The school year is upon us! As the seasons shift, so do our roles as literacy guides. In a previous post, Joannie Lauria beautifully outlined how librarians become the intermediaries between school learning and reading for pleasure. No one has a finer grasp on this balance than School Librarians! I am constantly inspired by how children use their school library spaces and interact with school library staff. We can look to school libraries for models in supporting students in navigating those two worlds and creating library spaces that support student use.
Look Familiar
There is nothing I love more than a deeply bespoke school library! School Librarians’ regular proximity to students allows them to build spaces expertly tailored to their readers’ browsing preferences. For children fortunate to have regular school library time, this is their most familiar library space. When those students come to the public library, they’re looking for an experience that is as navigable as in school. Can you help ease them into your library?
Public libraries understandably can’t do everything school libraries do. The volume of materials that need to be discoverable and shelvable by multiple staff members limits our creativity, but visiting a school library inspires many actionable ideas.
One of the shelving standards I’ve implemented in my library is heavily using bins. This is a great way to call clear attention to popular characters or series, and as a bonus, it can save you horizontal shelving space. These bins (from the Dollar Tree) have been well-received additions to our collection that make things just a bit more browseable.
If you have a hand in assigning call numbers, grouping titles by topic instead of by author may also help match a child’s experience to their experience at school. In our library, all the juvenile fiction books in the world of Minecraft are shelved first by Minecraft, then by series and author.
Have Familiar Items
School Librarians have helpful insights into what is popular with their students. They can also give you the scoop on recurring research topics. In addition to stocking student-celebrated series, the library can assist caregivers looking to support their children’s reading journeys with the introduction of decodable collections. These phonics-based books, often used in science of reading-based curriculum, can empower caregivers to continue a student’s learning at home.
We introduced a decodable collection stocked with the same books used in our school’s literacy curriculum. Now, parents can help target specific hurdles with the same resources being used in school.
Use Familiar Language
Caregivers often come to the library with language they are learning from school. Whether they’re asking for color-based reading-level recommendations or books that feature particular sounds, knowing your school’s curriculum can help you create tools to support staff and caregivers in these interactions!
While educating about the importance of reading outside your level, I created reading level lists to give guidance to caregivers still seeking level-specific resources. These lists are displayed near our early reader books and online. All staff have been trained on reading levels and the types of books that are safe starting bet to suggest for varied ages and grade-levels.
Bridge to Something New
Our role as public librarians is not to teach reading, but to inspire a love of reading. We can’t do this work if our spaces are inscrutable and confusing. As we work to create browsable and familiar spaces, we can highlight more ways of reading and interacting with library resources. Public librarians can craft unique guidance to celebrate reading based on interest rather than level. We can encourage families to read together and in novel formats. We can offer kits that pair books with engaging toys and activities.
As we head back to school, get curious about what you can bring into your library! How can you welcome students and use familiarity to propel families towards a routine of reading for pleasure?
Eleanor Howell-Shryock (she/they) is the Head Children’s Librarian, managing family and outreach services at Burlington Public Library in Burlington, Washington. They are the Chair Emeritus of the Washington Library Association’s Children and Young Adult Services Section. They are excited to highlight some of the unique challenges and opportunities of working in small and rural libraries for the ALSC blog.
The post Making Public Libraries More Navigable for Student Readers appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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