Elementary Students Book Circulation Policy
Hi all,
Some of you requested a HIT on the circulation question I posed. Here it i=
s . . . Thank you to all who responded.
Fiona Casida, Coordinator
K-12 Library & Media Services
Copley-Fairlawn City Schools
fiona.casida@copley-fairlawn.org<mailto:fiona.casida@copley-fairlawn.org>
330-664-4955
My post:
I am trying to compile some statistics of what the circulation policy is fo=
r elementary students in school libraries ( Ohio especially, but also other=
states). My philosophy is that elementary students should have access to =
all K-4 books regardless of their reading ability, but as we all know . . .=
sometimes our philosophy doesn't always translate into practice. So . . .=
what are your guidelines/policies? Do you "allow" K-2 students to check-o=
ut chapter books? Do you defer to the teacher, who is more familiar with th=
e student's reading ability? Does the principal of your building (the educ=
ational leader) make those decisions? Do you make or enforce circulation d=
ecisions?
Thank you so much for your responses. We are trying to establish some dist=
rict policies and your input will be helpful.
Responses:
In my K-4 (formally K-5) elementary building, all students have access
to all books. However, each K-2 student has to checkout 1 fiction book
that they can read. The other book can be another of their choice;
fiction or nonfiction. I do a lot of teaching about finding "just
right" books. If I see a student with an obvious poor choice, we look
at the book together and I show them why it is not a "just right" book.
I also let them know that there are "just right" books they can read and
"just right" books that a parent can read to them. It's been a long
time since a 1st grade student has tried to check out a Harry Potter. :-)
Susan Kempel
Teacher Librarian
Kennedy Elementary
Fargo, ND
-------
Being a former teacher, I defer to the reading levels recommended by the te=
achers. I do allow exceptions to the rule (one book for the teacher/one fo=
r fun) is how I compromise.
Theresa
-------Classroom books are color coded so I allow first and second graders
(we don't have K at my school) to choose from the regular fiction if
they are reading "green books" in the classroom. I do not allow them to
check out from the regular non-fiction section because I have an easy
non-fiction section that has books appropriate for their level. The
regular non-fiction section is just too intimidating for them. All the
students know how to do a 5 finger check to find out if the book is
"just right" and I will often ask students to do an oral 5 finger check
if I think they have chosen and inappropriate book. We ask the student
to choose something on their level, but if they choose something below
there level I honestly don't stop them since I know they are getting
practice with on-level books in the classroom during reading instruction
(through small group instruction). I trust the students to make the
right choice, but they know I can check at any time, I rarely have any
problems.
Jessica Sowder
Information Specialist
Crestview Elementary
------As the library media SPECIALIST I make the decisions (in consultation wi=
th my five elementary librarian colleagues) as to how many and what kinds o=
f books students may select. Kindergarteners are not allowed chapter books=
or nonfiction or magazines, no matter their reading ability. There are pl=
enty of picture books out there to challenge their reading abilities withou=
t going to chapters their very first year.
Kindergartners start out the year with one book per week to check out and t=
hen in January they are introduced to the easy readers and may take two a w=
eek, one easy and one picture book.
First graders may take three a week, only one a chapter book, and that one =
from a cart of beginning chapter books for just the 1st - 3rd graders. They=
are introduced to nonfiction and allowed to select from all areas, includi=
ng magazines for a total of three books per week.
Second graders can take two chapter books if they like and may select from =
all areas for a total of three books per week.
Third through fifth graders may take any three books a week they like, no r=
estrictions.
If students have out three books and need one for a project or assignment, =
they make then take out a fourth.
We do not allowed renewals of Waldo, I Spy books, state awards books, the W=
impy Kid books, and any reserved books.
I have the sixth and seventh Harry Potter and the last Paolini book, Brisin=
ger, in my workroom and those require a note from a parent to take out due =
to violence level and the fact they are really middle school books. I refu=
se to have Twilight books in the library due to the fact they are too middl=
e school books.
