This was my first time posting a question, and I was amazed at the response I got!
Thanks so much for all the great ideas. I had a lot of requests to post a HIT so
here it is:
Jana F. Bullard
School Media Coordinator
SouthWest Edgecombe HS
Pinetops, NC
jbullard@ecps.us
Remember to record your in-house circulation for books used for research.
Just buy lots of fiction that the kids really want to read--your circulation will
pick up--big time! I also bought lots of books that guys like to read--cars,
motorcycles, armed forces, weird things like haunted houses, big foot, etc.
Hi Jana-one of the things thathas made a huge difference in my high
school (800 kids, grades 10-12) is that the English teachers require the
kids to read outside books and give them time to read in class for about
45-60 minutes a week. Ever since they started doing this about two years
ago, our kids are always asking for new books and more suggestions on
what to read. The teachers say that they are always asking for more
reading time. I realize that you can't force your teachers to try
something like this, but it's worth a suggestion!
Setting up DEAR time just twice a week for 15 minutes each time has
helped us tremendously. EVERYONE has to drop everything and read.
We stagger the times and set up a schedule to teachers know when DEAR
time is. We have four blocks a day - and the schedule goes like
this: 1A (first 15 minutes of block) - Monday, 2A - Wednesday, 3A -
Monday, 4A - Wednesday, 1B - Monday (last 15 minutes of block), 2B -
Wednesday, 3B - Monday, 4B - Wednesday. All read only books - no
magazines, no text books, all read for enjoyment - teachers,
principal, all. Kids have really started to get into books after a
year and a half of doing this.
Ask your students what they want to find there. Lance
Armstrong has been popular with our boys and someone
just posted the other day about the new LeBron James
bio. Get books for your teachers to read as well. We
buy a lot of current fiction and nonfiction.
Circluates to staff and students.
Feature near the door, in the windows, book talk, take
to meetings, etc.
I know many people don't agree with this, but one of the best things I've done is
organize my fiction books into categories. It's amazing! Here's what we've got:
Action/Adventure, Animal (considering deleting this one), Classic, Easy, Graphic
Novels, Historical, Mystery/Horror, Religious, Romance, SciFi/Fantasy, Spanish
language, Sports, Western, and General Fiction.
We're of a similar size (about 1,000 scholars here), and we have several English
teachers who require a book report each nine weeks, and that's a big boost. They
bring their kids in at the beginning of the grading period and take about 15 - 30
minutes to look for books. I do lots of book talking and just some meet and greet
the friendly librarian PR stuff.
I have found that displaying new fiction or themed fiction attracts some readers.
If you have a morning announcements or news program broadcast in your school you
might try having a book talk or book recommendation segment. That has generated
some circulation for me when I have been able to do it. It is not fair, as you
well know, to judge a library's usage by its circ stats. So much is done in-house
in a high school setting. If students could take out the books that I hold on
reserve for multiple classes doing the same project my circ would be sky high!
Good luck.
Last year I purchased a collection of manga (Japanese graphic novels) and my
circulation really jumped.
I'd start with the Fruit's Basket series.
The only way to get most high school students to read is for the teachers to
expect them to read. I know that does not necessarily foster a "love" of
reading, but it does sometimes remind them that they like it. My classes
that read the most have teachers that encourage it, require it, and give
TIME for it.
I also, usually have 3 displays of books up at any one time. I put some
books facing out on the shelves, both fiction and non fiction. I just
started putting "NEW" stickers on books, and it does seem that the students
are looking for them. (I leave them on for about a year)
Nothing really worked for us until Reading Counts. Now, everybody has to read, so
nobody is called a nerd for reading at school. Some kids actually find out that
they like it!
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