Long Post - But great info shared!! Thanks everyone!!! Sorry for the delay in
posting a HIT. I really do appreciate all the input I received.
Here is the original post:
I want to be clear that I am speaking of the E label that many vendors
will give the early interest books - not ebooks.
Our elementary schools have recently switched from K-5 buildings to
K-4. Our library collections are divided into E books and non E books.
As best as I can understand, the E indicates a book that is a K-3
interest level. E books may or may not be at a K-3 reading level. Many
books that are of interest to the K-3 students do not come with an E
label, and many books with an E label are of interest to the fourth
graders.
I am finding that the division in the collection is causing students to
roam several areas of the library in search of a book on the certain
subject. I am also noticing that many of the 3-4th grade students are
not going to the picture books, because they think the E rating is
"babyish" - an obviously false assumption.
I am considering changing the organization of the library to a picture
book section and a chapter book section, regardless of the section.
This will be a big undertaking - not only in physically moving the
materials, but also in changing the way of thinking for students and
staff.
So, before I bite off more than I can chew (again) I though I would
get your collective take on it.
How do you handle the E rating?
Have you ever reorganized the library in such a major way? If so, what
was the experience like?
Even if you do not have experience to share, what are your thoughts?
I need all the input I can get!!
Thanks,
Melisa McCain
Elementary Library Media Specialist
Franklin Community School Corporation
Franklin, Indiana
http://www2.fcsconline.org/staff/mccainm/
Most of you who replied stressed the importance of referring to the E section as
the ""Everybody" section, but here are a few more pieces of information that were
sent my way:
Here are a few tips that have worked for me in my present k-4 library. I created a
Jr section that we call SIR..Step into reading. I pulled all the beginning readers
out of the E section and Fic section for SIR. Then I pulled all the books from the
non fiction shelves good for K & 1 and created a NF SIR section. then I pulled all
the picture books more appropriate for 3 & 4 and put them on a shelf in the regular
fiction section. I too felt they we in appropriate to go home with K,1 and 2....too
much text and subject matter too advanced. It was a lot of work but the library is
much more patron friendly.
We call our E books Everybody books. Many picture books have 4th, 5th and even 6th
grade reading level. Calling them Easy books just doesn't work for us for all the
reasons you mentioned. I have fiction section which is the chapter books and the
non-fiction is all shelved together. It does make for some work in the beginning
to get students to find just the right books and books that are on their level. I
am a firm believer that kids will work harder so that they can read books that are
of interest to them.
In my library, I guess the E is more based on the amount of pictures, text, and the
size of the book itself. Most all of my E books are NONFiction.
I have converted two libraries back to the familiar public library type set up and
eliminated the grade level segments, it is a big job, but well worth it.
I was interested in your question because many years ago (in the 70s) I created an
elementary library from classroom collections. I simply had fiction and non-fiction
sections, with no separation in the fiction area. I never had a student select the
wrong level material. I don't believe students were any "smarter" back then and
have often had the same concerns as you with the 2 sections of fiction. It seems
like we make extra work for our children with the division. I would love to create
just one area, but as you said, the process is pretty overwhelming and time
consuming.
For nonfiction I ignore the "E" and request processing not include it. As you
stated it helps keep like subjects together. I did the rearrangement in the summer
on my own time because I believed strongly that it would make a better
organizational experience for the student and also make my life easier. It was time
consuming to rearrange 9,000 books out of our 12,000 book collection.
Basically, we have a picture book section, a chaper books section and a beginning
reader cart (Frog and Toad and everything easier) I have moved the Nate the Great,
Junie B Jones and some other longer chapter books over to the FIC section. For us,
this has provided dignity for the struggling readers (they are in the “chapter
book” section). Also when kids are in the E section, they mainly want a fast 10
minute story. Those easy chapter books, JUnie etc, are not what they want. It was
labor intensive, but seems worth it. I do them in batches with my scanner and the
function that allows me to print up labels sorting by when the info was changed –
i.e., print every spine label changed after 11/10/08. Minimizes the work.
