Hello my fellow book lovers,
When you last heard from me I had let go of my OCD tendencies and embraced the idea that the Dewey Decimal system was no longer relevant to the elementary library. Mrs. C and I tore apart the library this summer. Every fiction book came off the shelf. EVERY SINGLE ONE. This nearly killed me. There were books everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Books on all my tables, books on carts, books on top of shelves, and the most stressful BOOKS ON MY DESK. I don’t like books on my desk. Actually, I don’t like anything in my work space. Which is why fellow teacher Mr. K gets great joy in putting crap right in the middle of my desk. WHICH REALLY MAKES MY EYELID TWITCH……forgive me I digress. 
After purging our shelves and weeding books( I am not going to lie, I was near giddy during the weeding process) we divided all of our books into the genres. It took great effort and time to make sure each book was where it belonged.
We picked the following genres: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Scary, and last but not least Adventure.
After Labeling every book and getting them back on the shelf the great cataloging climb began. My summit, my white whale, the ultimate challenge to my organizational mind, the task which I am still working on. Each book that has been moved into a new genre must have the call number changed in my cataloging system. This must be done individually, based on the books special bar code in my system. Every single book. It is a daunting task. I am down to the last section in Fantasy, I can see the end in sight.
The thing I want to focus on the most is this. OUR KIDS LOVE IT. Mrs. C and I can help pin point books for a kiddo quickly and without frustration. It is helping them explore what the literature world has out there, and best of all, what they learn in the classroom about genres is now sitting in the library. It is connected to their likes, the classroom, and the real world. It gives Mrs. C and I hope that they will leave our school and go out into the world inspired, informed, and understanding what the literary world has to offer, and the most important thing of all with a love of reading.
I want to take the time before I go to share Mrs. C’s blog. Here is a taste of what our kiddos like to do. Mrs. C is passionate and second to none when integrating technology into the classroom. She has allowed our two favorite readers whom we call Knick and Knack to create videos on books they are reading. So please check them out.
Cichosz Chatter
http://cichoszchatter.blogspot.com
Until Next Time
Queen Book Buff
Queen Book Buff 