Would some of you please share with me what you have done to improve circulation numbers at your high school library? Any responses would be greatly appreciated!
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I use lots of book displays and hang pictures of book covers just outside the library. I also create booktrailers for various books or a booktrailer that just has covers of books on a theme. I embed these on the library website. I read a lot of the books so I can make recommendations to the kids when they ask.
The best thing I ever did was to label my award winners. Right after that was done, my secretary and I noticed a huge difference in: 1) The # of books returned with comments by students that they didn't like the book. 2) The amount of time it took for students to find the books they like. 3) Much easier for us to find and recommend books. 4) Very easy to create displays of different awards. Probably lots more but I'm in a time crunch before a meeting. I tried different types of labels. What works the best [and is most affordable] for us is a thin rectangle of colored paper that has the award title taped [regular tape] on to the spine label. I already have labels made in Excel for anyone who wants me to receive them by e-mail. I print the awards on colored paper on my printer, cut them up, and store them in recycled envelopes until I have a badge of books come in. Gotta go to my meeting.
I do all of the above and we also have separate genre areas in our front part of the library known as the magazine area and students love browsingand checking out the realistic fiction, multicultural fiction, graphic novels, supernatural, romance, mystery, etc. There are also 3 reading teachers in the building so we do lots of booktalks throughout the year for reluctant readers; also we have multiple copies of books that students want; we participate in Reading Olympics and the PA Young Readers Choice awards, so students are reading for those activities. More and more English and Social Studies teachers are incorporating reading fiction and nonfiction books in World Literature, World Civilizations classes and this has been very helpful and has students clamoring for those titles that have a connection with their classes.
You've got a lot of great suggestions already. One unit I do with high school students is to show them all the banned or challenged books that we have in the library and then have a discussion about the importance of intellectual freedom. These books fly off the shelves and when they come back for more, I suggest other books that might not have been challenged but certainly contain hard-hitting issues that grip students emotionally and intellectually. All it takes is one great book which leads to another and so on and so on...
Hi John,
If you don't already have a manga collection, you will likely find skyrocketing circ numbers by adding them. Our nonfiction circulation went up 37% after adding manga.
Do you have a new book display? A suggestion box where students can request titles helps, as does a book club where you can promote what you have and find out what they want to read. Unfortunately, you need $$$ for this! Grade nine orientation familiarizes new students with the library, and always results in some new "regulars." Having teachers bring in classes for novels or research certainly helps, too.
Do you record the books used for projects that the student just use in the library?
or are you looking to increase students reading?
We check out/in the books used for projects so they are part of our circ record, as well as a good way to have a record of what you have used before.
We have done a number of things to promote reading: Have published lists of the faculty's favorite books as a teenageer and today and then did a display. Used animoto on a digital picture frame to show genre books.
Included book trailers in the catalog, adding student reviews to the catalog is my next project.
Book talks work well also.