Kelli Donald's Blog Post #3: Routman Chapter 5--Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

My personal classroom library is a continuous work in progress.  These past two years are the first years in my career where I have actually had a somewhat organized classroom library.  According to the chapter, a good library has at least 200 books.  My library is no where near that, but I will say it continues to grow and it is about double what it was at the beginning of last year, thanks to Scholastic. :)  The books in my library are currently organized by Accelerated Reader level.  I realize recently this way of organizing has become a big no-no.  And I understand the reason for that.  It is much easier for students to pick book they like if the books are organized by genre and subject.  But I'm proud to actually have a somewhat organized classroom library, so regrouping my books will have to be a summer time project.  I have books from 1.0 all the way to 6.0.  Fiction and non fiction are all available.  Most of my books are chapter books.  I would definitely like to get more beginning reader books to meet the needs of all of my students.  Since I order trendy and popular books every time I order from Scholastic, my students are very pleased with the choices they have.  I do like the idea of having students make a Top Ten list of books, authors, and subjects they like to read.  One more idea from the chapter I would like to incorporate is a comfortable and quiet reading area for my students.  However, since I am having such a difficult time incorporating independent reading into the day, this area just hasn't become a priority yet.  I would also like to have an efficient checkout system since some of my books in the past have walked off. :)