Hello!
Today I am continuing the post I started last week about new books. These are also books I will be using for our Sunflower Award this year. I believe I neglected to mention that these books are appropriate for readers in grades 5 – 8, or above. There isn’t anything inappropriate in them for the younger ones, but they (and the Newbery Award in general) are written for middle grades and upper elementary. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the younger children soon.
Fort by Cynthia DeFelice. (2015)
Two boys decide to build a fort in the woods one summer. Okay, it was near the edge of the woods, but it was in the woods. Sounds pretty perfect, right? Unfortunately, two bullies happen to find their fort and start to make trouble for Wyatt and Augie. Wyatt and Augie don’t want to fight, but they decide to stand up for themselves and the other boy, Gerard, that is being bullied because he is ‘retarded’ (the word used in the book.) They come up with a way to get even that even the adults approve of or at least, don’t disapprove. Adventure, comedy, and summer fun make this a great story for kids, and boys in particular.
Note: these are preteen boys and there are a couple of instances that one boy ogles the breasts of the other boy’s aunt. Example: “Her giant bosoms were poking out over the top of her V-neck shirt, right in front of my eyes. They looked like two soft pillows nestled in there.” Use your own judgment regarding this. For me, it was basically a one-liner, so I have opted to put the book in the library. I also really liked that Wyatt and Augie befriended Gerard, the boy who was mentally challenged and did not make fun of him, but included him in their activities.
Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt. (2015)
Tate Ellerbee needs a pen pal and chooses to write to Hank Williams, the country western singer since she listens to him on the radio every Saturday night with her great-aunt and great-uncle who are her guardians. Through her letters we learn about her family and the challenges she faces. There are some happy times and some poignant times, but for the most part Tate is an optimistic young girl just doing the best she can.
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. (2015)
Ally is smart. In fact, she is so smart, she has been able to hide from everyone including her teachers, the fact that she is unable to read. When she is in danger of being caught, she creates some kind of distraction, so has been branded a trouble-maker. But this new teacher happens to be smarter than Ally and he helps her shine by focusing on her gifts. He also helps her to be diagnosed with dyslexia and then encourages her to keep trying to read. This is a great story for children who have a learning disability to know that they aren’t alone and they CAN learn.
Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. (2014)
Willow Chance is a genius. She is strange and weird and she knows it. She doesn’t care. Early in the book, Willow’s adopted parents are killed in a car accident. She ends up staying temporarily at a classmate’s home until things get sorted out. Willow is a catalyst for change in the lives of both the classmate’s family situation and the school counselor’s life. So much is going on in the book, that it is really quite difficult to write a short review of this. Grab a copy and read it for yourself.
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. (2015)
Ada was born with a club foot. Her mother is ashamed of her twisted foot and does not let Ada out of the apartment, so for ten years, Ada has been stuck there. War comes and the British children are being sent to the country to be safe. Ada’s younger brother Jamie is to go to the train station. Ada knows that her life is bad enough now with a mother who treats her cruelly, and without her brother, it will be worse, so she sneaks out and joins him. They are placed with Susan who does not seem to want them, but she does her duty to feed and clothe them and take care of them. Ada sees a pony in the pasture and learns to ride, so finally she is able to move like the wind rather than crawl around. Over time the children and Susan bond and learn to love each other.
Parts of this story are difficult to read since the children’s mother is really very cruel to Ada. Ada’s resourcefulness and grit help her get through it and the story ends well for the children.
I got a request from one of my readers to let you know which books win. Next week I will give you the titles we have used for the last two years and let you know which ones won our award.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Currently reading:
Tangled Vines by Kay Bratt (Book 2 of The Scavenger’s Daughters)
Cloudy Jewel by Grace Livingston Hill
Adventist Spirituality for Thinkers and Seekers (the Faith I Highly Recommend) by John Thomas McLarty
The Haystacks Church by Andy Nash
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
New Books Part 1
Hello,
I have some wonderful new books to tell you about. Three years ago I started a program at my school that is similar to the Newbery Award that is given out each year to the best story written in that year.
Note: The Newbery is awarded by a group of adults who read all the published books in the year and discuss (read this to mean ‘argue’ at times) over which books will make the short list. Then the short list is discussed over a handful of meetings until one book is chosen and possibly a few are honor books. Out of about 1000 books, that is a LOT of reading for these people.
