I'll Tell You a Secret

I went to an elementary school that was built with an open concept. The classrooms were arranged around the perimeter with the library occupying a large space in the middle. Short, double-sided bookshelves formed the "walls" between the classrooms and the library. Books were everywhere! In third grade, my teachers took us to the library. It's possible that other teachers had done so before then, but my first school library visit that I remember was at that time.

With such a large library, it's easy to imagine that there must have been hundreds of books that I wanted to read. Instead, I didn't read any. You see, somewhere along the line I had either missed a lesson or suffered a miscommunication. At the second visit, we were instructed to put the book away properly and raise our hands once we had shelved it. It was then, and only then, that we would be allowed to choose another book. I had no clue how to reshelve my book and I was too afraid of my teacher to ask for help (which is ironic because I will tell you today that she is one of the best teachers I ever had). There was no librarian at the school and I somehow missed the part where we were taught how to shelve. So, once the book was put away (I have no idea how I got it back in the proper place), I chose one place and got a book from that shelf every time we visited for the rest of the year. In my eight year old brain, that was the only way to remember where the book went and not get in trouble during each successive visit. I've kept that secret for a long time.

I'm guessing these would be too obtrusive for my shelves, but they do stand out!

I struggle all the time with the question of how much is too much when it comes to basic library lessons and shelf/section labeling. Ideally, I teach the kids how to find things in context as we begin our year together and then reinforce those skills as they visit regularly. However, we all know that not everyone starts the year, kids move in and out, and, sometimes, skills are not needed at the time, so kids just kind of ignore what is being taught. In fact, I answer the, "Where is?" and "Can you help me find?" type questions every single day.

Shelving is one of those daily tasks that eat my time (one book on . . . move three that are in the wrong place, repeat). It's also never-ending: if 12,000 books are checked out, I have to put 12,000+ back--there is no one to help me, I'm on my own. However, I also place a high value on shelving as much as I can as quickly as I can. First, I know that books that are in the right place will more likely be checked out. Second, if I don't put books away, I can't find all the ones that were put in the wrong place when kids changed their minds! I wonder what tasks in other types of jobs look so mundane from the outside, yet are exceptionally important to the overall function of a facility?

Why upside down AND in the wrong place?!

One week of biographies that need to be shelved. For some reason, books that are a set all have to be pulled off at once--every week!

All Because of a Dragon

Our ultimate goal is to teach our students to become lifelong learners. This encompasses a lot, but my focus is often creating readers. In fact, my professional goal this year was to turn a class of professed non-readers into book addicts. While I've employed a specific set of strategies with those particular students, I also know that there are kids in my school that I have not yet reached. Recently, though, I got to enjoy the excitement of a student catching the reading bug and it was all because of a dragon book.

The student discovered and read books one through six in the Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland in rapid succession. Once he completed a book, he was here for the next and we put the following one on hold. He was engrossed. My favorite day came when he said, "I looked it up. There are two more that we don't have in the library. When are you getting them?" He was correct--books seven and eight, published in mid and late 2015, were on order due to the binding time that is needed from Bound to Stay Bound and had not yet arrived in our collection. This is one of the collection development strategies that I can't mess up: I have to keep track of series books and be sure I have the next one coming--always.

I told my new reading friend not to worry--he would be the first to know when they arrived. As soon as I opened the tote of new books when they arrived from Library Services, I pulled out Winter Turning and Escaping Peril and contacted him to be sure that he could begin reading. Again, it's vital that we make these connections with our students and know what they are looking for at any given time--you can imagine the excitement when he got his hands on those books. There was also a concern for me that the end was coming. What would happen when he finished those books?

Our book orders arrive from Library Services in large totes--it's like getting awesome, bookish birthday gifts over and over!

Holds--often I have to remember who wants which books when they arrive without being able to put holds in Follett Destiny because the books are still on order.

Recently, this student came to my desk. He held up a book and said, "You have more dragon books." It was a statement, but made with wonder. Yes, I do have more--many more. So, my job now is to work more on discovery. How can I work to be sure students who are looking for a book find it? What display techniques will help students know more about series books they might enjoy? How can I use Follett Destiny to increase students' chances of finding books on topics of interest? And, maybe even more importantly, how do I duplicate these efforts at schools where there is not a librarian available to work with students to find the next great dragon book?

The first foray into dragon books post-Wings of Fire is The Last Dragon Chronicles Series by Chris D'Lacey

I'm also recommending The Chronicles of Imaginarium Geographica by James Owen--he was an author visit we held several years ago and the books became very hot at the time 

Yes, having the right books at the right time is key--but we must also get the right book into the hands of each reader. Challenge accepted.