townspeople and when something bad happens, the Quaker woman is accused of being a witch. Two, this book will be challenged by the person who sees the title and hasn’t read it. So, if you have read it, you can tell them about the story and possibly alleviate a potential problem.)
No matter how hard we try to choose the best books for our libraries, we are human and are bound to make mistakes. At times these mistakes will certainly be found by students, parents or local church members. What do you do? Do these people have the right to remove books from the library? How will you handle this?
The best way is to have a policy in place. Think of it as accident insurance. You can research other schools’ policies online and tweak one to fit your particular situation. I recommend one that has the person who has registered a complaint read the material, point out where the problem or problems are and then have a committee review the complaint. No one person should be able to remove a book without a valid reason. Granted, there very well may be books that should be removed and it may be that when you see the complaint, you realize immediately that the book is inappropriate and promptly remove it from the shelf. According to your policy, you can immediately pull out the forms to request removal and have the complainant fill it out right away. Then you have written reason to remove the book, you can meet with the committee and have the book removed from the shelf.
Recap: Have a library policy in place for the following reasons.
1. You will appear professional. You are ready for this situation even if it never comes.
2. You will not stress as much. You have a procedure in place and you have a committee to help you with the decision.
3. Your complainer may choose to not do anything once he or she sees your policy and procedure. Situation resolved. You have done your part.
If you would like to have a copy of another Adventist school’s Library Policy and Challenge policy, email me and I will be happy to send it to you.
Meanwhile, know that you are not alone. We are all in this together.
Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Long, long ago I taught grades 5 – 8 in a two teacher school. I read the book Cheaper By the Dozen aloud to them after lunch and we all enjoyed the story. If you have read this book you know that there are a couple of places where the father swears. As I was reading, I seamlessly inserted the harmless “Oh, my goodness!” in those places. However, one spot came where I had to stop and explain that the story is true and wonderful, but the father used language that we felt was inappropriate and I had been substituting other words instead. One child took that book home and within a few days, father and pastor were visiting me after school. I mentioned the value of the book but they wanted it off the shelves. I then asked if either of them had read the book. They had not. I requested they read it first, but neither of them were interested in reading it. I then told them that I would check with the conference and another source to see what they thought of the book. Both the conference and my other source said that the book was a good one, but there was a bit of a language problem and they recommended I keep the book, but keep it in the upper grade classroom. I met with the pastor and told him of my decision to keep the book and why.
It certainly would have made my life easier if I had a policy in place ready in case anyone challenged a book from my library.
Recently I heard about a man who accessed the local school library catalog online and searched the terms ‘witch’ and ‘magic’. He came up with titles about magic tricks and also The Witch of Blackbird Pond. (If you haven’t read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, I highly recommend it for two very good reasons. One, it is a wonderful, well-written story about a Puritan family and the niece from Barbados who comes to live with them. Kit, the niece, makes friends with a Quaker woman who is different from the townspeople and when something bad happens, the Quaker woman is accused of being a witch. Two, this book will be challenged by the person who sees the title and hasn’t read it. So, if you have read it, you can tell them about the story and possibly alleviate a potential problem.)
No matter how hard we try to choose the best books for our libraries, we are human and are bound to make mistakes. At times these mistakes will certainly be found by students, parents or local church members. What do you do? Do these people have the right to remove books from the library? How will you handle this?
The best way is to have a policy in place. Think of it as accident insurance. You can research other schools’ policies online and tweak one to fit your particular situation. I recommend one that has the person who has registered a complaint read the material, point out where the problem or problems are and then have a committee review the complaint. No one person should be able to remove a book without a valid reason. Granted, there very well may be books that should be removed and it may be that when you see the complaint, you realize immediately that the book is inappropriate and promptly remove it from the shelf. According to your policy, you can immediately pull out the forms to request removal and have the complainant fill it out right away. Then you have written reason to remove the book, you can meet with the committee and have the book removed from the shelf.
Recap: Have a library policy in place for the following reasons.
1. You will appear professional. You are ready for this situation even if it never comes.
2. You will not stress as much. You have a procedure in place and you have a committee to help you with the decision.
3. Your complainer may choose to not do anything once he or she sees your policy and procedure. Situation resolved. You have done your part.
If you would like to have a copy of another Adventist school’s Library Policy and Challenge policy, email me and I will be happy to send it to you.
Meanwhile, know that you are not alone. We are all in this together.
Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Book Swap Anyone?
Greetings!
I’ve been giving out titles of good books for the last few weeks and I thought I’d think of something else for you this week.