Many public libraries and middle school libraries conduct ‘Mock Newbery’ programs where students who want to read can read the books they can and their groups also discuss and choose the one they think or hope will actually win the Newbery.
I thought about doing something like this, but have shied away from it because so many of the new books aren’t appropriate for our schools and I often don’t purchase the winner each year because of this. One day about three years ago, I thought about doing something similar, but choosing 12 – 15 titles that were newer books and having students who are interested in reading be a part of this. We call our award the “Sunflower Award” because the sunflower has historical meaning for Rogers. I don’t have a lot of readers, but this is the third year for our award.
Here are some of the books that are on my list for this year. I will add more next week. If you have any students who are avid readers, these are titles that they might enjoy reading. If you don’t get them for your library, they might find them in the public library.
Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose (2015)
This is a historical novel in free verse about the Roanoke people and the English people. The story is written as journal entries from two girl’s point of view. Alis is English and Kimi is a Native American. The mystery of Roanoke Island is not solved, but we do learn more about each culture through the eyes of these two young women.
May B by Caroline Starr Rose (2012)
May’s father has volunteered for her to go and help out on a neighbor’s homestead until Christmas. May does not want to be there, but neither does the young wife. A terrible turn of events leaves May all alone and she must try to find food and fuel to make it through until Christmas. With winter upon her, and the walls of the sod house seeming to close in on her, she is stranded. This novel is also written in free verse.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2010)
The country is Sudan. Two young people facing problems. Two different time periods. In 1985 Salva’s village is attacked and he must join a mass of people traveling to escape the war. Salva is a survivor and travels across Africa to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya before getting a new home in the United States. In 2008 Nya walks eight hours a day to fetch water for her family. Her day is filled with the search for water until one blessed day when men with iron giraffes come and begin to dig near her village. The two stories mingle, first one, then another until they come together at the end.
Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson (2015)
I have never been homeless, so I don’t know what it is like having to find a place to stay night after night. This story is about a young preteen girl and her older brother who are on their own and trying to find a place for themselves. Her brother has a few friends that open their apartments to the siblings, but it is difficult for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork when she is going from place to place. She is embarrassed and doesn’t tell her best friend, so that creates a distance between them. Eventually, new friends help Ari deal with her life and she is able to stand up for herself.
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai (2015)
Culture clash comes when Mai is forced to go to Vietnam with her beloved grandmother for the summer. Mai is a Southern California girl ready for sunning, beaches, and being near her friends and possibly making friends with one special boy. But when she is sent to Vietnam, things are so different and strange, that Mai cannot wait to go back home. Mai does not speak the language and she does not know the customs of the country. Little by little she begins to adapt and accept her family and her heritage.
Next week I will tell you about a few more.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Currently reading: The Scavenger’s Daughters (Book One in The Tales of The Scavenger’s Daughters) by Kay Bratt
Currently Re-reading: The Haystacks Church by Andy Nash, At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
I have some wonderful new books to tell you about. Three years ago I started a program at my school that is similar to the Newbery Award that is given out each year to the best story written in that year.
Note: The Newbery is awarded by a group of adults who read all the published books in the year and discuss (read this to mean ‘argue’ at times) over which books will make the short list. Then the short list is discussed over a handful of meetings until one book is chosen and possibly a few are honor books. Out of about 1000 books, that is a LOT of reading for these people.
Many public libraries and middle school libraries conduct ‘Mock Newbery’ programs where students who want to read can read the books they can and their groups also discuss and choose the one they think or hope will actually win the Newbery.
I thought about doing something like this, but have shied away from it because so many of the new books aren’t appropriate for our schools and I often don’t purchase the winner each year because of this. One day about three years ago, I thought about doing something similar, but choosing 12 – 15 titles that were newer books and having students who are interested in reading be a part of this. We call our award the “Sunflower Award” because the sunflower has historical meaning for Rogers. I don’t have a lot of readers, but this is the third year for our award.
Here are some of the books that are on my list for this year. I will add more next week. If you have any students who are avid readers, these are titles that they might enjoy reading. If you don’t get them for your library, they might find them in the public library.
Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose (2015)
This is a historical novel in free verse about the Roanoke people and the English people. The story is written as journal entries from two girl’s point of view. Alis is English and Kimi is a Native American. The mystery of Roanoke Island is not solved, but we do learn more about each culture through the eyes of these two young women.
