Well, this may be librarian blasphemy, but as a Language Arts teacher who promotes individual reading in my classroom, I have often been frustrated by the way in which fiction books are set up in our media center. Now I know having the fiction books classified by last name is an easy way to find books: when you know exactly what you are looking for! But as a teacher, I see that the large majority of kids that I send to the library have absolutely no idea of a specific book that they are looking for. The most common complaint that I get from students is that they cannot find anything to read. Now I know that our media center is stocked with great books, but they cannot seem to find one when they go there. Even if I am there to help, I often have a hard time finding the kinds of books they want, because believe it or not, I have not read every book there! They are able to tell me things like, "I like action books."So I browse through the shelves, trying to find action books that I have read. Action is not my strong area, so more often than not, I end up not being able to find them a book either. My number one thought on these occasions is how nice would it be if the books were arranged by subject area, like the non-fiction . Imagine, a students tells me they like horror stories, and I can send them to an entire section devoted to horror. As a reader myself, I love that idea. At a bookstore, I most often find myself drawn to the tables or shelves set aside that say stuff like "If you like Harry Potter, try these books." If as an adult I need help in finding books that I like, I know that teenagers need the same help.
I understand that there would be some issues, like books that overlap in subjects. The books would have to be arranged by author within the different categories. I also understand that some of this could be accomplished by creating displays promoting different subject areas. It would take a lot of knowledge and work on the part of the librarian. However, this is definitely an idea I would like to explore in more depth. Who says that the old ways are always the best?
3 comments:
Would it be possible to create databases of books that are representative of particular genres? Such as system may already exist.
This would allow you to find a book that is "Just like Twilight" without jettisoning current system. It might also be something that you would be able to implement without a major revolution!
I love your idea! I have the same problem with my students, many who are very reluctant readers. They will tell me, I like sports. Besides non-fiction biography type books, I am usually at a loss. I know there are great stories written with a sports theme, but like you, I haven't read every book. I do research and have started my own "category" listings for popular subjects. The category stickers work well, except they can limit kids or turn them off to a book.
Great idea! It makes more sense to organize books this way in a school library. The organization should be kid friendly. I teach reluctant readers also. I want to be able to help my students find a good horror story, romance novel, or "funny" book. I usually end up looking on the shelves for an author or title that I know. This is definitely not the most effective way to get a kid hooked on a book.
Post a Comment