The Evolution of My Classroom Library

Hello friends,
I wanted to take a little time today and tell you about my favorite (and IMO most essential) part of my classroom: my library!

I am a HUGE book-aholic, always have been. In fact, my mother blames my near-sightedness on trying to read in bed after "lights-out."  I can clearly remember reading my first book independantly at age 4 and many of my friends, mentors, and inspirations are characters I have met in books.  I knew even before I had my own classroom that it was worthwhile to invest in books.  I remember going to Barnes & Nobles during my college internship and buying bunches of books (at full price!  Foolish child!) for units that would last a week.  So my collection has grown and grown and still continues to grow!  But its definitely been work to get it there.

After 6 years building a top-notch picture book collection while teaching Kindergarten & PreK, I got the news that I would be teaching third grade the following year.  As in, the opposite end of the early reading spectrum.  At this point, I owned exactly ZERO chapter books.  And although I was at least inheriting some books (including two -2!- sets of Encyclopedias copyright 1973) many were in terrible condition and completely unappealing.   Yikes.

It was time to get smart.  I used tons of points to get books from Scholastic (although they weren't technically "free" because I got most of those points by buying a crazy amount of books myself).  I scoured the used book sales at the public library. I picked through the bargin bin at Books-a-Million. I bought bundles of books off eBay. I gathered enough books to fill the 2 three-shelf bookcases in my room and I was happy with that (to start). 

I started a labeling system by simply looking up the A.R. Level (this is used school-wide) and typing that number along with a genre underneath it on printable Avery labels. The books were grouped on the shelf with like books, but there were no dividers or ways of telling them apart. Needless to say, it quickly became a mess.

Last summer, I hit the motherload when a grandparent at our school retired from teaching herself and donated a collosal collection of books to our school.  I'm talking BOXES of high-quality teacher-approved stuff.  A lot of teachers didn't want to take the time to sort through it, but you better believe I did!  As a result my library almost doubled in size - especially nonfiction and boy was I hurting there!  I also recieved a very generous donation from a parent to spend in my classroom as I wished so I purchased baskets from Really Good Stuff to get it all in tip-top shape. Massive book collection + organization = killer library!  After being inspired by Beth Newingham, The Book Whisperer, and many gorgeous pictures on Pinterest, I was ready to finally transform this oh-so-important area of my room.  So here is what I ended up with:

Overview of the area, then we'll work our way around counter-clockwise

All fiction books are stored on the built-in white shelves.  There are grouped by their genres, as well as popular series and authors.  Similar topics are in similar colored baskets. 

In the corner, you see Spots the Giraffe. He is everyone's favorite Reading Buddy!  The small footstool was bought on clearance and was also a popular reading spot until the legs snapped off in January.

This wall houses mostly nonfiction books. My first year, I owned none of these shelves. I had no need to own any of these shelves!  Three years later, look where I am.  :). You can also see that I haven't completely replaced all of the magazine holders yet!  That one mismatched shelf drives me nuts.

Here is my Mystery Author board. Each month I post clues about a popular children's author & the students research the possible answer on their own time. Guesses are placed in the bucket and at the end of the month, anyone with a correct guess wins a prize (usually a bookmark or a pencil, but I have been known to give away candy, computer passes, or even free books if I have them). The harder the clues, the better the prize!

This bookshelf got a zebra make-over by gluing wrapping paper to the background behind the shelves. It quickly went from being drab to FAB!

This is an IKEA shelf flipped on its side to make a bench. I used a body pillow for the cushion. Its lasted two years now with tons of kids sitting on it (they will cram 7 or 8 in at a time just because they all love to sit there!) and shows no signs of wear.  The little green rug is also from IKEA. 

The black-and-white polka dot labels on my baskets were made by my darling friend and coworker Katie.  If you are interested in a set for yourself, just let me know in the comments below & I'll send you one for free.  The label holders come from Really Good Stuff. They are called Universal Holders and as you can see, they really do fit all kinds of baskets, both from their company and not. 

So that's my really long rambling post on the evolution of my library.  I'm putting the finishing touches on this year's library this week so I hope to post updated pics soon. I adored my library last year, but I have to say, I might like my new set-up even more!

What are some of the best places you have found books for your classroom collection?

Keep reading!

-Jen