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Creating A Leveled Library for a K-6 Elementary School Part 1

I will spare you the dramatic storyline that has brought me to this task……let's just say I have boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes (you get the picture) of books.  They are beautiful books with award winning authors and timeless classics for the ages.  They have been sitting in these boxes for almost two years.  So begins my journey of inventorying, organizing and assembling a school wide leveled library (two buildings, so times two but we won't be getting into that).

I did a lot of research and leg work to develop a cohesive vision for the library.  It needed to be welcoming yet have an element of accountability.  It needed to be pleasing to the eye and yet functional.

I started with a plan for the organization and the logistics.  That plan was then approved and supported by the administration (thank God).  Then it was a matter or ordering what we needed and setting up the physical space.  This is when it started getting real!  Nothing like staring at 4 to 6 tall empty book shelves and 10 or so boxes of books!

(Just a taste of the madness)

(so pretty!)

Time to get to work!  I started with a large….sorry ENORMOUS exell document that outlines every title, number of titles, building assigned, guided reading level and lots of other extraneous information.  I made the document as concise as possible, sorted by school (remember I working in multiple buildings), sorted by title alphabetically and then printed it double sided into a booklet.  I then pick a collection of books out of each box and find it on the document.  Next I check off the number of that title present and then enter that information in a new google doc that I will later share with the staff for a reference sheet. Whew!!! Still working on that…..


Here's the plan:
  1. Develop master list of book titles for each faculty.
  2. Sort books into guided reading level bins (keeping same titles together).
  3. Each book will be labeled with: 
    1. a guided reading level sticker on the binding (wrapped front and back, I'll post this later)
    2. a stamp on the inside cover saying "Property of _____ School District's Leveled Library"
  4. All like titles will be placed in a Ziploc bag.
  5. All book collections (in Ziploc bags) will be housed in coordinating labeled bins in alphabetical order.
Here is a look at how far I got before spring break.  We have a work day coming up when we get back and hopefully that will get us closer to the finish line.  Right now all the books currently in the bins are checked off the "purchased" list and re-entered on the "building" list.  These books are ready for stamping, labeling and bagging. As we go and I enter more books onto the shelves I have to adjust the number of bins dedicated to each level.  Right now it's all about logging it all in and organizing.  I have to say that when I took this picture I was very proud.  Each time I threw out another broken brown box I was smiling from ear to ear!






The bins are from Really Good Stuff.  There are two types right now, the picture book bins with dividers and the chapter book bins with dividers.  They came with a label for the front.  I wanted the bins all the same color because it was too hard to know how many I would need if I color coded the bins by guided reading level.  This kept it clean and uniform.  Remember, it needs to look inviting.  That cliche "You can't judge a book by it's cover" does not apply to a leveled library.  It needs to be pleasing to the eye so people feel like it is easy to use and they actually feel good using it.  Trust me the appearance of the library is important.  

That leads me to the check out system I developed.  BUT I'm saving that for my next post on the leveled library so STAY TUNED.  If you have any questions on how I've started the leveled library or anything from this post, please leave a comment and I'll respond asap.  The saga continues…….

Thanks!



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