May B by Caroline Starr Rose (2012)
May’s father has volunteered for her to go and help out on a neighbor’s homestead until Christmas. May does not want to be there, but neither does the young wife. A terrible turn of events leaves May all alone and she must try to find food and fuel to make it through until Christmas. With winter upon her, and the walls of the sod house seeming to close in on her, she is stranded. This novel is also written in free verse.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2010)
The country is Sudan. Two young people facing problems. Two different time periods. In 1985 Salva’s village is attacked and he must join a mass of people traveling to escape the war. Salva is a survivor and travels across Africa to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya before getting a new home in the United States. In 2008 Nya walks eight hours a day to fetch water for her family. Her day is filled with the search for water until one blessed day when men with iron giraffes come and begin to dig near her village. The two stories mingle, first one, then another until they come together at the end.
Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson (2015)
I have never been homeless, so I don’t know what it is like having to find a place to stay night after night. This story is about a young preteen girl and her older brother who are on their own and trying to find a place for themselves. Her brother has a few friends that open their apartments to the siblings, but it is difficult for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork when she is going from place to place. She is embarrassed and doesn’t tell her best friend, so that creates a distance between them. Eventually, new friends help Ari deal with her life and she is able to stand up for herself.
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai (2015)
Culture clash comes when Mai is forced to go to Vietnam with her beloved grandmother for the summer. Mai is a Southern California girl ready for sunning, beaches, and being near her friends and possibly making friends with one special boy. But when she is sent to Vietnam, things are so different and strange, that Mai cannot wait to go back home. Mai does not speak the language and she does not know the customs of the country. Little by little she begins to adapt and accept her family and her heritage.
Next week I will tell you about a few more.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Currently reading: The Scavenger’s Daughters (Book One in The Tales of The Scavenger’s Daughters) by Kay Bratt
Currently Re-reading: The Haystacks Church by Andy Nash, At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Monday, September 14, 2015
What are You Reading?
Greetings!
As I was sitting here musing about what to write to you today and wondering if there was anything new I could say, I got a flash of brilliance. At least, I HOPE it was brilliance. In any case, these flashes don’t come along that often so I need to jump on them when they do come.
I was wondering what you all are reading? (If you aren’t reading anything, shame on you.) Anyway, I thought it would be a great school year project/bulletin board for your class. A bulletin board could be titled “What Are You Reading?” or something even more creative. Put your name up along with a strip of paper that has the title of the book you are currently reading. Each student’s name can be up with blank strips. Let them write the titles of the books they are currently reading and as you/they complete a book, put a new strip up. If you put the new title strip over the old one, by the end of the year, they will have a list of all the books they read over the school year. The students will be very interested in what you are reading. If you read some of the juvenile titles in your school library, they will check them out when you are done.
I taught third grade for years and I would go to the library and check out some chapter books that were about their reading level. During our silent reading period, I would be reading and would deliberately giggle quietly, then hush myself. After the silent period, students would ask what I was reading that was so funny. I told them and when I returned the book, someone would grab it. It was sneaky, but it worked. Even now, years later, I have some of those parents telling me that their children love to read because of me.
The only thing I did was to have a daily silent reading period and read great stories to the children. I promoted reading and let them know how much fun it could be.
If you put up a reading area similar to this idea, I’d like to know how it works for you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
As I was sitting here musing about what to write to you today and wondering if there was anything new I could say, I got a flash of brilliance. At least, I HOPE it was brilliance. In any case, these flashes don’t come along that often so I need to jump on them when they do come.
I was wondering what you all are reading? (If you aren’t reading anything, shame on you.) Anyway, I thought it would be a great school year project/bulletin board for your class. A bulletin board could be titled “What Are You Reading?” or something even more creative. Put your name up along with a strip of paper that has the title of the book you are currently reading. Each student’s name can be up with blank strips. Let them write the titles of the books they are currently reading and as you/they complete a book, put a new strip up. If you put the new title strip over the old one, by the end of the year, they will have a list of all the books they read over the school year. The students will be very interested in what you are reading. If you read some of the juvenile titles in your school library, they will check them out when you are done.
I taught third grade for years and I would go to the library and check out some chapter books that were about their reading level. During our silent reading period, I would be reading and would deliberately giggle quietly, then hush myself. After the silent period, students would ask what I was reading that was so funny. I told them and when I returned the book, someone would grab it. It was sneaky, but it worked. Even now, years later, I have some of those parents telling me that their children love to read because of me.
