HIT- AR shelving (Part 1)

[Lauren Denny <LDENNY76@CS.COM>]

Hi everyone, sorry it took so long to post a hit, (more will becoming).
Thank you all so much for the advice on how you shelve AR in your libraries.
Lauren

I am at 5 P-5 schools and we shelve our AR books right along with the rest of
the collection.  We do have an AR label (purple) at the top of the spine with
the letters AR on it.  I do this in all my schools because we have a
transient student base and it is not uncommom for students to move fromschool
to school--this way AR looks familiar to them.  Good luck.  Jan Trella

I believe the consensus was to shelve the books together with the regular
books, but to identify them with a colored dot on the spine, and provide a
list at the check out desk of the AR books and their call numbers.
If you put the AR books on a separate shelf, no one will ever look at your
regular shelves.  Interfiling the AR books makes the kids practice their
skills a little more.
Hope this helps you.  Karen DeFrank, LMS

All our AR books have a large blue dot with a capital A on the spine and are
interfiled with all the other books.  Sometimes, I'll take a bunch and place
them on display marked AR Books and tell them to also check the shelves for
others.  Hope this helps!   Mary Rose Morris, LMS

I started shelving my AR book in a separate collection, but as we expanded
our AR collection, that became impossible.  We now place AR labels on all AR
books with a colored star (different colors for different grade levels) on
the left side of the label.  The star goes on the spine of the book and the
rest of the label wraps around the front.
This way the AR books are easily identified by students.  You may also order
AR tests for books that you already have in your collection.  You will not
want to shelve all of those books in a separate collection.
Hope this helps.  Laura Spencer

I've seen it done bot ways, but I prefer to shelve them together with the
rest of the collection, but marked with see-through red spine label
protectors to distinuish them.
Why?
1.  When you are looking for a specific book, you only have to look in one
place, instead of 2.
2.  The kids are exposed to other literature besides AR titles.  I know their
goal is to have all titles AR, eventually, but they aren't now and there are
plenty of books in our collection that are not AR.
Hope this helps.  Rhonda Scibal

I would recommend that you shelve the books in the normal library way and
mark the books with a color coded label on the outside of the spine.
Shelving according to AR just goes against using an OPAC, in my opinion,
unless you go in and edit all the call numbers.  Also, I think they need to
browse in mixed company, if you know what I mean.  You never know what book
might catch their eye and if they're not mixed in with AR, they won't be
looked at.   Penny McAllister, Librarian

I am a librarian at a very small private school.  Several years ago we
incorporated AR into our program. At first all AR was housed separately
(small collection) and only the library computers could access AR tests.  Due
to the separate housing and teacher enthusiasm to push AR, students neglected
non AR materials.  As our AR selection increased it became impossible to
maintain separate areas.  Last year I shelved all AR fiction in the regular
collection and put access to AR tests on classroom computers.  It is
wonderful.  Students are discovering all the wonderful books we own and
teachers are requesting specific tests for books already on the shelves.  We
have a very small AR collection of Dewey classified titles (mostly biography)
at this time.  As this area of AR is developed and grows it too will be
shelved in the regular collection.  For now it has not been a problem to
house it separately. Since we serve grades 2 - 8, I have also separated the
easy AR books.  They are found on the last two shelves of the easy section.
This is not a problem since the teacher supports AR and non AR titles
equally.  As this area grows it may be necessary to intershelve the easy AR
titles too.  Time will tell.
This works for us for now.
I do put an AR sticker on the top of the spine and a tiny sliver of a
transparent colored label protector under the spine label.  Yellow for
reading level 2-3,  green for 4-5, yellow for 6-7, and blue for 8 and up.
This is very small so as not to advertise if a student is reading below grade
level.  I also make it very clear that anyone can check out any AR title but
it must be in their reading zone to test on that title.
You would probably not need the coding as your reading range would not be as
diverse as ours.
I highly recommend shelving AR with the regular collection.  It is much
easier to maintain and it encourages students and teachers to use the regular
collection.

