HIT:Book Swap, Part2

[kahoover <kahoover@FTC-I.NET>]

I have had several book swaps to celebrate Ohio Right to Read Week.  Ac-
tually, it takes about two weeks to do it but last spring we swapped
about
750 books in our 450 student bldg.

The week prior to the swap I had "book bucks" made up for each day of
the week, i.e. Monday Moola (blue) Tuesday Cash (pink), Wednesday
Wampum (yellow), etc.   The week before the swap students brought in
books and received book bucks for each satisfactory book they wanted to
trade.  The next week, anyone holding Monday Moola could come in on Mon-
day to "buy" new books.  So, the students who brought in their books
first, had first choice of the new books.  Monday Moola could be spent
all week.  Tuesday Cash could not be spent till Tuesday, but could be
spent the rest of the week, and so on and so on.  If the students
procrastinated the week before and did not bring in their books till
Friday then they had to wait till Friday the week of the swap to spend
their book bucks.

While collecting the books, I made sure the books were in excellent
shape
and generally I only collected paperbacks.  Then, I put books back so
that I could put out a few "fresh" titles each day.  I almost always end
up with extra books because not all the kids come in to trade.

I do this about every three years in my 4-8 bldg.

Hope this helps.




I've tried this on the HS level - I printed out "coupons" which students
received when they brought in books (one for each book).  Personally, I
didn't worry about paperback -vs.- hardcover - I only said they had to
be
"appropriate" for a school swap.  I took books in for one week, then had
2
days the following week for taking them.  If you don't have all the
books
that you're going to get before you let them go out, first students may
not
get enough of a selection.  You will probably have many more at the
lower
grades than I did.  You may want to advertise it to parents - they would
probably love to discard old books!



Since I have a book fair every year, I have a book swap every few
years.  Students bring their books in a paper sack.  I reserve the right
to
accept or reject any book.  I limit the number of books they can bring
(no
more then 10).  I have strips (made from card stock and similar to
bookmarks) on which I put numbers from 1-10.  As students bring in their
sacks, I give them a strip with a number that is the same as the no. of
books they brought.  When I have all the books, I organize them and put
them out on tables (i.e. Easy Fiction, Fiction, Non-fiction, etc.).  On
a
designated day, students come to the media center, give me their strip
and choose that number of books.  All of my books are paperback.  If you
have hard-back, too, I would exchange hard for hard and paper for
paper.  You could do this in 1 day or 1 week (if they exchange during
check-out time.  Not all of my students wish to participate.



Book swap was a big hit at my school last year.
1. Take books in a week ahead of the actual swapping time.
2. give vouchers for the books, like book bucks.
3. book bucks are for different days, turn your book in Monday get a
book buck good to trade for a book next Monday, Tue, wed, etc
turn a book in Tuesday get a buck good for Tuesday, wed, etc.
4. book bucks are broken into two groups, picture books and chapter
groups. this prevents scams, trading up etc.
5. don't take any junk, watch out for teachers booking coming through,
and send a notice home to inform parents.




I have a "trade basket"--we don't have paperbacks in our library, so
that
leaves out goosebumps,babysitters,etc so people trade books in the
basket--I have nothing to do with  it--that way I don't have to worry
too
much about quality-I started it off with a bunch of old paperbacks that
I
had, and I really don't care if some disappear--interest grows and wanes
at
various times.




I have a Book Swap table going all the time during the school year.
However, it is not huge as you are thinking about having. I put out 6
-10
seed books and then the kids can exchange from it at any time during the
year (1 for 1) I do not put any restrictions on the book, type, reading
level etc. The kids seem to respect this and work accordingly. On Book
Week
and Library Week, I usually have a 2 for 1 swap. They put in one and
take
two. I make sure books are replaced often if they are tending to get
tired
looking. Works well and kids love it and I avoid the hassle of a free
for
all. Good luck



We've done this a few times.  My rules are books have to be
appropriate for our grade levels and in good condition.  I let kids
swap paperbacks for paperbacks and hardbacks for hardbacks or two for
one, one for two.  As kids turned in books, I gave them book bucks -
1-5 books = a buck per book, 5 - 10 books = buck for every two books
and so on.  On the day of the swap they could spend their bucks on
books of their choice.  I printed the bucks on colored paper - one
color for paperback bucks and another color for hardback bucks.



This is how I do it.  I do a book swap during the last 2 weeks of school
when there is no book circulation.  Kids can come in on their free time,
or
with their classes.

I start with a collection of books.  Some are from teachers, some are
from
yard sales (I offer a dollar or two for a box) and some are things I
bought
that weren't as good as they seemed.  Some are things that people have
donated that aren't right for my collection.  If you let people know you
are looking for books, they will bring them. I probably have 200 books
to
start with.

