It’s important to help your elementary students be responsible when it comes to borrowing library books. Like all aspects of your classroom, you’ll want to develop a procedure for returning and renewing those books. This post shares 3 simple tips to help you develop your own library book organization system. Check them out below!
3 Tips for Creating a Library Book Organization System
Below are 3 tips for creating a library book organization system in your classroom.
1. Designate a Library Return Bin
The first tip for creating a library book organization system is to purchase, create, or designate a library return bin. This will be where the students place their books that are ready to be returned or renewed from the library. I made a sign which I printed in color, double-mounted, and laminated. I then used my corner rounder to give it a finished look. Next, I punched 2 holes on each side, threaded ribbon through them and tied it to a milk crate.
2. Create Library Book Renewal Sticks
The second tip for creating a library book organization system is to create library book renewal sticks. In place of the sticky note, I made “renewal bookmarks.” The students can write their number with a dry erase marker directly onto a bookmark and put it into the book to signal it needs to be renewed. I printed the renewal sticks onto card stock and laminated them. Next, I used a Pringles can to store them. I love repurposing containers to create cheap, yet cute items for the classroom. Then, I selected a piece of construction paper that matches my classroom color scheme to cover the can.
A simple trick I discovered to make this process easier is to wrap the paper around the can and secure it with elastics and/or binder clips. I leave it like this overnight and the paper adheres much better as it holds the shape of the can. A second trick I used was to solve the problem of the renewal bookmark being a bit shorter than the can. Simply stuffing the bottom of the can with some construction paper provided the perfect lift. Now the bookmarks stick up over the edge of the can and are easily seen.
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3. Use Ziploc Bags as Library Bags
The last tip for creating your own library book organization system is to use Ziploc bags. They are a cost effective tool to use as student library bags. They protect library books in students’ backpacks. You won’t have to worry if a student’s water bottle spills in their backpack or if they have a bunch of crunched up crayons at the bottom of their bag. You may need to replace them during the school year, but you could ask families for donations.
In closing, we hope these tips are helpful as you create your own library book organization system for your classroom. If you enjoyed this post, then you may also be interested in my classroom organization course and these other posts:
- Classroom Library Organization Ideas for Elementary Teachers
- Back to School Read Alouds for Elementary Teachers
- How to Set Up Your Classroom
