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Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions on student barcodes.  Many asked
that I post a hit .  Many of the responses were the same.  Here are some of
them:
Thanks again!


We stick our student barcodes onto the inside of manila folders.  Each
classroom has a manila folder.  We just pull it out when they come in to the
library and there they all are.  Some of our libraries have rolodex also,
for kids that come in without their class, so the library aide doesn't have
to go take out a folder.

We use the sheets that are used to store business cards.  We have heavy
paper cut to that size, run labels for each student, attach a barcode, file
them in order in the business card sheets by classroom/teacher.  This
method is used in the elementary level as you can resort the cards the next
year by the teachers of that grade.  In the secondaries we use the rolodex,
in alpha order.  Some do this as one mass alphabet, others do each grade on
separate rolodexes.   The elementary level method has worked well for us.

I use a big loose leaf notebook.  Each elementary class's barcodes are on a
single sheet of paper, alphabetical, inside a plastic sleeve.  Older grades
are just alpha by grade. Big coloroful divider for each grade.  When an
elem class comes in, I remove their page while they check out books, but
the rest of the time (it's a K-12 library) the notebook is open on the
counter beside the checkout computer.


I use baseball card sheet protectors.  Two student barcodes fit into the
space of one baseball card.  That means 18 students on one page.  There are
placed in a big binder so it can be opened up to view a complete class at a
time. (18 students on one page and 10 on the other)  Tabs separate each
class.  This system works well for us.  Good luck.

I keep  library number barcodes for our students in a 3 ring binder whick I
keep on the desktop next to the computer I use to check out with.  I separate
them by teacher with tab cards.  I use the Alexandria computerized program,
which prints out the barcodes for the students.  This year I added a picture
of the students and placed it next to their barcode.  I have 12 on a page in
alphabetical order by last name, and put them back to back in a plastic
protector page.  Our students use their library number as their password into
other computer programs, also, so it really doesn't take them long to learn
it.    It takes a little bit of extra time at the beginning of the new year,
but I keep the same student with the same number all the way through
elementary school.  (We are a K-4 and have 435 students)  The kindergarten
children have a harder time remembering their number, so I just say, "Can you
find your picture?"  Check-out time takes about 5-7 minutes for a class of 26
kids.  In a half out period which is what our library times are, we usually
read one to two stories, do nursery rhymes, or exhange those two things for
library skills that day, find our new books and check them out.  This works
well for us.


Our K-4 kids have their barcodes on a duplicate student ID card which we
keep in the library in boxes. The boxes we have are slightly larger than
credit card size (approx. 4 x 8 x 2-1/2 inches). We have 3 boxes. Each
class' cards are kept together in a group, with dividers with the teacher's
name, so when the class comes in, we grab their cards and put them out on a
designated table. Even the kindergarteners have figured out this system.

When I was working on my MS at Utah State University (88-89) at the lab
school library - where I did some practical work, they used photo albums
with the pages covered with plastic sheets.  (The pages themselves are
rather tacky to hold items in place.)  The librarian / library aide in
charge knew which class was in the library and would flip to the correct
place in the album.  It was amazing that the students knew exactly where
their names (Rolodex card with barcode) were on the page and could point to
them faster than the adult could find them.  The LMS told me they'd come up
with the system because it was much faster than a Rolodex or box of index
cards.  Also, the next year, it took very little work to move the cards for
each student to the correct page for their new classroom.

In my LMC (350 students grades 7-12), I keep a Rolodex with student barcode
numbers, but it doesn't get used.  We find it's much easier to ask students
for the first three letters of their last name.  We go to the name default,
type the letters in, select the correct student from the list, and go from
there to enter book information.

Our K-4 kids have their barcodes on a duplicate student ID card which we
keep in the library in boxes. The boxes we have are slightly larger than
credit card size (approx. 4 x 8 x 2-1/2 inches). We have 3 boxes. Each
class' cards are kept together in a group, with dividers with the teacher's
name, so when the class comes in, we grab their cards and put them out on a
designated table. Even the kindergarteners have figured out this system.

Our K-8 school uses a 3 ring binder.  We have a clear plastic sleeve for
each class. We glue labels with the students' names and barcode on a piece
of construction paper in alphabetical order and slip the construction paper
in the sleeve.  We can add or remove labels as needed.  .  We also label the
paper with the teacher's name and a picture of the teacher.  Classes are
arranged by grade level, and alphabetically within the grade.  We have
divider tabs for K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.


We put ours on individual "book sticks" that the students also use as place
markers when looking for books. Then they bring to the counter along with
their books.  Speeds up whole class use.  We make the sticks out of "desk
name signs" cut in half, stick on barcode, write student and teacher, then
laminate. Kepp bound together by class groups.

If students come in between classes, they use generic place markers and have
to know their number -- numbers are assigned by year they will graduate from
high school:  904062   9 means person, not book; 04 means graduate in 04;
062 is the number they were typed into the computer.  Students learn their
last two numbers quickly and we have a "cheat sheet" for graduation years by
the check-out computer.  Our students keep the same number for all 13 years
K-12 so most know it.

We apply our barcodes to blank business cards (they come 10 to a sheet,
for laser/ink jet printer), with the students name printed/typed above
the label. These are stored by class in a 3 ring binder in business card
holder plastic sheets (sort of like baseball card displays). These are
avail for about $1 each and hold 20 cards. I arrange them so when I open
the notebook, an entire class is showing. I also have an "Extra" page
where I put the overflow; many of our classes have 21 or 22 kids, so the
T-Z kids often end up on the  extra page. I also put the new (incoming
transfers) here unless there is space on the main page, and I dont have
to rearrange the cards.


I just keep cards in baggies for each class (24 of them). I put the class
cards in a box when the class arrives in the media center. When they
checkout they find their own card in the box. It is no big deal.




Pam Osterberg
Cokato Elementary Media Specialist
Cokato, MN

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