The only thing I did was to have a daily silent reading period and read great stories to the children. I promoted reading and let them know how much fun it could be.
If you put up a reading area similar to this idea, I’d like to know how it works for you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Welcome to the New School Year!
Hello!
I apologize for not starting this sooner, but I do have excuses. I was sick last week, and just plain forgot! I got out of the habit of my weekly email, and need to get back in!
I am Audrey Campbell, the Media Center Director at Rogers Adventist School in College Place, WA. I am starting my fifteenth year at Rogers. Before coming to College Place, I was teaching third grade at Keene Adventist Elementary School in Keene, TX, and previously to that I taught grades 5 – 9 in Tallahassee, FL. Each of these schools has something to do with the man I married. He was in graduate school at Florida State University in Tallahassee when we married, then went to Southwestern Adventist University to teach physics. After seventeen years in Keene, we transitioned to Walla Walla University. You may have noticed that my early teaching experience was in a classroom. When we moved here, the job the Lord gave me was the job in the library. I have learned a LOT and it is the perfect job for me. I love books and have been preparing for this position all my life. I didn’t realize it until I got here, but it is true. If you want to know more of this story, let me know. I am not shy.
Some of you have been getting my emails for years now and others of you are brand new to this. It has been six and a half years since I started as the Resource Librarian for the NPUC. Most of you are small schools teachers with either no librarian or a volunteer helper. Most of you have little experience in library and may not feel confident. You are the reason I am here. I am your librarian. If you have any questions or comments, email me. I will help you.
Now I have a bit of ‘homework’ for you. Please do one of both of these things.
1. Go to sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. This is my blog. After I send out my weekly email full of very interesting things to you, I post it to this blog. You can see that I have been posting since January of 2009. Check out any post you like, but bookmark this so you don’t forget where it is.
2. Make a list of the things you would like to know or things you would like to see in an email from me. What are your needs? What do you wish you could do in your classroom in regard to books or libraries this year? Send me the list and I will do my best to make these wishes come true.
I hope you have a wonderful school year. I want to hear from you, so don’t be hesitant to contact me.
Audrey
I apologize for not starting this sooner, but I do have excuses. I was sick last week, and just plain forgot! I got out of the habit of my weekly email, and need to get back in!
I am Audrey Campbell, the Media Center Director at Rogers Adventist School in College Place, WA. I am starting my fifteenth year at Rogers. Before coming to College Place, I was teaching third grade at Keene Adventist Elementary School in Keene, TX, and previously to that I taught grades 5 – 9 in Tallahassee, FL. Each of these schools has something to do with the man I married. He was in graduate school at Florida State University in Tallahassee when we married, then went to Southwestern Adventist University to teach physics. After seventeen years in Keene, we transitioned to Walla Walla University. You may have noticed that my early teaching experience was in a classroom. When we moved here, the job the Lord gave me was the job in the library. I have learned a LOT and it is the perfect job for me. I love books and have been preparing for this position all my life. I didn’t realize it until I got here, but it is true. If you want to know more of this story, let me know. I am not shy.
Some of you have been getting my emails for years now and others of you are brand new to this. It has been six and a half years since I started as the Resource Librarian for the NPUC. Most of you are small schools teachers with either no librarian or a volunteer helper. Most of you have little experience in library and may not feel confident. You are the reason I am here. I am your librarian. If you have any questions or comments, email me. I will help you.
Now I have a bit of ‘homework’ for you. Please do one of both of these things.
1. Go to sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. This is my blog. After I send out my weekly email full of very interesting things to you, I post it to this blog. You can see that I have been posting since January of 2009. Check out any post you like, but bookmark this so you don’t forget where it is.
2. Make a list of the things you would like to know or things you would like to see in an email from me. What are your needs? What do you wish you could do in your classroom in regard to books or libraries this year? Send me the list and I will do my best to make these wishes come true.
I hope you have a wonderful school year. I want to hear from you, so don’t be hesitant to contact me.
Audrey
Monday, June 1, 2015
Miscellaneous Musings
Greetings!
I have thought about a few things that I missed throughout the postings this year or thought of some items that really didn’t fit in the theme of the post each week, so here is my catch up day.