Why don’t you hold a Book Swap? Hold it in May near the end of the year and students will leave with ‘new’ books to read over the summer. What is a Book Swap, I hear you asking. A Book Swap is just that. Students bring books they no longer want or have outgrown and swap them for books they want. I held a Book Swap just before Christmas for the junior high students only. Here is what I did and what I learned.
Students bring in books they want to swap. For each book brought in the student receives a ticket. On the day of the swap, the student can redeem the ticket for a book. If they bring in 10 books, they get 10 tickets and can swap for 10 books. It’s really pretty simple. But here are some hints that may help make your Book Swap run smoothly.
1. Be sure that children have parent permission to swap the books. You’ll have to decide what will work best for you.
2. I had the students keep track of their own tickets. I did this with our junior high earlier this year. If they lost their ticket, too bad. You might choose to handle this differently, but I decided I did not want to be responsible for tickets for 90 students!
3. Check the books as they come in and don’t give tickets for books that aren’t appropriate for other students in your school. This can be handled with kindness and tact. I told the students ahead of time to bring books that were appropriate for an Adventist school and also to bring books that other junior high students would enjoy. If they brought a book that they had outgrown, other junior high students wouldn’t want it either. (I plan to do another one in May with the whole school participating.)
4. I set up the books in the library and sort of organized them into sections. Basically, I had one area for nonfiction and another for fiction.
5. Students came in to ‘shop’ and left with the books they ‘bought’ with their tickets.
6. I made sure that students knew ahead of time that there was a possibility that they might bring in 8 books, but only find 2 or 3 that they really liked.
7. I set a time period of about an hour or two for only those with tickets to come and buy books. After that time period, I then opened it up to others to buy books for $0.25 each. The money went into the library petty cash, not to the students.
8. One good idea that I read from another school is to let the older students go first. The first year that school had Kindergarteners choosing chapter books over the picture books and there was nothing much left for the older students! The next year they let the older students go through first and there was plenty to choose from. That school then sold their extra books for ten cents apiece after the ticket shopping was done.
9. If you have done some weeding, consider including those weeded books in with your Book Swap. I also brought some of my books from home that I no longer wanted.
If you have held a Book Swap, you might have some good ideas to share with us. What worked for you and what would you change another time?
I hope you have a great week and a safe Spring Vacation!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
I’ve been giving out titles of good books for the last few weeks and I thought I’d think of something else for you this week.
Why don’t you hold a Book Swap? Hold it in May near the end of the year and students will leave with ‘new’ books to read over the summer. What is a Book Swap, I hear you asking. A Book Swap is just that. Students bring books they no longer want or have outgrown and swap them for books they want. I held a Book Swap just before Christmas for the junior high students only. Here is what I did and what I learned.
Students bring in books they want to swap. For each book brought in the student receives a ticket. On the day of the swap, the student can redeem the ticket for a book. If they bring in 10 books, they get 10 tickets and can swap for 10 books. It’s really pretty simple. But here are some hints that may help make your Book Swap run smoothly.
1. Be sure that children have parent permission to swap the books. You’ll have to decide what will work best for you.
2. I had the students keep track of their own tickets. I did this with our junior high earlier this year. If they lost their ticket, too bad. You might choose to handle this differently, but I decided I did not want to be responsible for tickets for 90 students!
3. Check the books as they come in and don’t give tickets for books that aren’t appropriate for other students in your school. This can be handled with kindness and tact. I told the students ahead of time to bring books that were appropriate for an Adventist school and also to bring books that other junior high students would enjoy. If they brought a book that they had outgrown, other junior high students wouldn’t want it either. (I plan to do another one in May with the whole school participating.)
4. I set up the books in the library and sort of organized them into sections. Basically, I had one area for nonfiction and another for fiction.
5. Students came in to ‘shop’ and left with the books they ‘bought’ with their tickets.
6. I made sure that students knew ahead of time that there was a possibility that they might bring in 8 books, but only find 2 or 3 that they really liked.
7. I set a time period of about an hour or two for only those with tickets to come and buy books. After that time period, I then opened it up to others to buy books for $0.25 each. The money went into the library petty cash, not to the students.
8. One good idea that I read from another school is to let the older students go first. The first year that school had Kindergarteners choosing chapter books over the picture books and there was nothing much left for the older students! The next year they let the older students go through first and there was plenty to choose from. That school then sold their extra books for ten cents apiece after the ticket shopping was done.
9. If you have done some weeding, consider including those weeded books in with your Book Swap. I also brought some of my books from home that I no longer wanted.
