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Friday, September 28, 2012

The Rules of the Library


Welcome to Fall...or here in Texas...welcome Indian summer!

       We are now through the last week of the 1st 6 weeks...technically we are 1/6 done with the school year. If you have come into the library over the past five weeks, you know that it has been the busiest I have ever seen it. Since our district moved to ILA classes (combination Reading and English classes), they have been having book projects and daily SSR time, which as a librarian I love!! So students are reading like crazy!
      Throughout this crazy time I have had a lot of students ask me how I get my books and why some series are not here. Since I get this so much, I thought I would share the answer with you. I have to follow certain rules in order to get certain books in the library. Here are the questions I ask myself:

-Is it reviewed for a middle school grade level? Material selection should be guided by published, professional reviews. The following review journals may be considered: Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Horn Book, Library Media Connection, School Library Journal, and Voice of Youth Advocates. What this means is that if one of these journals has a positive review for one or all of the middle school grades then it is something that I can purchase.

-After that I ask, "Do we have an audience for this type of book?"  Sometimes this might be a few students and sometimes it might be more than that. This is a very tricky question but that is why I try and get to know so many of our students. I have learned so many things about them and I realize we have a few gaps, such as the scary stories.

- The last question I ask is, "How many copies?" Some books I know that I am going to need more than one copy. With budget though, I have to limit how many copies. I try and keep it to the max of 2 unless it is a Lone Star book, then it is 3.

So as much as I wish that I could just give you guys any book you want, there is a process to it. :-)

Questions?? Remember to always ask!!

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