Dictionaries
It is my opinion that dictionaries for children or ones that say “Student” on them are often almost useless. Words that children want to know how to spell aren’t in them and they feel frustrated. I recommend that your school have a few copies of a really good dictionary. I bought The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition a couple of years ago and just love it. Yes, the children can go to the internet and find the words they need, but knowing how to use a dictionary is a life skill that is useful. This particular dictionary has lots of extras that you won’t find in most dictionaries. The pages before the dictionary words actually begins has lots of information. Regional Patterns of American Speech, Variation and Change in Our Living Language, Indo-European Roots, Semitic roots, and word history notes. I used this dictionary for a small group and we studied etymology of words and found some very interesting and very cool things. The dictionary also has many color photos and illustrations throughout the entire book. I really think you need one or two of these.
Encyclopedias
It is so easy to find information on the internet now, that encyclopedias are mostly online now. We all have access to the ones that the NAD or our unions subscribe to for us, but if your internet is not reliable at all times, you might want to keep one set. Keep your newest set. Toss the others. If anyone protests, ask them if they want their child learning from encyclopedias that are 25 + years old. If they do, give them the set!
Bibles
I know there is a particular Bible recommended for the Bible curriculum and it is great for each student to have their own Bible to use for the schoolwork. I also think it is good to have copies of other versions for comparison. I also recommend the Andrews Study Bible. One or two copies in your library will really be helpful. Each chapter begins with a page or two of historical information about that particular book. The footnotes are what I really love about this Bible. Cultural notes are included so I have learned a lot about the time period and it helps me better understand certain passages. Keep an eye out in a few weeks for campmeeting specials.
I hope you have had a great year. I enjoy meeting you when the occasion arises. Please introduce yourself to me if we do meet and let me know that you are on my list. I was returning from the last NAD Teacher’s Convention in Nashville and while waiting in the airport, I noticed a group of teachers that seemed to be going to where I was going. We started talking and eventually introduced ourselves. When I said my name, one of them cried out, “You’re the LIBRARIAN!” Why, yes I am. It was fun to meet them.
Have a great summer! Let me know if you have any questions. I occasionally check this email and I am looking for new material to write about.
Audrey
I have thought about a few things that I missed throughout the postings this year or thought of some items that really didn’t fit in the theme of the post each week, so here is my catch up day.
Dictionaries
It is my opinion that dictionaries for children or ones that say “Student” on them are often almost useless. Words that children want to know how to spell aren’t in them and they feel frustrated. I recommend that your school have a few copies of a really good dictionary. I bought The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition a couple of years ago and just love it. Yes, the children can go to the internet and find the words they need, but knowing how to use a dictionary is a life skill that is useful. This particular dictionary has lots of extras that you won’t find in most dictionaries. The pages before the dictionary words actually begins has lots of information. Regional Patterns of American Speech, Variation and Change in Our Living Language, Indo-European Roots, Semitic roots, and word history notes. I used this dictionary for a small group and we studied etymology of words and found some very interesting and very cool things. The dictionary also has many color photos and illustrations throughout the entire book. I really think you need one or two of these.
Encyclopedias
It is so easy to find information on the internet now, that encyclopedias are mostly online now. We all have access to the ones that the NAD or our unions subscribe to for us, but if your internet is not reliable at all times, you might want to keep one set. Keep your newest set. Toss the others. If anyone protests, ask them if they want their child learning from encyclopedias that are 25 + years old. If they do, give them the set!
Bibles
I know there is a particular Bible recommended for the Bible curriculum and it is great for each student to have their own Bible to use for the schoolwork. I also think it is good to have copies of other versions for comparison. I also recommend the Andrews Study Bible. One or two copies in your library will really be helpful. Each chapter begins with a page or two of historical information about that particular book. The footnotes are what I really love about this Bible. Cultural notes are included so I have learned a lot about the time period and it helps me better understand certain passages. Keep an eye out in a few weeks for campmeeting specials.
I hope you have had a great year. I enjoy meeting you when the occasion arises. Please introduce yourself to me if we do meet and let me know that you are on my list. I was returning from the last NAD Teacher’s Convention in Nashville and while waiting in the airport, I noticed a group of teachers that seemed to be going to where I was going. We started talking and eventually introduced ourselves. When I said my name, one of them cried out, “You’re the LIBRARIAN!” Why, yes I am. It was fun to meet them.
Have a great summer! Let me know if you have any questions. I occasionally check this email and I am looking for new material to write about.
Audrey
Friday, May 29, 2015
Working with Dewey 800s and 900s
Greetings!
This week we will do both 800s and 900s.