A couple of years ago we tried to circulate four books per child a week and=
we didn't have enough volunteers to reshelve the returns so we had to go b=
ack to three per student. I wish we could let them have six a week, I thin=
k it would allow for wider reading.
I consult with teachers when I am helping students find "Just Right" books =
to read independently and if a student isn't selecting any books over a per=
iod of a couple of weeks.
Mary Tichey-Staack, LMS
Branchville Elementary
Ridgefield, CT
mticheystaack@ridgefield.org
-----K-2, I keep my students in the easier reading materials until they hit abo=
ut mid second grade level reading level. I don't care how old they are, whe=
n they are ready for harder books, they get them. By about mid March I tur=
n all my second graders loose in the entire library. My exception to this i=
s Harry Potter and Goosebumps type books. Too many complaints from parents =
over the years. I allow any student K-2 to take those books with a note fro=
m parents. By grade three the student makes the choice of all materials in =
the library including Harry and Goosebumps.
If I have a teacher wanting a student to take a book he can read, I allow t=
he child to take an extra book. One to make him happy and one to make the t=
eacher happy. I've been know to do that for whole classes. Makes me happy t=
o do that. We are all smiling at the end of class.
Barbara Fritz
Elementary Librarian
Bloomsburg Area School District
Bloomsburg PA
bfritzlibrary@gmail.com<mailto:bfritzlibrary@gmail.com>
http://bloomsburgasd.schoolwires.com/62784211610220/site/default.asp
--------Our kids are allowed to check out 2 books per visit. They have free choice=
for one of their books, and I do not tell them what books they may check o=
ut because many of them have parents and older siblings that read to them. =
In some cases, they are checking out =93baby=94 or preschool books to read=
to younger siblings. The other book is a book on their level that they ca=
n read themselves. The teacher, my assistant and I watch them check out bo=
oks and lead them toward more suitable books if necessary.
I have one little 2nd grader that consistently checks out cookbooks (way ab=
ove his reading level) because he and his mother cook together every evenin=
g. He is learning to follow directions, measurement skills, and having qua=
lity time with his mom! What great lessons!
Kim Sloggett
Library Media Specialist
Hawthorne Elementary School
1105 E. 33rd Street North
Tulsa, OK 74106
(918)925-1348
Do you "allow" K-2 students to check-out chapter books?
Yes, sometimes. I have a section called "early chapter books" RL 1.0 to
4.5 that Ks may take. With a check with the teacher and/or parent they
may talk higher level books.
Do you defer to the teacher, who is more familiar with the student's
reading ability?
Yes, sometimes. It doesn't come up all that often. But we do not use
AR or any similar program so we don't have that stress.
Does the principal of your building (the educational leader) make those
decisions?
No.
Do you make or enforce circulation decisions?
99.99% of the time I make the call.
Elizabeth Varley
Wilmington Montessori School
-------I work in a small private building with less than 200 students in grades 1-=
12. I have my fiction separated into 2 sections K-5 and 6-12 plus a picture=
section. Most students know that they stay on the lower level side and onl=
y a few go to the higher level. I use YA genre stickers for YA books so the=
younger students will know those will be too hard, they are HS level. If I=
see a student trying to check out a book way beyond their means I will men=
tion it to the classroom teacher. They usually tell me mom will read with t=
hem or will agree that it is way too hard for them.
So basically I do enforce rules of checking out certain levels. I don't min=
d K-2 checking out a chapter book as long as it is not way over their heads=
(Even Harry Potter is ify).
I hope this is helpful. Feel free to write back if you have any more questi=
ons.
Michelle Levy
School Librarian
Eton Academy
Birmingham, MI
rylor4@gmail.com<mailto:rylor4@gmail.com> (home)
mlevy@etonacademy.org<mailto:mlevy@etonacademy.org> (work)
-------1. I ask the teacher if they have any special requests or requirements (and=
I try to respect their requirements)
2. I always interview the student for their interests, concerns, etc.
3. Since all of my students except K can can get more than one book, I tell=
students that they need to have one book that they can read most of the wo=
rds AND any other book that interests them.
