Several years ago, I taught a class to 8th and 9th graders during the
summer. It was a special program and they were paid to attend classes. I
designed the class I taught and called it Library renovation. :-) I had
wanted to reconfigure how the shelves were arranged ever since I got there,
but man-power and time resources had stopped my efforts. Suddenly, I had a
classroom of strapping young workers at my disposal (some were football
players etc. <G>) Anyway, the first week was a planning session. I told
there what we were going to do in the class (I gave them each a section of
the library to be totally responsible for: from taking all the books off the
shelves, checking each one for repair needs, repairing the book, and looking
for other books on the Internet that I could purchase for that section.) We
also moved all the shelving. During that first week, we talked about book
placement and discussed how books should be put on the shelves. They came
up with all sorts of ideas during the brainstorming session (Dewey, Title,
Color, Size to name a few). We also discussed the advantages and
disadvantages of each arrangement. THEY decided to keep using Dewey. It
was the best summer I ever had with students. I got my room rearranged, all
the books were dusted and repaired (I had sessions on book repair) and I had
a group of kids who were amazed to find books on the shelves that interested
them. I hadn't planned to allow book check out, but when they started
begging to take out non-fiction books and I saw their excitement I couldn't
hold out! LOL.
Anyway, as for the shelving arrangement in a classroom, if it had been done
with brainstorming and pros and cons written on the board or big paper ...
whatever ... the kids could come up with a decision and felt ownership. But
they would also under stand why the library is arranged the way we arrange
it.
It may be too late now, but maybe not, you can always do a lesson in the
library and do the same type of thing to show why you do what and how you do
it. It might make them more aware of the difference and stop any confusion
caused by the classroom shelving. I've never shelved the books in my home
library by Dewey. :-)
lm
Lynette (LYNN) Mitchell
Technology/Media Specialist
Crystal River High School
1205 NE 8th Ave.
Crystal River, FL 34428
PH: 352-795-4641 ext: 271
FAX: 352-795-4519
HOME:
Email: JoMomma@tampabay.rr.com
Business: Pampered Chef Consultant ... FUNDRAISERS & CATALOG SHOWS!!!
Email: ChefLynn@tampabay.rr.com
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