First of all, I would like to suggest that you check the LM_NET archives on
this topic.  We have had a lot of discussion about it before.
Personally, I think that shelving AR books with the rest of the collection is
 the way to go.  It gets kids used to looking for books the normal way in a
library.  Separating them creates shelving problems, the need to label them
differently, the possiblity of misshelving, the need to look in two places
for them.  There are both fiction and nonfiction AR books---you would
eventually have a huge section---double fiction and nonfiction shelving.
There are times, believe it or not : ) when an AR book might be needed for
another purpose. Do you want to have to look in two different places for it?
Ideally, if you have an automated catalog and can ID AR books in it, kids and
teachers can search that way for a particular book or reading level.  Then go
to  the shelves and find it.
In addition, I place a distinctive dot (fluorescent red---but everyone calls
it orange) on AR books and label (either with AR labels or by simply writing
it in) inside the book with the RL and pts.  With 27,000 AR titles and the
possibility of all books being on AR either by buying their tests or creating
your own, separation (and even identifying with  a dot) can become
overwhelming.  With the AR books intershelved there is a possibility children
will also browse and choose a non AR book just for fun or interest.  There
just seem to be more reasons to intershelve them than to separate them.
We own about 2400 tests.  I know some libraries make a big chart of AR
books---I find that overwhelming, also.  Especially since we continue to add
AR titles.  So, I print a list (test list report) in order by RL, another by
author, and another by title, and keep a notebook of that list near the
shelves.  Anyone is welcome to check the list.  Since we often miss labeling
a book, it is wise for them to check whether a book in hand is on AR.  If a
student or teacher finds one that is not labeled, I take the opportunity to
label it then and there.  When we buy new tests it is sometimes impossible to
go through the collection and ID all of the existing books (especially if
they are checked out).
I also emphasize that they can find an AR book anywhere.  When they go to the
public library the books are not going to be separated for them.  Finding a
book on the shelves is a library skill all of them should get used to.  It
helps to make them independent library users, even in K!
Sorry I have rambled on and on about it.  I gave it a lot of thought a few
years ago when we began using AR, and I am often placed in a position of
defending my reasoning.  But I am pretty adamant about not separating the
collection into little pieces.  I prefer spine labels to ID
Newbery/Caldecott/holiday/etc. books, and keep them shelved with everything
else.  They might be read for another purpose and need to be found easily,
the way we find all other books in any library.  Think how difficult it is in
 the supermarket when you are looking for a particular item and they have
taken it from its original and logical place and made a display of it.  For
those merely attracted and tempted by the display, it makes for better sales.
 For those of us needing the item, it is frustrating to try to find it.
I am in a preK-5 school and K kids are learning to use the library just the
way everyone else does.  They build on their skills (and we help them a lot).
  It also makes it easier to quickly train any helpers and volunteers and
subs  that come into the library---not a bunch of exceptions to shelving
rules.  And if you need yet another reason, just think about that teacher who
comes  for a collection of Marc Brown books and you say that some of them are
here,  and some of them might be there withAR books (and of course, some
might be
checked out).  Confusing, senseless, and extra work.  Sharon Gonzalez

I've personally never understood why a library would even want to shelve
their AR books separately, because if you have enough titles to make the
program worthwhile, seems to me like you'd have the same as two different
libraries to take care of (one is enough for me!).  We've always shelved our
ARs right along with the rest of our collection.  We do color-code them
according to reading level, but the spine labels remain the same.  Our kids
are encouraged to check out one AR (or more) and one non-AR since we stress
that AR books arn't the only "good" books.  Our whole school, PK-6th, is
involved in AR and it's been VERY successful.
Jacque Childress, Librarian

At my school, the 5th and 6th grade students do AR.  When I came to the
school in May, all of the AR books were shelved separately.  This caused a
few problems... even though there were colored dots on the spines of the AR
books, volunteers still shelved them with "regular" fiction.  Teachers were
concerned that having the books shelved seperately kept the students from
browsing the shelves and seeing good non-AR books that they might like to
read.  We also had a few non-fiction AR that were not shelved with AR
fiction.  The kids never checked the card cat, and even though they had a
list,  they always missed those books.
I decided to shelve all the books in their proper locations.  AR fiction is
now shelved with the other fiction books.  All AR books have an AR sticker
(from DEMCO) on the spine to help identify them on the shelves.  Browsing has
picked up, although not to a great extent because the students concentrate so
much on AR reading.  The biggest benefit has been in the non-fiction section,
where they have to locate the book using Dewey.  It has also helped my
volunteer mothers who shelve...less chance for misfiles.
Hope this helps!  Rosanne Zajko - LMS

I shelve my AR books mixed in among all the others.  I have purchased labels
for AR books that have a certain color book for each grade level.  These
labels are always placed at the top of the spine even if they cover part of
the title.  It helps the students if things are consistent.  We have a very
extensive collection of picture books and I found that the AR/picture books
were hard for the 2nd or 3rd graders to find mixed in with so many non-AR
books so I have recently chosen to reshelve the AR picture books in a
separate place and by grade level.  The students and the teachers have really
appreciated this.  Janice Bahrt