I have a roll of lunch tickets.  As kids come in with books, I give the
a
ticket marked E for each easy book they bring me, and a ticket marked C
for
each chapter book they bring me.  I may try two different colored
tickets
this year.  I haven't worried about paperback vs. hard cover.

I tell them ahead of time - no magazines, no coloring books, nothing in
bad
condition, and that I reserve the right to turn down anything I don't
think
will be right for the exchange.  I also warn them that they had better
make
sure it is okay with mom - because if they trade something in, and mom
calls up and complains,  I will NOT take a book away from another child
just because they forgot to ask permission.  They will have to deal with
angry mom!

I have kids bring BAGFULS of books.  If they can't find anything they
like,
they can bring their tickets back another day, but if they loose their
tickets, it is too bad - I have 620 kids and can't keep track.  The
teachers swap, too.  Last year we had an adults only table in my storage
closet for novels, etc.

Also - I don't save anything.  If Freddy comes in and sees a Goosebump
book, I do not set it aside for him until he brings me something from
home.

By the way, this is a great way to increase your school and personal
collection.   There are certain authors I collect, and when someone
turns
one in, I set it aside.  I keep any of the Golden books that are in good
shape.  I collect Eric Carle, and Tomie DePaola, and Marc Brown, and
Mercer
Mayer, and H A Rey.  I have duplicates of some now, to add back to the
Book
Swap collection. Last year a friend started teaching special ed. high
school
history, and believe it or not, one little girl brought in one volume of
an
Encyclopedia of History.  I asked her if she had more at home, and she
ended up bringing in the entire set!

I have kids bring five in to swap Monday, and come back on Wednesday
with
the five they chose on Monday to get five more!

I think it's lots of fun - but I think the trick is setting the rules
and
sticking to them!  Even the kids who never have money always seem to
have a
book or two at home that no one wants.

If I have enough when I start this year, I may give out one free book
with
every ten they swap.



I am in a 1-5 school. For our 3-5 graders we have a "Paperback
Exchange."
They can exchange paperbacks that are in decent condition and which
other
3-5 graders would want to trade for. We don't take anything that's far
below or above grade level. It works out great. We started out with
about
30 books a few years ago and now have a few hundred!! We've even started
a
separate one for the 1-2 graders. There is very little that we have to
refuse.



I do it twice every year.  The limit is three paperback books per
student
that have been approved by the Learning center staff.  We look at every
item as it is turned in to us.  We collect the books a week or so before
the exchange and fill out a Xeroxed ticket for the student that tells
their
name, homeroom number, and how many books they brought in and whether
they
were chapter or non-chapter books.  That makes a big difference in the
exchange.  On the day of the exchange the slips are sent to the teacher
with the time they are to come to the exchange.  Of course, the oldest
students come first and the first grade comes last.  I do not let Kind.
students do it.  They don't often understand and they are only here a
half
day.  The night before the exchange the books are put on the LC tables
in
groups by chapter or nonchapter and the entire exchange is done by noon.
The students seem to love it. We are a K-4 of about 575 students.  Good
luck.  Oh yes, if any student wants to give more than three they still
only
get three back but their names goes on our story pit wall ( written in
their writing on a book shaped piece of bright construction paper) for
the
rest of the year.  We can then use those to refresh our collection or
merely add them to the exchange.  You will need lots of extra books that
you add the first time so that the last students will still have plenty
of
choices.



I've held two Book Swaps.  The first one was more successful than the
second.  I'm not sure why, except the first one was held in Feb and the
second in May.  I think kids have too many other distractions in May.
I personally visited each reading class and explained the process.  Let
me see if I can remember the info.
        1.  Student could donate middle school level books only.
        2.  I accepted hardback and paperback books as equals.
        3.  It was a 4 for 5 swap.  That is, students get 4 different
books for
each 5 donated books.
        4.  Parents MUST sign a paper saying they understand their child
in
donating the books to a used book swap.  I anticipated upset parents if
the students did not tell the parents what they were doing...either I
warded off this problem or parents were glad to not buy reading
materials.  Don't know which!
        5.  I maintained the option to refuse certain donations based
upon
condition and/or appropriateness.  Actually refused a very small
number.  Usually because they wanted to donate Disney or other such
juvenile titles.
        6.  First students to donate books were the first students given
browsing time to select.  This gave students incentive to get the books
in early.
        7.  We grouped books by genre on tables.  (Collect about 2 weeks
prior
to book swap date.)
        8.  I kept a simple database of students' names, reading teacher
and
period of reading...number of donations or number of books student was
eligible to select...actual number of books selected.

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