If you have held a Book Swap, you might have some good ideas to share with us. What worked for you and what would you change another time?
I hope you have a great week and a safe Spring Vacation!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
New Books
Hi,
Here are some titles that have been published within the last year or two. I’m going to try to give a one sentence summary. This will be difficult for me since I really want to share the WHOLE THING with you because it is so good. But the shorter the summary, the more books I can share!
My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams and Khandra Mohammed. A young Sudanese refugee adapts to America and keeps the dignity of his name.
Tsunami! By Kimiko Kajikawa. In 1854, Ojiisan saves his village from a tsunami by attracting them to his mountain by setting fire to his crops.
Tricking the Tallyman by Jacqueline Davies. A funny story of an early census taker and the town that tries to trick him.
My Uncle Emily by Jane Yolen. Emily Dickinson is “Uncle Emily” in this story told from the view of a young nephew.
The Dust Bowl: An Interactive History Adventure by Allison Lassieur. This is a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ type book about the Dust Bowl. Look for the one about the Titanic, too.
The Name Game: A Look Behind the Labels by Donna M. Jackson. Information presented in a funny way (at times) about names and where they originated. Names of people, pets, companies, rock stars, famous people, unusual names, origin of surnames, and much more.
Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia by Sy Montgomery. Information about Snow Leopards has been scarce until fairly recently thanks to the Planet Earth expedition.
Whaling Season: A Year in the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist by Peter Lourie. Photographs and text tell the story of the Inupiaq Eskimos along with John Craighead George, son of Jean Craighead George who is a noted children’s book author.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan adapted by Richie Chevat. Michael Pollan researches the food we eat and discusses how it is raised, processed, and or grown. Parts of this may be things you didn’t want to know.
Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins. It has gotten to the point that if Steve Jenkins writes a book I will buy it immediately. In case you didn’t know, monkeys show aggression by baring their teeth, so if you smile at them and show your teeth, you are showing aggression toward them. There is lots more of this kind of information in the book.
Marsupials by Nic Bishop. I learned about Nic Bishop this past summer. He is a photographer and illustrated his books with his stellar photos. His books have universal appeal to all ages. The photos are wonderful for non-readers and the text is appropriate for younger readers and older ones also. Check out his other books, too.
Well, it looks like I need to stop for this week. I’ll have to continue this next week.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Here are some titles that have been published within the last year or two. I’m going to try to give a one sentence summary. This will be difficult for me since I really want to share the WHOLE THING with you because it is so good. But the shorter the summary, the more books I can share!
My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams and Khandra Mohammed. A young Sudanese refugee adapts to America and keeps the dignity of his name.
Tsunami! By Kimiko Kajikawa. In 1854, Ojiisan saves his village from a tsunami by attracting them to his mountain by setting fire to his crops.
Tricking the Tallyman by Jacqueline Davies. A funny story of an early census taker and the town that tries to trick him.
My Uncle Emily by Jane Yolen. Emily Dickinson is “Uncle Emily” in this story told from the view of a young nephew.
The Dust Bowl: An Interactive History Adventure by Allison Lassieur. This is a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ type book about the Dust Bowl. Look for the one about the Titanic, too.
The Name Game: A Look Behind the Labels by Donna M. Jackson. Information presented in a funny way (at times) about names and where they originated. Names of people, pets, companies, rock stars, famous people, unusual names, origin of surnames, and much more.
Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia by Sy Montgomery. Information about Snow Leopards has been scarce until fairly recently thanks to the Planet Earth expedition.
Whaling Season: A Year in the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist by Peter Lourie. Photographs and text tell the story of the Inupiaq Eskimos along with John Craighead George, son of Jean Craighead George who is a noted children’s book author.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan adapted by Richie Chevat. Michael Pollan researches the food we eat and discusses how it is raised, processed, and or grown. Parts of this may be things you didn’t want to know.
Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins. It has gotten to the point that if Steve Jenkins writes a book I will buy it immediately. In case you didn’t know, monkeys show aggression by baring their teeth, so if you smile at them and show your teeth, you are showing aggression toward them. There is lots more of this kind of information in the book.
Marsupials by Nic Bishop. I learned about Nic Bishop this past summer. He is a photographer and illustrated his books with his stellar photos. His books have universal appeal to all ages. The photos are wonderful for non-readers and the text is appropriate for younger readers and older ones also. Check out his other books, too.
Well, it looks like I need to stop for this week. I’ll have to continue this next week.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
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