Hello - thanks to all of the 24 people who took the time to respond to my inquiry.
I initially tried to respond to each one of you, but I am borderline overwhelmed by
the work that has accumulated after my first week, so I am sending one big thanks
to all of you. The responses were passionate and varied, from definitely restrict,
to definitely not restrict. Several suggested a middle ground. I think I will
select many non-fiction books for the next few weeks and put them on a cart in the
everybody section, then after they understand the concept of shelf markers, let
them go where they want. I know those of you who have been doing this for some
time will not be too interested in reading the responses, but I posted the HIT for
the NEWBIES out there who may not have decided what to do yet. Thanks again to all!
Nancy Flack
Library Media Specialist
Piney Orchard Elementary
Odenten, MD
flackmedia@comcast.net
A lot depends upon the way low level nonfiction is shelved and whatever
reading programs are on the campus. I have all of these in one area for
kinders. First graders that need books that are shelved elsewhere go there
to get them. I start all K & 1's off in a limited area to see that they are
using markers correctly. Then it doesn't matter. AR is rampant on this
campus. So my students usually go where their reading level books are
located.
*******
What was the rationale for restricting grades to
certain sections of the library? What about kids
reading above - or below - grade level? What about NF
for primary kids? My little ones would have a fit if
they couldn't check out dinosaur books or the dog/cat
breed guides.
If the rationale is that the kids can't read those,
then have a rule tht they have to take one book they
can read for each book they can't.
******
Our library serves K-8 and the fiction is sectioned as follows:
K-1 picture books
2-3 easy chapter books
4-5 regular fiction
6-8 young adult fiction
As the year progresses, the 1st graders can go into the easy chapter
section and the 3rd graders can go into the 4-5 section. The only
exception to the above groupings is if a child's reading level is below
grade level. Since our 5th-8th grade classes visit the library with
their reading groups and not homerooms, we know when Group 3 comes that
they are the ones with lower reading levels.
The non-fiction section is for everyone. We have put orange stickers on
the spines of the easier non-fiction books that are good for 1st-3rd
grades but they are not limited to just those titles. It makes finding
grade appropriate books easier to find such as biographies, etc. and
keeps the sneaky 8th graders from trying to choose 1st-3rd grade level
books.
************
I definately restrict the K-1 children from the other areas of the library for
readability alone. They simply can't read the older kids books, let alone the
content may be inappropriate. Another plus is that they tend to decimate the
shelves routinely and keeping them in their own section means less clean up for me.
They look at a lot more books than older children trying to make a decision. Good
luck and remember you're a nice library lady too.
******************
We've had this discussion before, and you'll find there exists some
disagreement. But I have never restricted elementary children of any
age from any area of the library (with an occasional exception during
the first few weeks -- until they get the PROCESS down).
Young children love non fiction. Non fiction books have become more
and more available in a wider range of reading levels. Even if above
reading level (Eyewitness books come to mind), many of the non fiction
books hold a particular fascination for the children.
This inevitably leads to the discussion about allowing (or not
allowing) children to borrow books beyond their reading level;
whether we guide and help them learn to make appropriate choices
or whether we simply restrict. Yet I never seem to hear about
restrictions to the "E" section when quite a few books there are written
way beyond a first grader's reading level....
It's been my experience that most children make appropriate
choices most of the time. And those who don't have particular
needs that we can help meet.
I believe learning to read - and learning to love to read - involves
far, far more than just matching decoding skills to print on the
pages. Yes, it's a good thing to help guide children to select
books they can use for practice. But learning to read is part
dreaming for many children. It's finding that book that captures
our imagination or our senses and pouring over the pages until
the day comes when we discover we can, indeed, read the words
there that had so long been a mystery. For me, it was a turn of
the century copy of "Alice in Wonderland" that had belonged to
my mother as a child. I gauged my reading life by that book.
Imagine the day I returned to that book only discover I could
finally read it.... I've seen children in my schools do the same
thing. They will attach to a particular book very young - and
I'll find them returning to it year after year.
