Nancy---I am also transferring into a MS from ELEM. Please post hit, or
forward your responses. I noticed that the paperbacks were also separated,
and was thinking about interfiling also.
****************************************
For what it's worth...when I moved to the MS from a HS I found a similiar
situation. All the F PBs were in an area called the Pit-about the same
number. The kids would race to there and lounge on the casual seating to
'browse' thru the PBs. It was always a mess & often they would not borrow a
book. Because of this & the reason you stated, I moved the PBs on to
shelves w/ the rest of the F. It has worked better w/ them together.
****************************************
I am a middle school library media specialist and our
paperbacks are shelved separately from the hardcover
books. We have many paperback fiction books and some
paperback non-fiction and biography books.
Contrary to conventional wisdom that was taught to me
about middle-schoolers, I have found that kids choose
freely from either section of the library. We have SSR
each day for 25 minutes and kids come in to check out
something to read for that time. The delivery system
doesn't seem to matter to my students--they are just
as happy to read a hardcover book as a paperback book.
Most of the more reluctant readers look at the number
of pages in a book, rather than whether the book is
hard or soft cover. I sometimes have a hard time
convincing them to go for the books with more than 100
pages.
I don't know why paperbacks and hardcovers are shelved
separately. Perhaps it's to protect the condition of
the paperbacks, which aren't as sturdy as the
hardcover books.
*******************************************
I have waffled back and forth with the shelving. I had rotating racks for a
while and that was bad because they didn't stay in order and you couldn't
find anything. I moved them to the regular shelves with the hardbacks ...
they slid around and would get behind ... shelves were often messier because
they didn't stand up right. Then I tried interspersing a shelf of FIC A
paperbacks at the end of the FIC A hardbacks, etc. (In the online catalog
paperbacks have a PB designation so that the students know they are looking
for a paperback book, but the spine label is still FIC ___.) Now I have
returned to interspersing them in the correct place in the FIC section right
along side the hard back copy of the book. We just have to straighten the
books a little more but it really makes things more accessible and gets
students into the hard copies too.
*************************************************
I shelve everything together. That way students see other things by the
same author. Students here will check out both hard and paperback books.
******************************************************
we decided to put everything together. Students often
forgot to look in the paperback section and I often
forgot to remind them.
*************************************************
I agree with you. When I was in Jr. High I shelved them all together.
Paperbacks were on racks before I put them back on the shelves. Students
never looked at the hardbacks unless for a class assignment.
****************************************************
Up until a year ago, my school library had a separate paper back section
which was quite popular. However, finding the book was usually a problem
because the catalog didn't always indicate it was paperback. Plus the paper
back rack was continuously misfiled. We outgrew the space, the librarian
retired, I moved from the aide position to the media specialist position,
the library needed a good weed and I took that opportunity to spend last
summer weeding and incorporating ppb's into the main collection. Most of
the students didn't even notice the racks were gone and the library is so
neat and organized after the weed.
****************************************************
I too had my paperbacks integrated with the hardcovers on the elementary
level, and then went to a middle school where they were in two separate
sections. At the end of my first year, I decided to integrate the paperbacks
into the hardcovers so that all copies of one particular title are found
together. Yes, kids often prefer the more compact paperback, so they could
choose that if they wanted. I decided to keep the PB designation in the call
number, so that when kids looked up a title on the computer, they would be
able to determine if the title they wanted was in paperback. Everyone is
happy with the change.
******************************************************
I shelve the paperbacks and the hardbacks together, and I find it works much
better! A student looking for a particular title doesn't have to check two
different locations to see if the book is in (if he has skipped the online
catalog or checked it but failed to note which copies are in, which often
happens). For fiction paperbacks I use PB for the call # instead of F; for
non-fiction paperbacks I use PB, then the regular Dewey number and author
designation.
******************************************************
The important thing is that the students are reading. If I were
you I would wait about eight weeks and see how things are working
and then make the decision to move the papeprbacks or keep them
where they are. Also, check and make sure you ahve enought shelving
in the fiction section to hold them
***************************************************
I had exactly the same situation.
We recently filed pb with hardbacks. It's better. I got a few complaints at
first because IT WAS A CHANGE.
I'm glad we did it. Things are simpler now; books are easier to find. I
found myself telling students to check two different places when the novels
were separate. That just seemed dumb and a waste of time.
HOWEVER, I still have a general paperback area. Mostly I have fun books, not
necessarily fiction, like GARFIELD, Peanuts other fun paperbacks. The
students go right to this place first! Urrggh!
*******************************************************
I am a big advocate for shelving everything together.
I am an elementary school media specialist who used to
work in a public library for many years. I've worked
in both situations, and believe wholeheartedly that
kids will check out hardcover books when paperback
books are shelved with them. My current shelving
situation forced me to have series fiction separated,
and I am considering merging those with the rest of
the fiction in my new building. A similar question is
do we separate genre books - I say no! Know your
collection, and allow kids to explore the variety the
fiction section has to offer. From time to time, I
pull genre collections for display purposes. I hope
this helps.
*********************************************
Nancy O'Donnell
Library Media Specialist
Hoover Middle School
249 Thorncliff Rd.
Buffalo, New York 14223
ODonn247@adelphia.net
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