The 800s will probably be your largest section to work with. For the most part, you will have three basic sections. We will ignore 820 – 890 since you will probably not have any literature in Old English, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, or any other languages. An elementary school library will probably only have literature in English, so we will concentrate on that.
808 Collected stories
This includes books that have multiple stories in them such as Uncle Arthur, The Children’s Hour, Guide’s Greatest, Shoebox Kids, Really Truly stories, and others. It may be that you decide to put these collected story books in with the 813s and that may be what works best for your library. One thing you need to know about these books. Some sets such as Guide’s Greatest stories are written by multiple authors. If you want to keep them all together, catalog them by just one author. We started out with a few that had Lori Peckham as the editor, so now all our Guide’s Greatest books are catalogued as if she were the editor so the series can be shelved all together.
811 Poetry
Look for books on poetry with poems that children would enjoy reading as you add to this section. Keep older poetry books if you need to locate a poem from there, but consider putting in some Shel Silverstein, as well.
813 Stories, Fiction (If you don’t like the word ‘fiction’, use the word ‘story’ instead.)
When adding to this section, look for books that will appeal to boys. I have a few posts on ideas for books for boys on my blog. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. For some reason, boys will not read books about girls, but girls will read books about boys.
Weed out books that are in bad shape, missing pages, or marked up. If a book is important to your school or community, replace it with a newer, better copy. Weed out books that aren’t circulating at all. At our school we have years that some books never move, but other years that they are checked out. We won’t weed them because they are being used every other year. If your library is automated, you can begin by compiling a list of books that haven’t been checked out in the past five years or so and then examine those books to determine if they are shelf-worthy.
One thing I have done regularly is to take books that I am considering weeding out and putting them on a special cart or table with a sign to the effect in that these books are in danger of being kicked out of the library, or endangered books, or something clever like that. I have also requested that students take a book and read the first few chapters and let me know if it is a good story and worth keeping in the library. Most students are willing to help in this way. Also, they usually like the story and actually read the whole book, so that is a nice trick to have up your sleeve.
The 900s are geography, history, and travel books.
In the 900 section you will put general history or geography information. This would include books that have information about all fifty states or a history over time. If it cannot be cataloged to a specific historical time period or a specific area, put it in this general section.
910 Geography and travel, pirates, shipwrecks, Titanic, atlases, maps, charts.
913 Geography of and travel in the ancient world
914 Geography of and travel in Europe
915 Geography of and travel in Asia
916 Geography of and travel in Africa
917 Geography of and travel in North America
918 Geography of and travel in South America
919 Geography of and travel in other areas
920 Biography (or put in a separate ’B’ section which is much easier for kids)
920 Collected biographies (books that have more than one story about a famous person)
927 Sports biographies (we have all our athletes biographies here)
929 Genealogy
929.9 Flags
930 History of the ancient world
940 History of Europe – Middle Ages, castles, WW1, WW2
950 History of Asia; Far East
960 History of Africa
970 History of North America
970.1 Native Americans
971 Canada
972 Middle America; Mexico
973 United States of America
973.2 Colonial, Pilgrims
973.3 Revolutionary War
973.4 Lewis and Clark
973.5 Westward expansion, War of 1812
973.6 Mexican-American War
973.7 Civil War
973.8 Spanish-American War, Reconstruction, Transcontinental Railroad
973.9 Vietnam War
974 Northeastern United States
974.7 Ellis Island
975 Southeastern United States, September 11
975.3 Washington, D. C.
976 South central United States
977 North central United States
978 Western United States
978.6 Montana
979 Great Basin and Pacific Slope region
979.5 Oregon
979.6 Idaho
979.7 Washington
979.8 Alaska
980 History of South America
990 History of Other parts of the world – Australia, Arctic, Polynesia, New Zealand, etc.
996 Pitcairn
996.9 Hawaii
You may not notice the correlation between the geography and history sections. Notice the Geography of and travel in the ancient world – 913- and History of the ancient world – 930. Both have a three (3) in the number. Geography and history of Europe both have a 4 in it and so on. Isn’t Dewey fascinating!?
As far as adding books to your library, check the subject headings here and add in as needed. I would recommend that you have a separate section for your biographies which really makes them easy to find.
Weeding this section may go quickly. Check your books on countries and make sure that information is not outdated. Look for two-color photos and other markings of an old book and strongly consider weeding these out and replacing with new editions. It may be that your school subscribes to a database that keeps this information updated and you won’t need to worry about the old books any longer. Try CultureGrams from Proquest for state and country information. They update hourly. In any case, information in this section is best if it is current.