Let your students explore all areas of the library. Teach
them how to make good choices. Guide, cajole and give them
lots of examples. Expect that they will make some "mistakes"
along the way and learn from them. But also expect they will make
some discoveries along the way, discoveries that may not make
sense to us but make perfect sense to them. And honor those
discoveries. That simple act could make a world of difference.
***************
This is totally up to you and the needs of your community and how your
collection is arranged. (Some things they want may not be in E) I'm at a K-8
and I let the teachers decide where they would prefer kids to borrow from.
Sometimes the only book I have on firemen is in nonfiction - big kid side
and I ask if the teacher would mind and then I walk over with the little
ones to find them. If a kindergartner wants Harry Potter, I try to dissuade
them "Can mom read that whole thing to you?" "Are you sure you don't want
one that you can read by yourself" etc. What usually happens is mom puts the
kibbutz on it and the kid chooses a more appropriate title next time. Do a
lesson on selection techniques and mention how much fun stories are with
pictures etc. Show them a fic without any and they'll get the idea pretty
quickly. I try to encourage all kids to get books they can read or have read
to them. Ultimately it is their choice though. "Restrict" bothers me in a
country where we say we have freedom to information and to read what we
choose. The earlier we teach this the better! Good luck - it is hard to do
things differently than the person before you but go with your gut.
****************
I usually have my k-1, 2 begin the year in the easy/easy non-fiction areas,
but there are always some children who want to go into the other area of
non-fiction, and I usually help them select what they are interested in from
that area. I have found that this will not create a stampede to the regular
nf section , but will satisfy the few while most will be happy over in the
easy/easy non-fiction. I try not to be too strict about it. It may help the
child to show that there are fewer pictures and more words and maybe ask if
he/she has someone to read with him/her.
**********************
It is not so bad to expect little ones to choose from a given (Easy) area
IF you have put the easier reading nonn-fiction books there in DDC order
as well. Otherwise you are cheating them roundly because they do want a
lot more than picture books and fiction. This does make it easier for
shelving and for finding materials and ups the teacher use of non=fiction
as well in assignments. This system has been written up.
*****************
I do NOT believe in restricting the little ones to the E section. Many of them
enjoy non-fiction much more. Dinosaurs, dirt bikes, gymnastics, cook books, etc.
My son went to a school where he was restricted to the E section and the only book
he ever took out was "The tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher" because he wanted to take out
a book about frogs and the "library lady" wouldn't let him go on the non-fiction
side until 3rd grade! To this day (he's 16) hates libraries :(
***********************
I think it totally depends on the library situation and the librarian. For
example my present facility (though scheduled for a beautiful renovation
that will solve this dilemma) has two rooms...so very late in the year I
introduce the non-fiction section to most kindergarten groups. I have had
some groups that are all over the place and very silly though and if I don't
have an aide during the time they come to the library, I may choose not to
allow the Kindergarten groups out to the non-fiction section. If I don't
allow them out of the fiction room I pull some animal books for them and
bring them into the fiction room to place on display. If I don't introduce
the non-fiction section to the groups in Kindergarten, then I do by January
of their 1st grade year.
I have visited/observed schools however, that don't even allow first or
second graders to take out books because they are in inner-city areas where
they have a very poor rate of return. Each situation seems like it should be
unique to your building and your student needs. However, I would tend to
interpret students asking for non-fiction books as an indicator that they
are ready.
One thing I do remember about my own elementary school librarian is that she
wouldn't allow me in the section with the cookbooks. I had discovered them
when she had a substitute in one week and I was very excited. My mom helped
me with several of the recipes. The following week however, my librarian
returned and "ran me out of" the cookbook section - quite literally (I've
never quite forgiven her and blame her for my endless collection of
cookbooks!)
*****************
Hello! Thought I would let you know my solution to this problem. Every student at
my school in grades K-8 us allowed to check out 2 books each week. One may be
anything he/she wishes, but the other must be from their reading level.