4. I try to convince the non-reading 2nd grader to not get Harry Potter and=
sometimes enlist the aid of the classroom teacher in this effort.
5. My school uses AR (Accelerated Reader) so I have reading levels on the s=
pines of many books. While this is not always accurate, it can really help.
Cathie Padgett
Media Assistant/Library Coordinator
Powell Valley Elementary School
4825 SE Powell Valley Rd
Gresham OR 97080
503.661.1510
-------At our elementary school, it varies somewhat.
Kindergarten students are allowed to check out one book at a time. Due
to parent input, it needs to be a book that a parent can reasonably
read to the student over the course of a week. (i.e. The Encyclopedia
of Horses does not fall into that category!)
Our first graders visit the library daily and are allowed to check out
one book at a time. Monday through Thursday, they may check out a book
in their ZPD. On Friday we have Free Friday Checkout -- their choice
of any book for over the weekend. Seems to be a good balance.
Second graders are allowed to check out two books at a time. One must
be in their ZPD. The other can be any book of their choice.
Third through sixth graders have free choice as to what books they
check out.
Lorrie Layton, Librarian
Shidler Public Schools
918.793.2051
-----Our guidelines are fairly simple - and open to "special circumstances."
K and 1st get to check out 1 item each, which can be a book, magazine, or v=
ideo.
2nd and 3rd get two items each, at least one of the items needs to be a boo=
k.
4th and 5th get 3 items each.
Some of the teachers ask that we have the students check out books on their=
STAR reading level and either provide us with a printout of the class scor=
es, or give the students index cards with their reading range on it. Other=
teachers require that students only check out books in that range. I have=
lobbied to let them choose at least 1 "freebie," because often the books o=
n subjects they enjoy may not fall within that range.
The kindergarten students I generally steer towards the picture books - but=
if they are really interested in sharks or volcanoes, etc. they do check o=
ut nonfiction as well. I let the teachers in 1st grade tell me when they f=
eel the students are ready to try chapter books, but if I notice that a chi=
ld is really reading - I let the student try a chapter book even if I haven=
't heard from the teacher yet. And the lower grade teachers have asked tha=
t we limit the checkout of Harry Potter books to 4th and 5th grade - becaus=
e they are so long and take the kids such a large amount of time to finish.
And the limit on the number of items is also flexible. For instance, a 5th=
grade class is working on research reports right now - so I have let the k=
ids check out an additional 2 or 3 items to use for their research, besides=
what they had already checked out to read for pleasure. (Evidently this w=
asn't done last year, because the kids were really amazed that I let them d=
o it.)
So far (this year is my first in the library), my principal has not been in=
volved in any decisions. The number of items per grade level I allow is the=
same number that was allowed at my last school - and it's pretty consisten=
t throughout our county.
I hope that helps with your "big picture" of these trends.
Suzanne Costner
School library media specialist
Fairview Elementary School
Maryville, TN 37803
-----In our small, semi-suburban/rural school district (in what some may call th=
e "heart of the Amish country"), our elementary school students have a form=
al book exchange once a week with their classes coming into the library. K=
inders are permitted one book per check out from a specially designated and=
located collection (However if they cannot find a book to suit their needs=
, our library aide who supervises book exchange helps them find what they n=
eed from the larger collection.). Grades 1 and 2 are permitted two books p=
er visit from any part of the collection. I must make note that these grad=
es are housed in a k-2 primary school. There are beginning chapter books a=
vailable to all three grades. I would not restrict a student from choosing=
a book unless they are just fascinated by the size of it and I knew there =
was no parent helping to explore its contents. Then I would encourage a st=
udent to select a different one. I agree with your reluctance to deny any =
book to any student (unless there were a specific concern, such as a person=
al situation that may be impacted by the book's content--for the life of me=
I can't come up with an example at this time!).
The intermediate grades (3-5) are housed in a separate building with its ow=
n collection.
