Saturday, July 23, 2011

My Class Library

I love children's books! I just love them. It's a slight addiction... Ok, it's a bad addiction. I scour my local Goodwill (especially on the first Saturday of the month when everything is 1/2 price!), yard sales (check Craigslist for yard sale ads specifically featuring children's books), and I've even made the trek down to McKay's in Nashville. Of course I'm also a regular at B&N, but I've had to curb that habit-- it's bad for the bank account!!

I've organized and reorganized my library several times and I think I've finally gotten it like I want it. Now it's just the maintenance... Here's some pics:

My books are organized by topic. The bins with the blue stickers are nonfiction. The white bins are devoted to specific curriculum areas (math, social studies, poetry, etc.). If the book has a Guided Reading level, it's written on the back of the book on a sticker. Each book also has a small sticker on the front with a picture that matches the picture on the bin it belongs in for easy return. I have students return their books to the red bin on the stool and the "class librarian" puts them in the correct bins.

I keep a log of my books on this website. I love being able to type in any key word and it brings up all of the books I have with that tag! So easy! I also purchased a check-out system called CLAS from this website. Each book has a barcode and students have library cards. When they want to check out a book, they simply use the barcode scanner to scan their cards and then the book they want to check out. I love this system because, just like the real library, I can pull reports and see who has what checked out at any given time. I can also see what types of books each student has been reading. Plus, the kids love using the scanner!

I have students store their checked-out books (along with their Reader's Notebooks) in their book bins, shown here:

5 comments:

  1. My favorite color is red so I'm in love with your library. Just found your blog via the 2nd grade gang post and am now a follower. Come check out mine at mysecondgradejournal.blogspot.com

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  2. Thanks so much! I will definitely check out your blog as well!
    -Elizabeth

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  3. WOW! I love your library Elizabeth!! How cute is the bench...did you redo it yourself!! Thank you so much for joining my linky party!
    -Audrey
    The Sweet Life of Third Grade

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  4. Omg- In love with your library. Wish mine looked like this!!! :)

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  5. I just had a question about the library system that you use...Do you have to print out a barcode for each book or will the barcode already printed on the book work for scanning books? I'm very interested in this system just would like to know the thoughts of someone already using it! Love your library!

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