There are certainly some viable reasons for and against continuing
checkouts during the summer. Right now I have about 83 pages of
students who still have a book or more checked out (we closed check-out
last Friday) and am hoping they are all going to be turned in, but
knowing the reality is that not all will. Closing the library for me
isn't punishment....students still use the library up to the last day of
school for free reading, studying, computer work, getting together with
their peers, et al. And I am working hand-in-hand with a local branch
of the library ensuring the programs and authors that will be visiting
the public library, telling students about ILL if they don't have a book
they want, handing out hardcopy fliers as well as links to the library
program on the school library webpage,and preparing them for summer
reading there. Of course, we are also fortunate to have a Barnes and
Noble and another small independent bookstore that teens tends to
congregate and use as well.
Interesting that Betci's post about bookswapping came up. I was doing a
workshop in Dallas today, and this subject came up. A librarian I ate
lunch with does the 2 for 1 bookswap. Students bring in two books, and
they get a ticket to take one book with them. Teachers are also
encouraged to do this as well. That makes books available for reading
throughout the summer for those who may not have them at home. Another
librarian says she puts them on tables and carts and separates them by
genre and says this works out much better than even a book fair.
Students will come in and say, "I'm going to browse the bookswap" and
gives the librarian their ticket and takes a book.
Naomi Bates
Northwest High School Library
>>> David Lininger <tigerlibrarian@GMAIL.COM> 05/18/10 9:46 AM >>>
SERENA HAYES wrote:
> It would be awesome if I could send home bunches of books with
low-income kids to read but it is not practical. Perhaps I am opening a
whole new can of worms, (hope not) but what about teaching kids the good
old-fashioned character trait of taking responsibility for their
actions. I am all for forgiveness, at times it is necessary and the
humane thing to do. Can we justify, however, constantly sending books
home with kids who just lose them and then expect the school, or someone
else to pay their bill. What exactly does that behavior teach
children, especially teenagers, about taking responsibility for choices
and actions?
>
I wholeheartedly agree here! Rich or poor, kids need to learn personal
responsibility, and we ought to exercise it, too. We are responsible for
many tens of thousands of dollars worth of books that were purchased for
school use. Yes, kids ought to read over the summer, and public
libraries are open then. Many of them even have summer reading programs
just for kids. We need to be pointing our kids to those programs, not
creating our own competing ones.
The reality is that summer is the main moving time for people in this
country. Consider this scenario: I have a family with three kids who use
my library, and if they stay here, all three will be back here in
August. Suppose I check out four books to each of those kids. Twelve
books at even $10/book means that I've loaned out $120 worth of books to
one family. If they move this summer, how will those books come back?
Most likely they won't. That means that in August the first thing I'm
going to have to do is add those 12 books to my next book order.
Yes, the family I just described might have to exert a bit of effort to
go to the public library, but that's their job.
I stopped all checkout last Wednesday, since we get out at 12:45
tomorrow. Right now there are four seniors who graduated on Sunday who
have books still out. What do you think are my chances of getting those
books back? I've done everything but visited their homes - and next year
I'm going to do just that. There are 15 freshmen, sophomores, and
juniors with 20 books out, and 16 middle-schoolers with 21 books out.
I'm going around to the classrooms and interrupting class to get these
books back. Even then, I won't get them all back before the kids leave
tomorrow. However, when I go through the lockers I'm likely to find
several of these missing books.
--
David Lininger, kb0zke
MS/HS Librarian
Skyline MS/HS
Urbana, MO 65767
(417) 993-4226
t i g e r l i b r a r i a n at g m a i l dot c o m
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