Kindergarteners are allowed to check out Easy books and Non-fiction. I do not allow
them to check out general fiction, which is too old for them. This gives them
something to look forward to, also.
**************************
I usually don't let kinders take books from the shelves (mainly in the
interests of time) but rather put out a selection of books, mostly
"everybody" books for my kinders, I will get them books from other areas
when they ask (which is most of the time). First graders are taught to use
shelf markers and I start them out in the "everybody" section (again, in the
interest of time), and then gradually allow them in other areas after we've
talked about selecting appropriate books. As with the kinders, if they ask
me for somethng else, I show them where they are (dinosaur books for
instance) and once they know where their favorite "subject" books are I let
them go there on their own. Second graders have "free range."
Hope this helps.
******************
don't believe in restricting students to certain areas. We had a number
of questions about this as we became a 5-8 school instead of the 6-8 school
that we were. The questions parents asked were an excellent opportunity
to inform people about the selection process and explain a lot about media
programs in general. The quetions were also a reminder of the need to be
be remindful of our larger communities when we select resources.
My first memory of the school library from the viewpoint of a student is
not a good one. I was in first grade--this was in the 1950's--- we were
restricted to checking out books only from a very limited shelf range. I
was insulted, bored and I thought it was stupid. I've never forgotten that
negative experience.
****************************
My K stay in the E section all year. First grade starts in the E section
and after we talk about arrangement many move to the non-fiction section.
This is usually about Thanksgiving. Hope this helps.
--
***********************
all our kids have access to nonfiction, even the Ks and 1s, because
some kids love that kind of book. I generally have one table of a variety
of nonfiction that is easier to read, with topics that I know the kids in
that class will like. If there are other things they want, I will pull
books from nonfiction as well. I don't teach the kids about the nonfiction
section until early 2nd grade and in general they don't go on their own to
that part of the library to browse. But this way they can enjoy the many
wonderful books that are there as soon as they like. Hope this helps. DJR
*************************
followed someone who restricted 1st graders to the easy books and became very
popular when I changed this. You might talk to the class room teachers to find out
what they think about limiting lower el to a section. I prefer that teachers come
to the mc with their classes, so students have help picking out the books that are
best for their reading level.
************************
I don't restrict the little ones to the E section either. At Kindergarten
Open House I make it a point to tell parents that I allow their children to
select their own books from all sections of the library. I also tell them
that little children, especially boys, love books about slimy frogs and
snakes, terrible storms, dinosaurs, and planets, among other things. I let
parents know that children like to look at the pictures even if they can't
read the words. I have had no problems with this policy.
Children need the opportunity to make their own choices. Parents have the
responsibility to monitor what their children bring home. Parents know that
if they have a problem, they can contact me.
************************
the nice lady who preceded me allowed prek, k, and 1st graders to take off only the
everybody shelves. Nobody every complained because they did not know about it. I
allowed everyone to take from everyplace and tore my hair out trying to keepp the
shelves straight. last year I came up with a compromise. At the beginning of the
year, k, prek, and 1st graders ttake off only the everybody shelves and also a cart
of nonfiction books that I prepare for them. This seems to help as they want those
non-fiction books. Most are happy with this. If not and they tell me what kind of
book they want (sharks, dinosaurs, rabbits, etc.) that is not on the cart then I
will go and get a few from the shelves for them to choose from. They are not all
happy because they want at all of the shelves, but I think it is a workable
compromise.
I do teach the 1st graders how to use the non-fiction shelves after the first
couple of weeks of learning to follow directions.
Good luck. You have to follow your heart and what is comfortable for you. Listen to
your mentor and the kids, but do what you think is right, and can justify.
*******************
Please, please, please do not restrict children to using
only certain areas of the library! Imagine what their
perception of a library is when this happens. Many
young children like to check out nonfiction books -
especially animal books, for the pictures. Also, many
young children like to check out chapter books because
someone at home is reading to them. My son is 4 and we
just finished Charlotte's Web and are now reading the
Junie B. Jones books. If he is restricted to picture
books when he is in kindergarten, he will be
devastated! One more point for not restricting: there
are some children who can't read even picture books but
they like to check out "big books" because it makes them
feel good when others THINK they're reading those
books! Of course, I wish these children could find
something they can read but if that's the first step to
giving them some confidence, so be it. Our district
library policy prohibits any restrictions on what our
students (K-6) can check out of our library. Good luck!
