Re: classroom libraries

[Cheryl Bybee <cbybee@TENET.EDU>]

I have to vote with Betty Dawn Hamilton!  There should be books to read
ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!!!  When a class is in the library for checking out
books and the students say that they are reading one in their classroom I
just suggest  the current issues of magazines, the newspapers, browsing
some of the fascinating but little noticed books, etc.  I have never found
the classroom sets to be a problem.  They are all paperback and currently
popular titles.  I often use the kids' favorites as a guide to my
purchases, because the ones the kids REALLY like are in too short supply
to please them.  There are others that I would never consider purchasing
because of the ephemeral nature of their popularity.  A bio of a current
teen idol, for example, will be a useless hardback in a year or  so--might
as well use the paperback in the classroom and save library funds for
other things.
Cheryl Bybee
cbybee@tenet.edu