The 1 thing you need to think about, when putting books on your shelves, is what
works for you and your patrons. I have taken quite a few E books and moved them to
F, simply because I knew that the kids who could / would read them, wouldn't check
them out from the "Everybody" section. You are right, it can be a BIG
undertaking. Are you automated? If so, then this is something you could do, one
book at a time. If you have 30 minutes, you can skim the E section, pull out 10 E,
but should be F, titles, change the cataloging and their labels, and then take them
to their new homes. No one really needs to be the wiser until you feel you are
ready to make the big change and explain it all to your patrons.
In my library, an E call number is for all the picture books. A hold over from
previous library staff. I'm not sure what it ever stood for since picture books
aren't easy readers or anything of the sort.I agree with your idea of separating
the picture books from the chapter books. I can easily see how students would be
confused with your current set-up. The division of picture books and chapter books
is easily explained to young students. I'm all for simplicity, especially at the
elementary level.My library is broken down into picture books, beginning to read
chapter books, fiction (longer chapter books and titles that aren't picture books
or beginning to read books), and non-fiction books. I have another elementary
school several miles away that also breaks out the easy non-fiction books. I
understand the wish of some library staff to separate regular non-fiction from easy
non-fiction, but wonder how a student wouldn't be confused by that set-up. I like
the idea of e
xposing the students to all non-fiction regardless of their reading ability. I've
never reorganized my library in such a major way, but again, I think the elementary
level is the place where you can simplify things. Why make it difficult for
students to find books?
In my school (JK-4th grade), all picture books have an "E" and all chapter books
have "FIC."
When teaching the organization of the library I make sure the 4th and 5th grades
know that the division is one of format only. That the E books are most books to be
read to (not by) the younger students. I have one that is even a 7th grade reading
level. They will sometimes find picture book format books in the F section because
of the subject matter. Polacco's Pink and Say are about war where people die and we
wouldn't want some unsuspecting Kindergartener to check it out. I show them Anno's
math books that don't have any words at all, but cover topics such as
multiplication, through the pictures only. If you were to change I would shut down
the library and have adults help you. Be very specific about what you want done.
Think of every permutation that could come up in putting the labels on. Then you
train and supervise. Then supervise some more. I had help from library clerks to
put barcodes on my books and they still made mistakes. Make sure you have treats or
lunch so the
y can take breaks.
I’m currently in the second school library I’ve worked in and have implemented
what worked great in the first. For all the distinctions below, the first three
letters of the author’s surname follow the section designation letter. The
exception is biographies, which get the first three letters of the subject of the
book’s last name after the “B”. The books are divided into these sections:
--All (fiction) picture books (usually not picture book format nonfiction,
including biographies) get a “P” for “Picture Book”. --Easy Readers (aka:
“Early Readers” and “Emerging Readers”) such as the “Frog and Toad”
books or the “Piggie and Elephant” books get “ER” labels and spine label
“Easy Reader” stickers. --Fiction books with chapters and at least as much text
as pictures get shelved in the “F”--Fiction, section. --Biographies (even
picture-book format biographies) have a “B”. I’ve thought about getting
spine label “Biography
stickers but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. --Holiday books all get a
“HOL” in front of whatever the spine label would have said. Then they get
Holiday specific spine label stickers and shelved according to Holiday. This works
well for now. I would like to pull out simple “Concept” type books (ie:
numbers, letters, shapes, opposites) and give them their own special spine mark.
I’ve also considered having a “Tween” section where books between “ER”
and longer chapter books would be kept (ie: Junie B. Jones, A to Z mysteries,
Gooney Bird Greene, etc.) But for now, this system is working well.
