After the earlier entry regarding our holiday borrowing initiative for the end of term, it only seems fair to tell you how it went. Our goal was to increase borrowing during the weeks leading up to the winter holiday, as the holiday period extends the loan time and what the heck, isn't a holiday a good time to read? So, how did it go?
Well. Satisfyingly so.
There were various strands:
- promotion of wide reading in focus group (roll call) time every day was in place through the literacy team's existing program
- many English teachers brought classes to the library to borrow
- every loan included a special bookmark
- For the last week and half or so, a short daily quiz in the student daysheet asked students to guess which teacher/staff member was reading what over the hols (using staff as reading models - ie. we don't just tell 'em to do it, we do it too) - this kept 'holiday borrowing' in their minds
- Staff holiday borrowing picks list was on display for kids to see
- The bookcase display in the library entrance, categorising books for easier selection (fantasy was the shelf we had to refill the most, but all needed regular refilling)
On raw loan figures (and the report doesn't distinguish fiction/nonfiction, but then again, nonfiction is some people's choice of holiday borrowing) for the last three weeks of this term, more than double the number of loans were transacted compared to last year, or the year before that.
Right now, I'm not going to think about the overdues (!). We're just happy that more books are in the hands of more kids. Not sure what we'll do for next term, but it's an initiative we'll continue. It was really satisfying each day to watch the borrowing figures climb, and translate that to kids reading. It's worth trying a program like this at your school library.
My own holiday borrowing? It was going to include the Maximum Ride series, only they all got borrowed... also Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) and a few other odds and sods from school (these last ones are all from the processing pile, otherwise they'd likely be out on loan too!), as well as non-school-library books.
Today at school is a staff development day and the staff have all been given time to do major cleanups/renovations to our classrooms and staffrooms. It's a great opportunity - you see colleagues in very daggy clothes, doing grotty and creative jobs (eg. painting) and the sprucing is certainly noticed and appreciated by the students as well as us.
We've got plans for the library foyer/entrance - the bookcase was part of a larger plan...pictures to come. One clue....
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