I would advise against shelving your AR collection separately!  I believe
that it is important that students learn to locate materials using
traditional methods (author/call number).  It will become quickly apparent
that the kids will be drawn to AR books, leaving perfectly wonderful non-AR
books to sit on the shelf as it is!  I use every opportunity I can to guide
kids to non-AR books by the same author, similar theme, etc. Don't
misunderstand...I love the AR program and have been thrilled to see it help
to motivate students who might not have selected a book during their visit to
the library.  The librarian before me started a system of color coding by
reading level (on the spine) all AR books so the kids already have an easy
way of spoting them in our collection.  I have started using the book label
option, placing them on the back cover of new AR books as they arrive.  It
has helped to save time in answering the endless, "How many points is this
worth?" questions!  Just my two cents worth, hope it helps.  Best of Luck!
Cindy Hume,

The BEST thing for your library and your instructional objectives is to tag
the AR books in the on-line catalog.  You can use the 500 tag that is
designated for that.  However, I like to put it in the Series 440 tag.  With
our Follett system, I can print out bibliographies from the Series tag, while
I can't print out bibliographies from any of the 500 tags.  The kids will
find the books by using the on-line catalog--just like real life, real
libraries, and regular books.  They can go to Series and type AR to see a
list that looks like this
AR 3 points
AR 4 points
etc.
OR they can go to Keyword and type AR, etc.  If the notation was just in the
500 tag area, only Keyword searching would work for the kids.
Donna Cook, Nacogdoches, Texas :

We've had AR in our school a little over 3 years.  Our number of AR titles
has increased significantly over the past 2 years.  For the first year I was
able to showcase AR books by placing them on top of low book cases. Since our
numbers have increased, I've been using the AR stickers available through
Advantage Learning, Inc. and placing the blue portion of the sticker on the
spine.  This allows us to shelve the books regularly, but still enables
students to see easily which ones are AR.  I have parent volunteers that
place these stickers on the books with the reading level, test number and
possible points.  These last very well as long as you cover the sticker with
book tape or protective label covers.  I still continue to showcase many AR
books on lower bookcases, but most are on the shelves.  Good luck.
Dee Griffith

We recently faced this decision also.  Originally we tried to separate the AR
books from the rest of our collection.  However, so many of our books are AR
that we discontinued with that route.
Solution:  We have a list of all the books that are AR for the teachers.
This list shows Title, Author, Call Number, and Reading Level.  In addition
to the list we have marked all our AR books with a colored Dot above the
spine lable.  This dot works very well for locating the AR books in our
collection at a glance.  Plus the students know to look for the dot.  It
saves us having to answer a lot of questions.
Kimberly Wirth

I shelve them where they belong by call # and indicate they are AR books by
putting a clear yellow spine label protector over them.  I indicate the
points and reading level on the pocket.  That way the student has to open the
book to see the points and reading level.  (A book in the hand is better than
a book on the shelf!)  I did it the same way when I was at the elementary
level.
Pros:
you won't have to look in two places for a book;
students will spread out among the shelves;
students will use library skills to locate books.
Good luck!  Judy Cunningham

The AR books are part of your library collection.  Don't shelve them
separately.  Your students need to know how to find books/resources in a
library.  Those skills will not be reinforced if you shelve the books
separately.  AR is only one phase of your library program.  Don't let it
become your library or the library program.  AR titles should fit your
current and continuing collection.  YOU are the professional who chooses
resources for YOUR facility, not AR.  Use AR, but don't let it drive your
collection development. Select AR tests that match your needs and collection.
 Don't order books just because they are on an AR test disk.  You can order
customized test disks.  Barbara Jinkins, LMS

In Miami-Dade County our supervisor wanted us to shelve the AR books amongst
the regular ones and NOT put the levels on the outside of the books.  So I
bought a rubber stamp.  I also identify the AR books with an "AR" icon on the
spine of the books.  BTW my stamp got stolen.
Accel. Reader
Level_______
Pts.______
It was also stated that we should not sperate the books b/c the students
would only read the AR books.  Michele

    I've been using AR for over 12 years now.  I interfile my AR books along
with my other books and have always done so.  I have identified all of my AR
books with a red stick-on dot at the bottom of the spine which I reinforced
with additional heavy duty 3M tape.  I don't place any writing of any sort
(AR, reading level, etc.) on the red dot.  Students have enough trouble
reading spine labels as it is.  I do place a label inside the front of the
book that identifies the title, author, reading level, point value, and test
number.   I've had several reasons for filing the books together.  One:
Every book by an author is not an AR book.  Usually, students will read the
AR book first, because of the points.  Many times, they will be led to read
the other books by an author (especially if they are shelved beside them)
once they become aware of that author.
Two:  I don't have the space to maintain two separate library collections.
Three: I just don't believe in it.
    I can actually only think of one reason good to keep them separate.  I
visited a library with a beginning AR program a number of years ago.  The
librarian told me she had "dotted" her AR books the way I had recommended in
an AR presentation.  Glancing around, I didn't spot any AR books on her
shelves.  When I asked her about it, she showed me a nearly empty section of
shelves and told me they were all checked out.   When one of the supervisors
came to "inspect" her new program and saw that all of her AR books were
checked out and the children were begging for books, it was immediately
obvious that she needed more books.  The district found some "spare" money
for her to purchase more books.   :-)
Jan McGee, LMS