Katherine Stehman
Elementary Librarian
Lampeter-Strasburg School District
Lampeter, PA
katherine_stehman@l-spioneers.org<mailto:katherine_stehman@l-spioneers.org>
-----I have some 1st and second graders reading chapter books, including our
principals daughter. She has read all of Junie B., Magic Tree House, and
is not on to Cleary's Ramona books. If a teacher tells, usually an older
child, they need "___", I say see me after school. Freedom to read in my
moto! I also do not tell them how many books to check out. It usually
corrects itself quickly.
Last year I had a class of third graders who wanted to check out
everything. One kid checked out 22 books, well one was the same title.
You should know that they also have to put them away when they return, I
do not shelve books. I do a quick cleanup about every month or less. I
was able last week to make it through most of the library in between
classes in one day, and only had about 40-50 books to place correctly. I
tell them that their mama doesn't work here, and I can not possibly
clean up after over 600 students and another 100 or so staff, faculty,
parents, etc. I even allow groups of kids to come in and clean/
straighten when they have earned the privilege.
Colette D. Eason, Librarian
Marsalis ES
5640 S. Marsalis Ave.
Dallas, TX 75241
Box 317, TEA #183
Dallas ISD
ceason@dallasisd.org
972-749-3508
FAX 972-749-3501
http://library.dallasisd.org
------I know that this goes against what ALA prefers, but I have divided my K-5 l=
ibrary into 2 halves, mainly because I am acting as in loco parentis when m=
y students come in, and there are books in the library that aren't appropri=
ate for 1st and 2nd graders.
Reading level has nothing to do with the way I have divided up the books; i=
t's whether or not a book is appropriate. Therefore, I have books with rea=
ding levels from K-6 on the lower side, including many chapter books, K-2 =
students stay on that side, but 3-5 students can choose books from either s=
ide. I had to explain to some parents and teachers that just because a stu=
dent can read on a certain level doesn't mean that the books are appropriat=
e. I finally asked one 2nd grade parent if she wanted her child reading Ma=
ry Higgins Clark. When she responded with a shocked "No!" I explanined tha=
t those books were 5th grade reading level, and that the reading level had =
nothing to do with what was appropriate for the age.
I tend to have some edgier books for my 4th and 5th graders, and since we a=
re in a very conservative area, this seems to be the best solution for our =
library.
Janet Saczawa
librarian
Creekside Elementary
Harvest, AL
janet.saczawa@lcsk12.org<mailto:janet.saczawa@lcsk12.org>
------I am also a Librarian in a K-4 school. My Kindergarteners and first graders=
are kept in the Easy section, which does include non-fiction books. The se=
cond graders start the year in the Easy section and in January they are per=
mitted to select from any where in the Library. I allow some students to ta=
ke chapter books sooner if their reading ability warrants it. This was my d=
ecision to set my Library up this way. It has worked well for my students, =
giving the younger ones something to look forward to as they progress throu=
gh the school.
Joanne Otlowski
Librarian
John E. Riley School
South Plainfield, NJ
jotlowski@spnet.k12.nj.us<mailto:jotlowski@spnet.k12.nj.us>
-----I was k-12 for 12 years before this position.
What I did was this:
All students checked out 2 books at a time. One AR one Non-AR (I had to fig=
ht for that), and I was total flex so that meant I sometimes saw the same s=
tudents 5 times a day.
They could all check out anything that they wanted to except for HS level f=
iction and non-fiction. Chapter books could be read with parents, and non-f=
iction was great for pictures and reading with parents or siblings too. I h=
ad no restrictions on their checkouts except that they had to be developmen=
tally appropriate.
The principal has no business deciding what they read. That is why you have=
a selection policy in place.
Charlotte Nance
Library Media Specialist
Edmond Memorial High School
1000 E. 15th St.
Edmond, OK 73013
(405) 715-6524
-----Our elementaries are into AR and the companion STAR testing so that is a bi=
g factor in what the kids can check out for us. We try to accommodate the=
teachers preferences while coming up with items on proper level that meet =
kids wishes (when we can).
