Re: ELEM/TAR:Easy NF / mini-libraries - yeah or nay?

[Joni J Rathbun <jrathbun@OREDNET.ORG>]

>She said she'd
>talked to some second graders about non-fiction
>books and was told they cannot have nonfiction
>books which, to a point , is true. The higher
>readers who can handle them are shown how to get
>them at their teacher's request and, after
>Christmas, I take all of them over there.

My first thoughts are as follows:

Why do we restrict students from borrowing books
that interest and excite them? What does a child
have to know in order to browse the non fiction
section and find a book that captures their fancy?
Why must a child be able to read every book he or
she borrows? What does research tell us about
the importance of reader choice and free reading?

One of the first things I did when inheriting the
library I'm in now was to allow open borrowing
privileges. We work with children to help ensure
that they select at least one book they can use for
reading practice. Beyond that, however, the student
may choose any book in the library. Little ones
love non fiction. One does not have to be able to
read the _Star Wars Visual Dictionary_ in order to
enjoy it or even learn something including a new
word or two. One need not be able to read every
word of an Eyewitness book in order to learn something
from the experience of curling up on the couch and
pouring through the pages. One need not be able to
read that fat cookbook in order to gain from having
borrowed it. Last week a little girl brought me a
cookie she and her mother baked from a recipe in
the book she borrowed.

>She thinks we ought to have an easy NF
>section separate from the rest where the lower
>readers can get them.

>In one way, I rather like the idea. Left within
>the NF section now, they have little or no access

That access is not difficult to achieve.

I inherited a library that put "easy" non fiction books in
the E section -- or one of the "dot" sections (easy or very
easy readers). It doesn't work for me. In my mind, the
"information books" belong together regardless of reading
level. Readers at all levels seek information. Finding that
information is a hundred times more difficult when it's
sprinkled throughout the E section. It's truly difficult to
access there unless the user is adept at using the database.
And most readers at that level do not have that skill.
At least in the Dewey section, the child can learn to browse
favorite areas and find what he or she is looking for.

So? One of our tasks now is to move these items back to the
Dewey section where they belong and will be used -- not just
by the 1st and 2nds but also by the older children who will
benefit from access. We will mark the "easy reader" non fiction
with easily identifiable stickers so that browsers can eyeball
those books that are easier to read.

>Therein lies the rub, neither do they know HOW to
>access the info.

One of the first steps in helping them learn how to
access the info is to place it where it belongs. They'll find
it a lot faster there than hidden away in the E section. They
learn QUICKLY that dinosaurs are 568. They learn
QUICKLY where their favorite car books are. They
learn ALMOST INSTANTLY where the sports books
are. I don't do formal Dewey Decimal search-and-
retrieve lessons with the little ones but they don't
have any trouble finding what they want. By the
time we DO get to the "formal" lessons, they already
have a sense of how the system works. Young children
are really quite capable. They will know how to access
the nf books they want in short order after being allowed
into the section in the first place. And when they don't
know, you show them and tell them. "The dinosaurs are
here in the 568s." The next time they come to the library,
they will make a beeline for the 568s. All you'll have to
do is step out of their way.

>In other schools, I've seen easy
>NF books pulled and given E designation rather
>than Dewey numbers so 1st and 2nds can get to
>them. But I have never actually seen a separated
>section for them.

I don't think it's necessary to shelf the books
separately. 1st and 2nds can find
them quite well when left within the main Dewey
sections. And older students who need them can
find and use them without having to be seen
frequenting the "easy" part of the library.

As for mini libraries, we are in general agreement.
I like having special collections here and there and
I create temporary libraries on occasion (Christmas
being an example -- with the demand taking priority
over the process). But I have inherited separate sections
for Carle, mini books, Newbery books, Caldecott books,
Hardy Boys and  Nancy Drew, Babysitter stuff, Goosebumps,
Carle, Seuss,  Green Dots (very easy), Orange Dots (easy easy),
the list goes on. I have also inherited an E section that was
shelved according to -- get this -- book height!
Oh, it's in ABC order according to the first letter.
But after that, the books were always placed by
size not author's name. It's been difficult to switch as
most books are also prebinds. Spine info has worn off
or been covered up by GIANT call labels the librarian
printed by hand for, I can only assume, a school that
must have once been full of VISUALLY IMPAIRED people!
You can read a call label from a good 100 yards away!
But this all means that in order to shelve the books properly,
we have to stop and read the cover or open each one.

Finding a book in this library is a nightmare. And it's going
to take a summer to fix it.

But I digress! The books are old too so I can get rid of half
of them (no exxxxageration) before tackling the re-cataloging
and re-classification process. That's the good news :D

FInal thoughts:

- Keep it simple.
- Give the children some credit.
- And don't hold them back!


   J. Rathbun | Library Teacher - Media Specialist
   Lincoln Elementary School - Las Vegas
   jrathbun@orednet.org [home]
   The views I express are mine and mine alone.

  "Poetry and hums aren't things which you get, they're
   things which get you. And all you can do is to go
   where they can find you."

             -- Winnie the Pooh

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