So why do I have such a hard time parting with books? This is probably directly related to my earlier post, "Spring Cleaning...")
And then yesterday...
While pulling texts for a coaching client, I noticed a very old, yellowed, falling-apart copy of a favorite from my teenage years: WHERE THE LILIES BLOOM, gasping for its last breath on my bookcase. Staring at it--and simultaneously noticing a newer copy right beside it--I wondered...
Why do we keep certain things, especially books?
After some thinking, I would respond that I keep books because:
- I love them.
- I can think of teachers/students who currently use them to supplement their school or classroom libraries.
- Teachers and students who might want/need to use them in the future.
- I currently use them with classes.
- I love them.
- They are written by some of my favorite authors.
- They are written about some of my favorite topics.
- They are one of my favorite genres (poetry is especially difficult for me to part with... as a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever parted with a book of poetry, unless it was damaged beyond repair).
- I love them.
- They make me feel something--although the books that I tend to cherish most are those that connect to my soul in a pleasing way (generating positive feelings/thoughts)
- They have beautiful illustrations.
- But most often, I love them.
- I've enjoyed them since my youth.
- I associate special memories with them (such as reading them to/with my own kids, etc.).
Did you detect my sublime, yet emotional response to books? :)
Years ago, I learned to choose select, touchstone texts for teaching writing--quality texts from which students could learn multiple writing crafts, structures, purposes, and/or strategies. Though many work across grade levels, as a coach I have found that most teachers prefer texts that are new to the students for their own grade level's work. So I have had to build my knowledge base as well as my collection of touchstone texts to encompass the needs of grades K-5.
Now I also encounter the need for touchstone texts in teaching reading strategies/skills. (As a matter of fact, I am planning to write a post very soon on the topic of using shorter texts to teach the literary signposts from Kylene Beers and Robert Probst's Notice and Note.) Again, teachers request different books from year-to-year, many of which are not readily available in their school/classroom libraries. As so the collection grows.
Many other books in my personal collection were added during my 20 years of teaching grades 1-4 in a self-contained classroom. As I learned about reading workshop, leveling texts/text complexity, and students' interests and needs as readers, the classroom library grew. As I changed grade levels and even looped from first to second grade and then eventually from second to third grade, the needs of the classroom library changed and demanded a greater number of titles. This was particularly true when I looped, as I wanted enough books to keep 20-25 students' book baskets fresh and differentiated for TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS. At times, I also needed to add sets of books for guided reading or book club groups, as well. And so the collection grew.
Methods to "curate" your classroom library, maintaining an organized and fresh selection are described in In Tony Stead's, Good Choice, as well as in Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits.
Both of these famous educators, along with blogs and various websites, recommend discarding the following, at least once each year:
- books that are beyond repair with age or damage.
- books that are out of date, like books based on movies (aka, "Space Jam") that are no longer trendy (or even recognized) by students
- books that were once "hot" of which you acquired multiple copies; now that the interest in them has cooled, perhaps keep only one (making it the one in the best condition)
- check for nonfiction books that are factually incorrect--although Tony Stead does advocate teaching students to check contradictions in nonfiction via copyright dates, so that they start to understanding that information is always expanding and changing... so maybe it depends on the age/reading savvy of students as well as the value of the rest of the information in a given text
- books without literary merit (although, particularly in the lower grades, it is necessary at times to have numerous "easy readers" available in order to satiate emerging readers with ample texts at early reading levels)
- books that can be easily found in your school or public library
The one that is most challenging for me, by far, is the last item on the list. So many times, a copy of a book might be available in a school library but is checked out. Tony Stead recommends always having one copy available for children's hands and another that is for the teacher's use only--if it is a text that is important to have on-hand for instructional purposes. I like to think of the library's copy as the one for the children (though I make it available if I read my copy), and my copy of the touchstone text as the one that I need for instruction. When books are checked out and only one copy is available, I do make mine available to the students--which is always a risk, but one that I deem "worth it." As Tony Stead says, if you read a book that the kids aren't allowed to touch, it's like showing them cool toys but not allowing them to play with them. We need to take this to heart!
Curating my classroom library at least once each year is going to be a priority.
With the guidelines stated (above), I should be able to keep my library current, organized, and relevant. How about you?
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