********************
I too restricted k & 1's to an Everybody section
as the library was very large and they easily
disappeared into other sections. Therefore, I didn't
feel I was providing supervision. The space was also
conducive to racing - so there was a safety issue.
Previous librarian did not have enforced rules and I
felt it was important for rules to be in place first
before the students could "roam". By the end
of first grade they did explore the whole library and
were able to do so demonstrating acceptable behavior.
BUT - The everybody section was a complete library
offering k&1s access to all types of genre so they
were able to find books of interest at a level that
should have been appropriate. I never in 2 years
received a parental complaint about inappropriate
books coming home. When firsts got to use the whole
library, there were a lot of poor book choices. But I
did not interfere with these.
Do a "selling" job on what this section of the
library has to offer and be sure you are restricting
k&1's for good reasons. Then begin working on
what are appropriate selection strategies.
*******************
made it through my first week as a new LMS, and I have a question about
>limiting the areas of the library that the younger grades can use. During
>my internship last year, my mentor kept K and 1 in the everybody
>section. This years first graders in my new school are not happy with
>this arrangement, and let me know this wasn't how it was done when the
>nice library lady was there last year! Were my mentor's restrictions the
>general rule or the exception? Please advise.
Without being facetious, I must ask you to think about how YOU would feel
about this if your public library, for instance, put a limit on the areas
of the library that the 38 year olds could use.
Absolutely, I advise against this. Why would anyone presume to know what
any particular five year old loved to read, was able to read, or wanted to
access? It is in our professional code of ethics to grant and protect the
Freedom to Read, View, and Access Information.
We must act accordingly.
***************
I didn't restrict the little ones from nonfiction....too many good books that have
topics they are interested in...but I waited until midyear....until then I would
pull books in a wide variety of topics from the nonfiction and place them over on
the everybody books section....worked great....as the year progressed I helped them
select from the nonfiction sections and by second grade they were ready to do their
own selecting....I also would help the little guys get a book they wanted if they
didn't find it amongst the pulled books....
hope this helps, any other questions, just let me know,
kelly
******************
Your mentor was probably one of those "old paradigm"
librarians. Maybe she said shhhhh also and her collection was always in
perfect shelf list order. In my opinion restricting younger students to a
preselected group of books or section of the library is a real good way to
alienate many of them. If they are not interested in what you have selected
for them they will find the library boring. Many of the little ones are
fascinated by dinosaurs and other animals. They want "real stuff" about
real animals. Restricting them to fiction picture books does not foster
this information need. I know that most of them cannot read the nonfiction
material but they love to look at the pictures and many of them have
someone who will read the words. They bring the book back and get another
one that may be easier or have more pictures.They learn by experience. I
try to read them a story usually a picture book or one for emergent readers
before check out time and have available for checkout additional examples
of the same sort of story, more by the same author or more on the same
subject. However they are not restricted to just those books. If they
prefer something on trees or rabbits or knock knock jokes they are welcome
to have those instead. Remember the collection is not an archive and the
books are there to be used. If the students don't check them out why have
them. I like my collection to be mixed up, get fingerprints and tatty
edges, it means it is used. There are many librarians who will disagree
with me on this. I suggest you check out your students and do whatever you
can to encourage them to think of the library as a place for exciting and
interesting experiences, without creating total chaos; and then do it your way.
