Getting Organized:

• Arrange the books and other media so that they are enticing and easily accessed.
• Organize books and materials by theme and literary category, and mark books with colored stickers to indicate level of difficulty.
• Label the shelves or bins, and the books and other materials to help students return items to their proper storage spots.
• Sort student books for independent reading into "browsing boxes" ("Hard," "Harder," "Hardest") to make book selection easy.

Here are several options for library check out systems.
• Make one card for each book. Glue a paper pocket inside the front cover of every book. The card for each book should include the title, author, due date, and any other important information. When a student borrows a book, she signs the card and gives it to the classroom librarian. All of the cards should be kept in an index card box with alphabetical dividers, filed by book title. When a student returns the book, the class librarian should initial the card, return it to the book pocket, and return the book to its proper location.
• Make one card for each student. When the student wants to check out a book, she writes the book title and date on her card. When the book comes back, the librarian initials the card.
• Create a checkout list for materials students borrow. Have them write down the date, their name, and book title (and number, if you have more than one copy.) When the student returns the book, the librarian should initial their entry.

• Set up a system for cleanup and maintenance of library materials, with signs posted for instruction and reminders.
• Have a mini-lesson with you class to explain the rules of the library and how it should be cared for.
• Appoint a student to be the classroom librarian for a day or week. Rotate through the students, or use it as a reward.
• Give each child a cardboard strip with his/her name on it to use as a placeholder when they remove a book from the shelf. When they are finished, they will be sure to return it to the proper location.

Adapted from Your Classroom Library: New Ways to Give It More Teaching Power, by D.R. Reutzel and P.C. Fawson (Scholastic Teaching Strategies).