You can go either way, there are pros and cons for both method.
I interfile mine because that's how libraries are arranged. It seems self
defeating to teach Dewey and then arrange your books in AR point order.
Plus, I figure while the kids are looking for an AR book they might find
something else that interests them too.  It makes for an easier time at
inventory.
If you pull out the AR books it means you twice as many places to look for a
particular book.  Plus, the kids won't ever look at your non AR titles.
Guusje Moore

One of the teachers at our K-4 campus wanted all the AR books shelved
separately, but I respectfully declined to do that because it reduces student
opportunities for
a) browsing (and the chance of finding a book that just might be more
interesting to the reader than an   AR title--), and
b) exercising the ability to locate materials using those "library skills" we
are supposed to be teaching.

At our 5-8 campus, all the AR books are shelved together and they comprise
about 80% of the holdings in that collection ---(no one in his/her right mind
would call it a library). It was set up that way when I "inherited" it, so I
have left it that way. The students never read anything that is not on the AR
list anyway!
You will get pros and cons for both shelving systems. I vote for leaving the
books in their assigned places in the collection for reasons a) and b) above.
When the AR books are shelved together, the students come in, nab an AR book,
and out they go -- if you want to reduce the amount of time a student spends
in the library, that might be one way to do it. I like to have the students
come in and browse and ask about books.   Jean Youngsteadt

I am at a k-6 school and also have AR, which is constantly growing in volume.
Generally, I shelve the AR books as I would any other, in the Fiction or
Non-Fiction or Easy section. I must admit that this fall, I have a special
area for the new AR books, but plan shortly(when time allows)to integrate
these books also into the collection. My goal is to tach students how to
locate books in the LMC. The downside is that it takes them longer to locate
a book. Hope this helps you. Teena

We are a k-5 school and are using AR from 2-5.  My circulation has
quadrupled, which is great, but I am going crazy.  We have the AR books
together with the rest of the collection and the children have a hard time
finding their ZPD levels.  They pull many books and sometimes leave them
anywhere, especially the younger ones.  I have no room inn the library to
have a separate section for AR, but would like to hear what others are doing.
Has your circulation increased dramatically since you started AR?   Martha
Gomez

Survey your staff, and go with what they want.  I have found that happy
teachers are easier to work with.  They will probably suggest you group them
all together (which I am against, but it does please them!)  :)
 From:  bnljohnson@feist.com (Brad and Natalie Johnson)

I am in a PK-5th grade school.  I keep the AR books in the "traditional"
places.  They do have the color coded dots on the spine to indicate reading
level range (ex: 4.0-4.5).  The inside cover has a label the gives the exact
reading level and possible points available.  The kids look for thier color
dot book.  The major problem I have with the program is that some teachers
tell their class that they may only check out AR books.  I let the kids check
out "their grade level plus 1" books.  My way of combating that is to tell
the kids that they can check out only 2 AR books at a time, then the
remaining ones are non-AR.  I am forever saying, "Just because it is not an
AR book does not mean that it is a bad book.  It is possible to read a book
for fun!"  The slower reading kids appreciate the possibility of reading a
book without being required to take a test on it.  Melissa Rippy, LMS-Tech.
Liaison

I came up with a compromise for shelving AR books.  The staff wanted them
seperated from the main collection so the kids would be able to find them
easily and quickly.  I did not like this idea as I could just see kids coming
in and never looking at anything besides the AR section.  I also wanted them
to practise finding books as they are normally shelved.     So, I did
seperate the AR books out in their sections.  The AR paperbacks are on the
first row of the paperback section.  The jj AR books are on the first row of
the picture book section. The AR chapter books are on the first row of the
fiction section. The books are still in their respective sections, which I
like, and they are separated out, which the teachers like.
   I did not do this with the non-fiction.  They are shelved with the regular
collection.  We do have the grade level on a yellow dot on the book spine on
all AR books. The points and exact grade level are on the pocket inside the
front cover.   I hope this gives you some ideas!   Teresa Perry