'm a brand new librarian who recently had to reorganize and decide what to do with
the "E" chapter books. What I ended up doing is putting all of the E chapter books
in their own section next to the regular chapter books and calling it "Easy
Fiction." The F&P levels of books on the shelves are usually around J to M, but I
do have some lower level books there - my qualification is that the books are
"chapter" books. In order to avoid the problem of kids thinking that section is as
babyish as the picture books, I highlight that section as part of my orientation
lesson and spend some time talking up great titles on those shelves - My Weird
School, Junie B. Jones, Mercy Watson, etc. After I do this, I find that the "Easy
Fiction" section is one of the most popular corners of the library, even for the
fifth graders (which is good because we have a big ELL population and those are
often the books on their reading levels).I
One of the K-5 libraries in our district (11,000 volumes) is actually organized
without any E section. Everything fictional, from The Cat In The Hat to Harry
Potter And The Deathly Hallows is cataloged and intershelved as fiction--F and the
first three letters of the author's last name. It requires some serious training in
the Five Finger Rule for the little ones when they first start out, but, in
general, it works fairly well. Skilled readers in the lower grades can find more
challenging reading easily, while less skilled older kids aren't embarrassed by
choosing from a "baby" section. It is also particularly good for the special needs
classes. (Whether you call the E section Easy or Everybody, all kids know that
those books are lower reading level.) In your K-4 situation, this might be the best
solution. There are plenty of 1st and 2nd graders who can handle (so-called!) 4th
grade level material, and many 4th graders who need the primary level materials as
well.
I hate the designation 'E' because the students DO automatically think Easy. Many
media specialists have started telling the students E stands for Everyone. One
person in our district uses the E label - but tells the students to think of them
as 'Quick Reads.' My E labeled books are the picture books - and they up to an 8th
grade reading level. I tell the students they are Quick Reads - but that the
pictures are as necessary as the words whereas the chapter books - F books - are
all words. Some of our chapter books are 1st grade reading level. What they need
to do is use the five finger rule when choosing a book. I'd love to change the
label to Q...but that would confuse the students when they go to another library -
and the vendors don't use Q.
I work in a k-2 building and and a 3-5 building. When I first started, the previous
librarian had all of the Accelerated Reader books in one section and all of the
other books in another, separating fiction and non-fiction. So if I was looking for
a book by Marc Brown, I had to look in fiction, (as E & Fic are interfiled at the
K-2 building), AR red, AR blue, and AR green. TIME CONSUMING!! Now I call E books
"Everybody" because everybody likes to read them and my AR titles are filed on the
shelf where they should be (along with more divisions than three in AR as we own
books that are leveled pre-K through 4 and 1-6, depending on the building.) At the
K-5 building I have put paperbacks in their own section, easy picture books in
their own and easy chapter books just because the layout of the library creates
"sections" and it makes since once students know where to look for a book. Whew! I
would recommend making life easier for yourself and students. If you are happy and
con
tinually explain the "new" way after about three years they forget what the old
way was! I hope this helps a little even if it seems clear as mud ;-)
In my old library, E was for everybody (picture books). In the library I just moved
into, our picture books are labeled PB, and our easy-readers are labeled E. I am
waiting for a good time to change my Es (easy-readers) to B CH (for Beginning
Chapter books & first 3 letters of last name). I am constantly calling my
easy-readers beginning chapter books anyway. The public library has three sections
1. Picture books, 2. EZ readers 3. bridge books. I am not that efficient, but the E
& B CH seemed to work for us (students & I) in the past.
I have changed several holdingscodes and I moved from having AR books separated and
shelved by levels back into a normal method. The only experience I can share with
you is to take it one step at a time and don't expect it to be done immediately.
We divide up into E-- for early reader. This would be books at reading level of
Hop on Pop through books at the level of Frog and Toad. PIC for Picture books, FIC
for the rest. We also put a piece of clear yellow tape over the spine label to
distinguish first chapter books. (books at the level of the Magic Tree house
series,)
"This book has words a 2nd or 3rd grader would not understand, but you will."
Melisa A. McCain,
Library Media Specialist
Franklin Community Middle School
Franklin, IN 46131
mccainm@fcsc.k12.in.us
Because Together We Can,
Mrs. Melisa A. McCain
mccainm@fcsc.k12.in.us
Elementary Library Media Specialist
Franklin Community School Corporation
FCHS, B144
(317) 871-1265 cell
(317) 346-8022 office
mccainm@fcsc.k12.in.us
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