I hope you have a great week. We only have one more to go!
Audrey
This week we will do both 800s and 900s.
The 800s will probably be your largest section to work with. For the most part, you will have three basic sections. We will ignore 820 – 890 since you will probably not have any literature in Old English, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, or any other languages. An elementary school library will probably only have literature in English, so we will concentrate on that.
808 Collected stories
This includes books that have multiple stories in them such as Uncle Arthur, The Children’s Hour, Guide’s Greatest, Shoebox Kids, Really Truly stories, and others. It may be that you decide to put these collected story books in with the 813s and that may be what works best for your library. One thing you need to know about these books. Some sets such as Guide’s Greatest stories are written by multiple authors. If you want to keep them all together, catalog them by just one author. We started out with a few that had Lori Peckham as the editor, so now all our Guide’s Greatest books are catalogued as if she were the editor so the series can be shelved all together.
811 Poetry
Look for books on poetry with poems that children would enjoy reading as you add to this section. Keep older poetry books if you need to locate a poem from there, but consider putting in some Shel Silverstein, as well.
813 Stories, Fiction (If you don’t like the word ‘fiction’, use the word ‘story’ instead.)
When adding to this section, look for books that will appeal to boys. I have a few posts on ideas for books for boys on my blog. Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com. For some reason, boys will not read books about girls, but girls will read books about boys.
Weed out books that are in bad shape, missing pages, or marked up. If a book is important to your school or community, replace it with a newer, better copy. Weed out books that aren’t circulating at all. At our school we have years that some books never move, but other years that they are checked out. We won’t weed them because they are being used every other year. If your library is automated, you can begin by compiling a list of books that haven’t been checked out in the past five years or so and then examine those books to determine if they are shelf-worthy.
One thing I have done regularly is to take books that I am considering weeding out and putting them on a special cart or table with a sign to the effect in that these books are in danger of being kicked out of the library, or endangered books, or something clever like that. I have also requested that students take a book and read the first few chapters and let me know if it is a good story and worth keeping in the library. Most students are willing to help in this way. Also, they usually like the story and actually read the whole book, so that is a nice trick to have up your sleeve.
The 900s are geography, history, and travel books.
In the 900 section you will put general history or geography information. This would include books that have information about all fifty states or a history over time. If it cannot be cataloged to a specific historical time period or a specific area, put it in this general section.
910 Geography and travel, pirates, shipwrecks, Titanic, atlases, maps, charts.
913 Geography of and travel in the ancient world
914 Geography of and travel in Europe
915 Geography of and travel in Asia
916 Geography of and travel in Africa
917 Geography of and travel in North America
918 Geography of and travel in South America
919 Geography of and travel in other areas
920 Biography (or put in a separate ’B’ section which is much easier for kids)
920 Collected biographies (books that have more than one story about a famous person)
927 Sports biographies (we have all our athletes biographies here)
929 Genealogy
929.9 Flags
930 History of the ancient world
940 History of Europe – Middle Ages, castles, WW1, WW2
950 History of Asia; Far East
960 History of Africa
970 History of North America
970.1 Native Americans
971 Canada
972 Middle America; Mexico
973 United States of America
973.2 Colonial, Pilgrims
973.3 Revolutionary War
973.4 Lewis and Clark
973.5 Westward expansion, War of 1812
973.6 Mexican-American War
973.7 Civil War
973.8 Spanish-American War, Reconstruction, Transcontinental Railroad
973.9 Vietnam War
974 Northeastern United States
974.7 Ellis Island
975 Southeastern United States, September 11
975.3 Washington, D. C.
976 South central United States
977 North central United States
978 Western United States
978.6 Montana
979 Great Basin and Pacific Slope region
979.5 Oregon
979.6 Idaho
979.7 Washington
979.8 Alaska
980 History of South America
990 History of Other parts of the world – Australia, Arctic, Polynesia, New Zealand, etc.
996 Pitcairn
996.9 Hawaii
You may not notice the correlation between the geography and history sections. Notice the Geography of and travel in the ancient world – 913- and History of the ancient world – 930. Both have a three (3) in the number. Geography and history of Europe both have a 4 in it and so on. Isn’t Dewey fascinating!?