This is my bandwagon!  I feel the AR collection is a part of the library
collection and should be housed as per Dewey. Put spine labels on depicting
AR level, but leave them intermixed! AR is nothing more than a tool to get
the kids excited about reading and should be used as nothing more! If a
student come into the LMC and the books are inter-shelved, then they (the
kids) are exposed to all the books, who knows they might just see and choose
an interesting book that is right next to that AR book on the shelf. Then and
only then has AR done it's job.
I know at some schools the AR books and program has become distorted by
teachers who want and "easy" way to teach/grade reading, but that is not what
it is supposed to be. Please never limit the child's selection to just AR
books! That is not creating a love of reading, but a love of striving for
those points instead.
Stepping off the soap box,  Lynn.
BTW, please send me or post a hit of responses. We have some schools in this
county fighting the battle and I was going to request assistance in helping
them with their fight.  TIA   Lm

We, too, have started AR this year. I bought AR labels from DEMCO (not the
ones that have "Accelerated Reader" on them, but the ones that say "1st
Level", etc.). I put them on the spine and covered with clear label
protectors for durability. Then, I put the exact level and number of points
on the first page of the book. I taught the kids about this, and they can
find their own books if they know their level. I inter-shelve the books. I
feel strongly that AR books should not be pulled and shelved separately.I
don't want kids to go only to those shelves and ignore the tons of other
great books.Finally, I maintain folders in the library listing AR books we
own, by title, level, and author.   Good luck,  Janet M.

First, This subject has already been covered this school year- you should
check the archives. I believe that the majority inter-shelve AR with their
regular collection, marking them in some way - labels or colored tape on the
spine. That is how I do it at one of my buildings. This method has an
advantage for teachers who come looking for a certain book - they will know
right where to look for it.
At school #2 I have an AR section separately because I cannot move my
computer anywhere else. I am alone with the kids so I cleaned the space right
in front of the computer, made it AR shelving and can keep an eye on the kids
at the same time. That said the shelves for level 4 were too high for kids to
use safely, so those books came down to a cart where I can still keep it in
view.
 Not every space, not every school is the same and you must remain flexible.
Building #2 will be housed in a different building next year and I don't know
how that space will work out, so my answer might be different by then.
Use your head and remember that you need to keep safety issues in mind.  It
isn't good to have too many students looking for books in shelving you can't
see clearly or on shelves so high that a dropped book could really inflict
damage.
Both arrangements provide easy shelving - school #1 is clear and traditional,
I move along right after school. School #2 I sort by grade level as they are
returned and either have helpers put right back on the shelves or keep in
first grade, second grade piles until I can shelve myself.
Only two months ago my 4th grades were trashing the shelves each week. Now
they saw the second graders mess on their first AR day and went berserk
criticizing and straightening. I loved it!  Hope this helps you.  Rebecca
Brown

I put my AR books right along side the regular books in the collection.  My
rationale - if they like a particular book, they can go right over to the
shelf and find other books by the same author or in the same series.  I color
code my Reading counts books (I just switched from AR) by reading level.  The
kids know if they are reading at the first grade level, they need to find
books with red dots, etc.
jonie fitzsimmons MIRLS

In my library we have so many AR books that it would be impossible to pull
them out for many reasons.
1.  Having the books shelved along with the others gives you an excellent
reasons for teaching call number location skills.
2.  It takes more time to shelve in two different areas.  I don't have the
space to separate out the AR books from nonAR books as they come in.  We do
about 75% or more AR books some days.  There is only one person to man the
circulation counter.
3.  I refuse to color-code reading level on outside for privacy issues.  I do
color-code the book to be AR.  If a student knows how to get to the proper
area, he can rapidly spot a book on the shelf.
4.  I don't have shelving space available to separate the collection.
This has been discussed a lot.  I sure if you look in the archives you'll
find this info.  Most librarians fall on one side of the fence when it comes
to reading level and separating.  Basically go for what meets your state
requirements for privacy.  I don't want my students self-esteem hit by
carrying books identified as very low reading level.  Sandy Scroggs

I think it violates labeling ethics when you shelve them separately.  Of
course, so does putting a sticker on the book.  I am at a middle school and
don't like AR because the teachers refuse to use it correctly and it causes
the students to choose only AR books to read.  I couldn't get anyone to check
out Harry Potter till I made a test for it.  In spite of zillions of
in-services and reminders, the teachers still send kids in for a "2 point
book," they use it for a grade, they make all kids read books on
"grade-level," etc. I guess I went beyond the scope of your question!  My
opinion is mix them in, so the kids will at least SEE some other books.  Sara
Sadowsky

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