I borrowed this idea from a fellow SLMS in my county...Adopt a Book. When I weed books, I pull some that I think students might like to take home. These books are usually those that are falling apart because they are really popular with the kids, not because they have been sitting on the shelf being eating by dust and mold. But sometimes I put weeded books that are outdated on the Adopt A Book shelf and those are snatched up, too. I'd much rather have those books being read than sitting on a shelf collecting dust, so I'm happy to have them adopted.
I used some of my Scholastic Dollars earned from the Fall Book Fair to order a small book shelf and created a little sign to advertise the books that are up for "adoption."
The first day I put out these books, all the books were gone by 8:00am. Seriously! The word spread fast!
If you'd like a copy of the sign I made, you can get it
here or click on the picture above.
What do you do with your weeded books?
We offer them to classrooms, but I'm going to try your idea and see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteLet me know how it goes! I still offer many of the books that have been weeded to classrooms, but the really popular titles that are just falling apart, I usually put on the Adopt a Book shelf. The kids really love it. They can't believe they are getting these books for free...never mind that the cover is falling off and 2 chapters are missing. LOL! But hey, if it gets them reading then it's worth it. =)
DeleteWhat a great idea! I like that you have a special shelf for them, so students won't get confused about which books they can keep.
ReplyDeleteThey really love it, too! I have to fill it back up every day. Well, until I run out of weeded books, that it. =)
DeleteLove this idea! I have been weeding my new library all year (2000 books so far...eek!) and I've been putting the books, most of which are just plain old and very outdated, in a "discarded books" basket. This is a much sweeter idea and I think my school will love it too!
ReplyDeleteSounds like me the summer before I took over. There were stacks and stacks of books I weeded and most of them ended up in the garbage. But then another SLMS shared her "Adopt a Book " idea so I thought I'd try it. Books don't stay on the "Adopt a Book" shelf very long and I feel good knowing that the kids are getting their hands on books that might otherwise be thrown out. Hope your kiddos get a kick out of it! =)
Delete