[LM_NET] HIT: ELEM> Magic Tree House Research Guides

[Sarah Ducharme <scducharme@YAHOO.COM>]

Thank you for the great feedback! 

Based on what most people said, I will shelve the Magic Tree House research guides 
in the same section as their fiction counterparts, keep their spine labels as Dewey 
numbers, and see how they are used.  I am starting a new section for series books 
next year, so this will make sense for that system, too. 

Here are all the responses for those requesting a HIT.  The first one listed is the 
plan I'm following:


At my one school, we have the Magic Tree House books in a separate area within the 
fiction section, and then directly below
the shelves with the Magic Tree House Books, we have the nonfiction companions
in Dewey order. This works out really well and the students can look below the 
fiction books to find
the nonfiction companion for the book their reading.

I have so many Treehouse books that I have a double decker
plastic spinner on top of a book shelf.  That makes 

it easy to shelve the
research guides with the books.  I think you are right that kids will get
to them easier if they are shelved near the book.
 
I put the correct spine label on them, but then shelve them
with the "F" MTH books. The
students appreciate being able to find them without searching. Whatever works!
 
We shelve them in nonfiction and then hope that the interest
shown in the subject leads to an investigation into the fiction. 
The reasoning behind this is that students who are searching
for information on a subject may automatically disregard results in the catalog
that come up as FIC. If we shelve the MTH guides with nonfic, there is a greater 
chance they will be used by students who
found the title searching in the catalog or are shelf scanning a subject. Once
they see that the guide is a MTH book, the
hope is that they will then investigate the fiction companion (which is listed
on the cover of the guide). 
 
I shelve them with the novels, and it works well for
us.  The kids understand that they are nonfiction companions even
without an explanation.
 
What if you did a label such as F OSB 943.5 (or whatever the
true Dewey number is)?  This would help the students find the book with
the MTH series, as well as know that if they
want more information on the topic, they can go to the Dewey number to find
related books.
 
I have a spinning rack dedicated to the Magic Tree
House series and the research guides.  I leave them catalogued as they came in, but 
keep anything Magic Tree House on the rack.  If
you don't have a spinning rack, I would try to separate the series out in some way 
- dedicate a shelf somewhere, but I wouldn't recommend labeling the non-fiction 
books with an F. 
 
I leave them labeled the way they came...and their
cataloging in Destiny indicates they are nonfiction, but we put all MTH on a 
rolling cart in its own little section.  So much easier to manage them and help 
kids find them.
 
I am putting them with the Fiction
books.
 
I shelve mine by the numbers.  Periodically I put out
the books and companions on display

****
Thank you again, 

Sarah


Sarah C. Ducharme, M.Ed, MLS

Elementary School Librarian

American International School of  Budapest
scducharme@yahoo.com


Currently reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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