Changing Things Up (Ditching Dewey) Resources

A few of the most helpful resources that we used as we "Changed Things Up" and went to a book store model in our non-fiction/informational section of the DES library are listed below.

The Candid Librarian

The Centered School Library

Eliterate Librarian

Library Journal Article: It's Not About Dewey (11/01/09)

Mighty Little Librarian

Scoop It: Dewey Free Library

Summer Project: Kill Dewey (great classification list)

Van Meter Library Voice (several blog posts about the process, from start to finish)

Supplies:

Spine Stickers

After looking at a variety of colored spine labels and stickers, we decided to go with these from Demco.  There are many other options, just make sure there are enough color and shape options available.

Shelf Markers

Demco Block Shelf Markers

The Process 
Non-Fiction Section
Changing Things Up
Changing Things Up - Part II
Changing Things Up - Part III

I must give a huge "shout-out" to Shannon McClintock Miller, as she was my inspiration throughout the entire project!  Thank you for always responding so quickly to my many questions.

A great big "THANK YOU" goes out to my wonderful assistant, Maggie, for sticking with the project to the end!  You are amazing!

Library Centers Are a Hit

Over a month has passed since the start of our Library Centers at DES.  The students come to the library excited to find out what centers there are each week, and they are actively engaged in the activities.  There have been positive comments from the staff.  At this point, we feel implementing centers has been a great move educationally.

The two most popular centers, which we are thinking about having out on a regular basis, are the Doodling/Coloring Center and the Puzzle Center.  I've been doing some research on the benefits of having these types of activities available for students AND adults.  All my findings lead toward the belief that these types of activities are often times very relaxing and can provide some much needed "down-time" in our busy schedules.

A few of our most recent centers included...

Classic Card Games (Go Fish, Old Maid, etc)

Playaway Instructions (grades 3-6)

Whispy Reading

Library Center Ideas

Doodle/Color (snowflakes and winter mittens)
Read to Self, Read to a Partner, Read in a Small Group

 

Changing Things Up - Part II

As mentioned in a previous post (Changing Things Up...) we are reorganizing our non-fiction/informational area of the DES library to be more like a book store, with books arranged by specific topics on the shelves based on high traffic areas and hot topics.

Making this change during the school year has been "interesting" but well worth it, even though we have only just begun.  In the past week, we (Maggie, Kelli, and our two high school helpers) cleared off the shelves where the 0.001 to 200.00 Dewey books use to be.  They weeded the animal books, which we decided would be the first books in this conversion,  to get rid of the extremely old, torn, beaten, and battered, and then started to move them over to the open shelves.  All the "Big Cat" books are together in an area labeled as such.  All the "Shark" books are together, etc, etc.  We then began to place colored dot stickers on the spines of the animal books (all animal books will have a red dot on the spine).  As the sections grew, it was time to start creating the blue shelf makers; each included the animal word (Big Cats) and also a picture of the animal.  This visual will be so helpful for our students.

This week, the 4th graders were the first to actually realize that all the caution tape and construction signs were not decorations left over from Halloween.  They discovered the new blue shelf markers and all of the animals books that had been relocated (there are still more animal books to be moved to this area).  The students were excited and one young lady exclaimed, " Hey, Scott, look at all the wolf books we have!"  The two kids dropped to their knees to grab a bunch of wolf  books they never knew we had!

Next up, when the animal section is done....science related books (insects, dinosaurs, rocks, minerals, etc...)

It's a process....one that will be well worth it in the end.  

A great big thank you to Maggie, Kelli, James, and Kyla!!!!

For more information about others who have made this change, here are a few resources...

Van Meyer Library Voice

School Library Journal October 2012

Scoop It! Dewey Free Library

R.I.F. October 2012

Reading Is Fundamental

On November 3, 1966, Margaret McNamara and a group of local teachers and school volunteers in Washington, D.C., launched a book distribution and reading motivation program called Reading Is Fundamental. From that pilot project at three elementary schools, the program quickly grew and, in just a few months, was reaching children in 60 of the city's public schools. Two years later, with a grant from the Ford Foundation, RIF created a model program and began replicating it across the country.

By 1975, the U.S. Congress had taken notice of this effective program and created the "Inexpensive Book Distribution Program" (IBDP), which provides federal matching funds to sites that qualify for RIF's national book program. With this federal support, RIF's expansion continued, and by 1977 we were serving more than 1 million children in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. That total saturation continues to this day, with RIF now serving more than 4.4 million children a year. RIF has also been a model for literacy programs in Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Since that first day in 1966, RIF has given away more than 380 million new, free books to children who might not otherwise have any to call their own.

For more information go to: http://www.rif.org/

DES students were beyond excited this week, as they were given the opportunity to select a R.I.F. book of their choice to take home as their own.  Funding for this was provided by the Deerfield Lions Club and the Deerfield Community School District.

Below, 4th grade students take a moment to give their Mad Lib Junior book a try.