On this day, I completed (almost) Phase 3 of my classroom library overhaul. When I inherited this classroom, I had hundreds of books, which was amazing! However, I spent the year observing how students interacted with it, which was minimal at best. I searched blogs for suggestions on how to create an inviting, organized middle school classroom library. My inspo came from here and here. Also here.

Last summer, I spent time in Phase 2. This was clearing out the outdated books that students were not drawn to. I got rid of the large brown bookcase against the wall to make space for more visual learning anchor charts and student work. I moved the "keeper" books to the built-in shelves that were underutilized and cluttered. I also ordered new book collections like high-interest series and diverse voices. I used baskets to begin somewhat organizing the genres with the help of my advisory. They loved this job!

However, there were still some problems with this system. Students had a hard time putting books back in the right basket because my paper labels fell off. I also "lost" several books because I didn't have a check-out system. I also felt like the books needed more updating to reflect my students' interests.

Enter Phase 3 this summer:

1. I took out all of the books again. I found another group of outdated titles that went completely untouched.

2. I broke down the fiction books into more sub-categories of fiction. I also created a section specifically for award winners. I am curating a LGBTQIA+ section for sixth grade this year, too. Finally, I will eventually have a "student-recommended" highlighted basket once students get back to me about the ones they LOVE and highly suggest. For example, Counting by 7s is always a book sixth graders enjoy and tell others to read. I will also have a section for heritage months with new book display stands I've received. This is the one step I could not finish today! I moved shelves out of the wall unit to allow space for reading displays, and moved the libarary further into the classroom so I can eventually get small seating for a cozy reading nook.

3. I digitally catalogued every single book for a new checkout system. The genres are color coded, so I will use washi tape to wrap around each book in that colored genre for easy visual organization when students return books (or they can check its genre on the site). I created a Google Classroom page just for the Humanities Library. It has a single link to my checkout system, so students can easily access it when they want to check out a book. My hope is that this digital option is easier to maintain and keep any eye on than paper posted near the library shelves. This was suggested in one of the above blog posts.

I can't wait to see if there is more enagement, demand, and positive student feedback this year in the classroom library!