As far as adding books to your library, check the subject headings here and add in as needed. I would recommend that you have a separate section for your biographies which really makes them easy to find.
Weeding this section may go quickly. Check your books on countries and make sure that information is not outdated. Look for two-color photos and other markings of an old book and strongly consider weeding these out and replacing with new editions. It may be that your school subscribes to a database that keeps this information updated and you won’t need to worry about the old books any longer. Try CultureGrams from Proquest for state and country information. They update hourly. In any case, information in this section is best if it is current.
I hope you have a great week. We only have one more to go!
Audrey
Monday, May 18, 2015
Working with Dewey 700s
Greetings!
We are now on the 700s and I can see the end in sight!
The 700s are labeled ‘The Arts’. This is a section that lots of kids really like to browse through especially your artistic types. If you have books in this section that are quite valuable, consider having that book be used only in the library rather than checking it out. Few parents want to pay $60.00 or more for a lost book.
700 Art History
710 Landscaping
720 Architecture
You likely don’t have anything in these sections, but it’s nice to know where they are.
730 Sculpture
737 Stamp collecting, coin collecting
740 Drawing books
743 How to Draw books
745 Handicrafts, Origami, Calligraphy
750 Painting
759 Artists
760 Graphic Arts
770 Photography
780 Music
790 Recreational and performing arts
This section is huge. Include indoor games, jokes, riddles, games, sports, athletics, ball games, weight lifting, track and field, gymnastics, Olympics, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking, cycling, bicycles, ice and snow sports, boating, swimming, diving, hot air balloons, equestrian, and more.
If you don’t have much in the 700’s, consider adding joke books, riddle books, books on camping, hiking, and backpacking. Add books on how to play football, baseball, and other sports. Children who like horses might like to see a book on dressage and horse showmanship. We have books on ballet, skateboarding, skiing, martial arts, and much more. What activities do your students enjoy? Add books to support their interests.
Origami books are usually quite popular and drawing and painting books are also great to add.
Artists are included here. Biographies aren’t included in this section, but usually books about artists include more about their art rather than a biography of the artist. You may need to evaluate a book to determine if it is a biography or a book about an artist and his or her work.
Consider adding in books on digital photography. There are lots of books for kids on this topic.
Check with your teachers and see what units they teach or focus on. We have a teacher here who follows the Iditarod each year with her class so we have a number of books on the Iditarod.
Weed out old outdated editions of stamp collecting or coin collecting, and outdated photography books, especially if they have outdated equipment in the photos. Mainly just check for outdated anything in this section.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
We are now on the 700s and I can see the end in sight!
The 700s are labeled ‘The Arts’. This is a section that lots of kids really like to browse through especially your artistic types. If you have books in this section that are quite valuable, consider having that book be used only in the library rather than checking it out. Few parents want to pay $60.00 or more for a lost book.
700 Art History
710 Landscaping
720 Architecture
You likely don’t have anything in these sections, but it’s nice to know where they are.
730 Sculpture
737 Stamp collecting, coin collecting
740 Drawing books
743 How to Draw books
745 Handicrafts, Origami, Calligraphy
750 Painting
759 Artists
760 Graphic Arts
770 Photography
780 Music
790 Recreational and performing arts
This section is huge. Include indoor games, jokes, riddles, games, sports, athletics, ball games, weight lifting, track and field, gymnastics, Olympics, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking, cycling, bicycles, ice and snow sports, boating, swimming, diving, hot air balloons, equestrian, and more.
If you don’t have much in the 700’s, consider adding joke books, riddle books, books on camping, hiking, and backpacking. Add books on how to play football, baseball, and other sports. Children who like horses might like to see a book on dressage and horse showmanship. We have books on ballet, skateboarding, skiing, martial arts, and much more. What activities do your students enjoy? Add books to support their interests.
Origami books are usually quite popular and drawing and painting books are also great to add.
Artists are included here. Biographies aren’t included in this section, but usually books about artists include more about their art rather than a biography of the artist. You may need to evaluate a book to determine if it is a biography or a book about an artist and his or her work.
Consider adding in books on digital photography. There are lots of books for kids on this topic.
Check with your teachers and see what units they teach or focus on. We have a teacher here who follows the Iditarod each year with her class so we have a number of books on the Iditarod.
Weed out old outdated editions of stamp collecting or coin collecting, and outdated photography books, especially if they have outdated equipment in the photos. Mainly just check for outdated anything in this section.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
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