Betsy Ruffin
librarian-technologist
Cleburne (TX) ISD
betsy.ruffin@cleburne.k12.tx.us<mailto:betsy.ruffin@cleburne.k12.tx.us>
-----The library policy for our Pre-K thru 3rd is pretty flexiable. The Pre-k th=
ru Kg are allowed to check books out of a limited area with mostly picture =
books. Then 1st thru 3rd are able to check books out from the main collec=
tion. A few of the teachers require certain reading levels since we are an =
AR school, however many of the teachers just require that the students just=
read an AR books. We only checkout one books at a time but students can re=
turn to the library as often as they'd like. I do have one teacher who won'=
t let her students read anything but chapter books and they have to be on r=
eading level and they have to keep the book until they can pass the test. B=
ut I refuse to enforce the reading levels or required books, that is betwee=
n the teacher and the students. While I don't enforce any reading requireme=
nts I do encourage students to get books that they are able to read, so the=
y feel they are accomplishing something, but if there is a book they are re=
ally interested in, that is beyond what they are capable of I go ahead and =
let them get it, because often they will struggle thru until they finish.
Mary Taylor
Holdenville Public School
Holdenville, OK
mtaylor@holdenville.k12.ok.us<mailto:mtaylor@holdenville.k12.ok.us>
-------I am currently in a private school in New York City, but have also been a s=
chool librarian in the public school in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1) I allow students to check out whatever they want, chapter books, picture=
s books no matter what their level is, unless it is clear that the subject =
matter is too high for them. Then I might explain to them what the book is =
about and let them decide. You can tell when a student has just picked up a=
book to check out for the sake of checking out and not to actually read. I=
f parents complain, I try to comply with that.
2) I don't defer to the teacher - I am not working on teaching reading but =
to promote the joy of reading, so I don't deal with actual reading levels. =
I refer the teachers to Stephen Krashen's the Power of Reading if they need=
statistics on that.
3) My head of school doesn't weigh in on these issues.
4) I guess I enforce own ciruculation decisions in allowing students the fr=
eedom to check out what looks interesting to them instead of what reading l=
evel they read by.
In North Carolina, my biggest issue was Accelerated Reader which the princi=
pal had implemented and got me heavily involved in. That of course is compl=
etely done by reading level and I tried to convince the students to read wh=
at interested them. Thank goodness, I don't have to deal with that now.
Hope any of this helps!
Janet Gross
School Librarian
Corlears School
New York, New York
-----Teachers allow kinders one book. From second grade on up students may chec=
k
out up to five books (and sometimes six for my super good readers) as long
as they return the books on time. I also am fortunate to have a principal
that supports the library from local funds rather than the district which
provides a dollar per student. SAISD is a downtown district with little
funding from the state of Texas. I support every fund raiser we have at the
campus to raise the funds necessary to create a great learning environment
I have a combination of hard backs and paper backs for the most popular
books. And I confess I am an avid reader and order many books out of
personal funds because I just can't wait to find out what is happening to m=
y
favorite characters. It is so awesome that I have a good group of boys who
keep me informed of the release dates for the newest titles by their
favorite authors etc. It is a lot work to keep the books on the shelved bu=
t
so worth it!
Sandy Scroggs
sscroggs@satx.rr.com personal email address
Professional:
Sandy Scroggs
sscroggs@saisd.net school email address
Librarian
Kate Schenck ES
101 Kate Schenck Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78223
----We emphasize a "just right book" meaning that they can read it. Sometimes I=
have them read to me a paragraph, but mostly I trust them. Some of the tea=
chers will put rules on the check out and some parents will ask me to watch=
what is checked out. Otherwise, it is open checkout for all grades K-5. I =
do comment when a 5th grader gets all E (everybody) books or when a Kinderg=
artner chooses a high level chapter book, but I rarely stop them. The excep=
tion is I Spy which I will only check out to K and first grade.
Debra Gantz
Hickory Woods Elementary
Media Specialist/Computer Resource Teacher
30655 Novi Road
Novi, Michigan 48377
voicemail: 248.956.2608
fax: 248.956.2605
email: debragantz@wlcsd.org