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Wednesday, September 5, 2018

How Do You Shelve Books for Beginning Readers?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about ways that public libraries can make beginning reader collections more accessible and easier to navigate for library staff, kids, and the grown ups in their lives. How does the way a collection is shelved and cataloged help or hinder children and grown ups looking for engaging titles that can be successfully read independently?


Click on image to enlarge.
Visual of elements to consider when shelving beginning
readers at the public library. Created by the author.
For me there are two major components: reader interest and reading level. Sometimes a reader’s interest and level are such that there are tons of titles for them to choose from; other times it seems as if those interests and levels are at odds with what is on the shelf. 
  
I’m sure we’ve all experienced customers who want to know where the first grade books, level J/350/2.5, or “the books that teach my kid to read” are located. While it’s certainly important for kids to find “just right” books so they can build fluency and confidence, it hurts my heart every time a grown up restricts a child from picking a book because it’s too hard or too easy. What a missed opportunity to expand vocabulary and background context, not to mention foster a love of reading!

On the other hand, I’ve seen kids become discouraged when they open book after book on a topic they adore, but they can tell at a glance have too many words, not enough pictures, or are just too long. How can we better support readers so they can find books that engage their particular passion and create a successful reading experience?

Now think of those two components combined with navigation of the physical space. Many beginning readers don’t have the reading skills to navigate a computer catalog or the physical library space independently. They have to rely on a grown up, another kid, or visual, non-textual, clues to find the books they want (such as signs with images of topics or characters they know). Thanks to Renee Grassi for bringing this point (and many others) to light in her recent ALSC post.

Levels also impact the discoverability of beginning reader titles. First, the journey of learning to read has a lot of baby steps. There’s a big difference between Milgrim’s Go, Otto, Go and The Infamous Ratsos by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Matt Myers . And yet both were recognized by the 2017 Geisel Award Committee. Second, there are the many reading level assessment systems used in the United States. A factor that varies depending on your community and school district(s). There might even be several systems used at the same district or school. Finally, each publisher has a different way of determining the reading level of a title, as well as their own set of labels (Level A, Level 1, Step 3, etc.). Check out Danielle Jones’ post on Navigating the Challenging World of Reading Levels for more on this topic.

With all of this in mind, I wonder, how does your library balance the need for new readers to have the freedom to select their own reading material (regardless of level) with the very real need to have some sort of system to support grown ups trying to find a book that is engaging, as well as confidence building, for their child? Let's get a conversation going in the comments below.


7 comments:

  1. This is a good discussion point, and something I struggle with especially when it comes to beginning reader nonfiction. Maybe it's just that I don't remember many titles from when I was young, but I feel like we're in a boom time for high quality nonfiction for first and second graders. But sometimes I worry that some of those great titles are being missed by the target audience. But I also don't necessarily want to put huge chunks of my nonfiction collection over in the beginning reader section because then the kids looking for information about, say, fire trucks, will miss them. I definitely agree with your comment about adult intervention. Whenever I visit schools with books to share, the kids fight over the nonfiction. But when parents come in to look for books for their beginning readers, they almost never think to even look in the nonfiction area. I had a mother almost start crying this summer when she asked for recommendations for her very reluctant reader and I suggested some beginning level nonfiction. She was so happy to find something that he was excited to look at and read.

    I'm not sure of the perfect way to fix this. I think for now I'm going to start by putting red stickers on the spines of our beginning nonfiction and then hang signs in the beginning reader section saying "Looking for great beginning nonfiction? Look for the red stickers!" or something like that.

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    1. I'm so glad you brought up nonfiction and how much of a challenge that can be, especially to figure out where to shelve it.

      Let us know how the red sticker experiment goes! I'd also be interested to know what you decide on for signage.

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  2. We've gone ahead and added additional copies of beginning reader non-fiction titles to our beginning reader collection. They are shelved by author. They circulate WAY more than the same titles in our non-fiction collection. I also put together a couple brochures for parents to help them in this journey. Feel free to use any of it!

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/15VoQZc89A3IyaI8EjnO2DQuGXgHvAQoi9LROtdrkT30/edit?usp=sharing


    I will say we have our beginning readers color coded by Fountas Pinnell level. Red = A, B, C Blue = D, E Green = F, G Yellow = H, I, J Orange = K, L Non-fiction titles get two dots. We encourage parents to only use these colors as a rough guide and explain to them that interest and background knowledge affect reading ability (a child who knows a lot about Star Wars will be able to read harder texts because of familiarity with the subject matter).

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    1. At our library, we also made the shift to move some of our beginning nonfiction over to our "Easy Reader" section (I'm aware that label is less than ideal - it predates my time or our current selector's time here). Trim size is a factor in considering whether a series is shelved there or in regular nonfiction. We don't have before and after stats for the titles that were moved, but when comparing the circ on titles that are shelved with Easy Readers to the titles of a similar level and subject still in the nonfiction we find that the Easy Reader nonfiction circulates 2-4 times as often.

      I feel that this is a collection that is definitely best accessed with good customer support from library staff, and love to hear that's what you are offering Jennifer with the brochures and the explanation of context.

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    2. Thanks for sharing the brochure doc, Jennifer! What a great resources.

      Do most of your schools use F&P? I'm curious as to why that leveling system was chosen.

      We've recently created two local subject headings for Early Books and Transitional Books that provide easier catalog navigating for customers and staff to find books outside of our beginning reader section (picture books, graphic novels, nonfiction, chapter books). We're still in the midst of promoting and gather data, but we're hopeful it will increase discoverability.

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  3. This is a great question without a perfect solution. WE have never had a book leveling system at our school, but I have made a few accommodations to help my beginning readers.

    At our school I've divided the chapter books with an Early Fiction section, holding books around a hundred pages and mainly an easier reading level. It has everything from MERCY WATSON to ALVIN HO. Anyone can use it and the younger students are welcome to go to the broader fiction, but I found that a greater variety of the smaller chapter books were used when they weren't next to the tempting four hundred page backpack weights.

    I've also separated my nonfiction into Dewey and Easy Dewy. Our Easy Dewey books are around second grade level and under and are used widely and well. Again the younger student can go to the other section but they understand which books they are most likely to be successful with.

    The one type that doesn't get its own arena are the early readers. They are mixed in with the picture books. Most of my younger students aren't always looking for books that will teach them reading skills, but often I have a parent come in and ask where the 1st or K readers are. I'm pretty good at matching the needs, but I'm considering a more autonomous solution. I just found some spine stickers and I might slap them on, more for myself and parents than the student.

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    1. Thanks for sharing so many details about the way you've organized your books for K-2nd graders, DaNae!

      Are there others out there who might like to share shelving successes or challenges for K-2nd(ish) books?

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