Question:
How do you choose books? How do you decide which books are necessary for the library?
Answer:
What an excellent question! That is probably one of the most time-consuming, but best jobs in the library. There are several ways that we go about selecting books. First of all, we have criteria that we use. A criterion is a guideline, and there is lots to consider. First of all, we need books that will be interesting to readers. If we don’t get books you all want to read, then we’re just wasting time and money. Of course, what’s interesting to you, might not be interesting to your friend or classmate and vice versa. That means we have to find a really wide variety books at all reading levels to be sure you can find a book you’d like and that you want to read. We also like books to be well-written. A book might have a good story, but if the author doesn’t put it together well, then it’s not such a great reading experience. There are lots of resources library people can use to find out if a book is a quality book. There are librarian magazines, book review web sites, and librarian tweets. And of course, librarians at other middle schools have good advice for us too.
That mostly applies to our fiction books. For non-fiction books we have to add another criterion. We want books that support what you’re learning in your classes. That also means that they need to current, or up-to-date. A book on computer technology that was written in 1999 won’t be very accurate anymore. Too much has changed since then. If I picked up a book on Super Bowls and it was written in 2005, there would be twelve Super Bowls that weren’t included. That’s more like a history book!
We love picking out and getting new books here in the Lib, but did you know you can recommend books? You can go right to library web site and fill out the Book Request Form. If it the book is a quality book and appropriate for middle school, we’ll do our best to get it for you.
Keep those questions coming!
SM
How do you choose books? How do you decide which books are necessary for the library?
Answer:
What an excellent question! That is probably one of the most time-consuming, but best jobs in the library. There are several ways that we go about selecting books. First of all, we have criteria that we use. A criterion is a guideline, and there is lots to consider. First of all, we need books that will be interesting to readers. If we don’t get books you all want to read, then we’re just wasting time and money. Of course, what’s interesting to you, might not be interesting to your friend or classmate and vice versa. That means we have to find a really wide variety books at all reading levels to be sure you can find a book you’d like and that you want to read. We also like books to be well-written. A book might have a good story, but if the author doesn’t put it together well, then it’s not such a great reading experience. There are lots of resources library people can use to find out if a book is a quality book. There are librarian magazines, book review web sites, and librarian tweets. And of course, librarians at other middle schools have good advice for us too.
That mostly applies to our fiction books. For non-fiction books we have to add another criterion. We want books that support what you’re learning in your classes. That also means that they need to current, or up-to-date. A book on computer technology that was written in 1999 won’t be very accurate anymore. Too much has changed since then. If I picked up a book on Super Bowls and it was written in 2005, there would be twelve Super Bowls that weren’t included. That’s more like a history book!
We love picking out and getting new books here in the Lib, but did you know you can recommend books? You can go right to library web site and fill out the Book Request Form. If it the book is a quality book and appropriate for middle school, we’ll do our best to get it for you.
Keep those questions coming!
SM