Taking Care of Classroom Library Books (Survey Results, Part 1)

My classroom library is my curriculum, finally.  I inherited hundreds of book from my mentor Diane DuBois, and for a few years I used these books to supplement the curriculum. I’d even hide certain books in boxes until we started a unit on immigration, for example, in which case I’d take out the book boxes filled with stories of immigration — because I decided that students were ready for these stories at this time.

The beautiful collection was not used to promote free, individual reading because I did not use the library in that way; I did not make time and space for students to explore and read books — until last year. I read Donalyn Miller’s Book Whisperer and Penny Kittle’s Book Love last summer and, with grant money from the Bokor Foundation, I made time in class for students to explore, read, and talk about the books that they wanted to read when they wanted to read them. It was wonderful. Students who had never finished a book on their own had read 20 books; students who loved to read read over 50; many just loved the calm time to get lost in the book (unconscious delight); and I did my best “teaching” during that time when I could confer with students one-on-one about their reading experiences.

Sharing is Caring (and Costly)

At the end of the school year, however, many of my new books were in tatters and quite a few were disappeared. When I added up the cost, I was out close to $500 in books (and that’s just what I tracked). I posted this list on the whiteboard the last week of school, and many of these books were returned; however, after a year of sharing books, 1) the condition of the books suffered (not much caring), and 2) my systems for processing and tracking books failed miserably.

After posting the list of disappeared books on the whiteboard the last week of school, many of these books appeared. I had some idea which students had them because of conferences and blogs, but we (as a community) became lax in our procedures because book check out with over 30 kids in a 41 minute class is frenzied. I was happy to find books reappearing outside my classroom door or in a corner of the room or handed over with water stains and an I’m sorry.  I would, however, like to learn how sharing can be less costly.

In early June, I took two steps to help me become a better teacher-librarian:

1. I sent a survey out through Facebook to gather insights and tips for organizing and maintaining a classroom library. Over 150 virtual friends responded, and I will share those results below and more in my next blog post.
2. I visited my local library to see how they take care of their books.

Survey Results for Protecting Books

I surveyed 158 teachers who have a classroom library. About 65 percent of the respondents teach grades 4-8, 12 percent high school, and 24 percent k-3, which means some classroom libraries serve about 30 students, while others have to serve well over 100.

I asked this: What’s the best advice, strategy, or tool you have for keeping your books in good condition?

Here is a link to all the responses (Tips for Protecting Books), and here are a few highlights that I found most helpful (or made me smile) for middle and high school teachers who have a classroom library that they share with over 100 students. (I will have about 180.)   The survey certainly revealed that I/we are not alone with our quest to keep books looking new while they are being loved.

I got nothin’ lol.

I wish I had one!!!

I need advice. The only thing I really know for sure is that using the book covering laminate, which is  both expensive and time-consuming, is well worth the investment. The books that I have covered in that are the sturdiest and I’m really thankful for how long it makes them last

I simply have a talk with the students about how these are all mine and that I have spent a great deal of money on them, and to please be respectful with my things.  If something is damaged, or lost, students replace them or pay for them.  I also have the same discussion with the parents at curriculum night.

I do some book love lessons and how to handle books at the beginning of the year. Our librarian also does a lesson as well.

Make an anchor chart with students in the beginning of the year and teach the expectations and procedures for taking care of the books. I also had a book hospital bin for books that needed to be repaired.

Showing your love of reading and books. I see the classroom library as an essential necessity to students becoming life long readers. I make a big deal to stick it with books students want to read. Periodically I add titles throughout and make a big deal out of the newness of the books, smelling the pages, caressing it he book…weird I know LOL but students get a sense as to the importance of our classroom library on a daily basis. At the beginning of the year I also do a quick lesson in caring for the books, using bookmarks instead of folding a page corner and emphasize that we have a classroom library because they take care if the books and that I pay for all out of my own pocket. If a student is totally careless with a book and it is ruined I do ask parents to pay for it. If it was an accident I do not ask students to pay for it. It might happen in one book per year.

For sure, I will conduct mini-lessons on book care and post expectations. I agree that the culture of the classroom needs to be such that we all have a responsibility  to take care of our books. I don’t think the problem is how students use the books in class but how they carry those books to classes, on the bus, in their backpacks, and at home. The book envelope or ziplock bag seems like a logical solution. I think it might be a good idea to encourage students to choose which one they want when then take a book out of the classroom. If they are reading It’s So Amazing (about how babies are made) they might want to put it in a brown envelope, but if they are reading Ms. Marvel, they might want a zip lock to show the cover.

Still, with our most beloved books, there will be wear and tear (more so with paperbacks, which are more affordable). So I wanted to know more about what I could do on the front end to give these new books a longer life of sharing.

Behind the Scenes at the Local Library

I highly recommend you contact your local library for a behind-the-scenes tour of how they process and display books. In this short video (below), you will see that my library uses color-coding (small stickers) to categorize books along with book tape (with a  fancy dispenser) on the binding to protect the bar code and cover. (I did not do either of these will my classroom library. Rookie mistake.)

Below the video are some photos of how to add a mylar book jacket to hardcover books to protect beautiful book jackets. My librarian gave me some mylar covers and book tape so that I could practice on a few books.

I get so excited when a box of new books arrive because I want to get them into the hands of readers right away, but I will take some extra time to process the books properly so that when they “appear,” they are in a condition that invites other readers to take a peak inside. Because, let’s face it, we do judge books by their covers.

Please share any other tips you have for protecting your books and links to the tools you use.