*******************
If your everybody section includes a Dewy classification section then
restricting or at least starting tprimary students there is OK. If it
contains only fiction (stories) it is not OK. In my experience most
emergent and pre-readers prefered the easy non-fiction materials to
stories. In my elementary library we had a semi circle of low shelving
that had the fiction (stories) in a,b,c order by author on teh outside of
the circle and the inside had easy reading non-fiction in Dewey
order. Right from Kindergarten when a student asked for a "dog book" they
were asked do you want a story or information about dogs? They were then
guided to inside or outside to make an appropriate selection. As interim
direction of the county school library department I instituted a set of
guidelines that included #4 access to a complete collection for all
levels. This was followed by directions for establishing an easy
non-fiction section. With all the wonderful non-fiction material being
published for emergent readers it is self defeating to limit these
readers to a diet of only stories. I would go on to say it is unwise to
interfile easy fiction and easy non-fiction as then search skills need to
be relearned. We included materials up to about 2nd grade reading level
in teh easy-non-fiction section. Layout on the page, font/type size and
sentence structure were main criteria for inclusion. If such an approach
appeals I will be glad to share details for creating such a section. You
will find teachers like it as well as the kids and circulation jumps.
********************
Many of the posts have stated that they do not restrict students to certain
sections of the library. I agree 100%with the postings, but I am responding
to you privately because while I agree with them, I do restrict my
kindergarten and preschool students. (I am a preschool to 8th grade school).
However, the restriction isn't as restricting as it sounds.
I do have a large easy non-fiction section. The K's and Pre's are limited
to choosing books from either the easy picture book section or the easy
non-fiction section. This does give them the opportunity to select
appropriate non-fiction without giving them the use of the entire
collection. There are several reasons for this: when I permitted them the
run of the collection, my newer non-fictions came back the worse for the
wear or were temporarily lost in the classrooms (they didn't take them home)
with the teachers unconcerned as to the whereabouts. Their feeling was "It
will show up", which they usually did several months later. Unfortunately,
until they did, they were out of circulation for everyone else, and they
were usually the "in-demand" books. This lack of consideration for the rest
of the school and the irresponsibility of the teachers irked me, so by
restricting them to a portion of the collection, I limit my losses (and
lower my stress level!). Also, the students would invariably want to take
out the books that were really for the upper grades. I know this is not the
way libraries are supposed to be run, but there are exceptions to every
rule, and I feel that the easy non-fiction collection meets their
non-fiction needs and interests. So far, the arrangement is working well. If
a student can't find what they want in the easy non-fiction, I will select
several from the non-fiction for them to choose from.
My first graders, however, may choose books from where ever they would like
in the library: easy picture books, easy non-fiction, and "regular"
non-fiction. They are not the least bit interested in fiction for obvious
reasons. I have to say that they are extremely responsible borrowers...their
K and Pre teachers could learn from them! They take great care of the books
and almost always return them promptly.
If you have no valid reason for restricting them, then I would advise you to
let them select books from whatever section of the library interests them.
It really does make them feel that you think they are responsible and they
try their best to live up to your expectations. And, it also makes them feel
that the library is a welcoming, exciting place to be.
******************
We put a selection out for the Kindergartens to choose from in the =
"everybody" section, daily.If they want a book on poetry, dinosaurs, big =
trucks, birds, snakes or any other non-fiction, we show them where they =
are located and they are allowed to check out books from the section =
that interests them.
Because our library has a flexible book checkout system (one that I =
instituted 2 years ago) they come anytime during the day on their own =
and enjoy the Freedom to Choose. =20
They soon know where their favorite books are in the non-fiction =
section!
**************************
If kids are restricted in the library, it's from behind the checkout desk, and my
office.My vote is a big NO to restricting kids to one area of books.
I can't imagine limiting kids to only one section of the library. Our goal is to
expose kids to good literature and books no matter WHERE they are in the library.
They may not be able to read it, but kids are pretty good about self-selecting once
they know the boundaries. In my library, more effective rules are something like
"one book in your reading level, and one for fun." I have kids who would check out
only Goosebumps or drawing books, so another rule is "only one by the same author,
or type." We have a limited collection, and that makes it possible for more kids to
get a chance at some of the more popular books (Junie B. Jones, Eyespy, joke,
riddle, and drawing books.)
Sue Adams
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