Volunteering in the Library
Parent/community volunteers help out in the library by assisting with the return, reshelving and checking out of students' books. Before you volunteer for the first time you will need to complete a one-hour training session. Contact Mrs. Brooks to set up a time if you can't attend a September training session.
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
During your training session, you will learn how to check in returned books, check out books to students, look up books, and run basic reports in Destiny. Another very important responsibility of being a volunteer is helping re-shelve books. The books in our library need to stay in the correct order, so that students and faculty can find books when they need them.
Because everyone might be at varying knowledge and experience levels with shelving books in the library, I've put together a little crash course in re-shelving. You may skip, skim, or read carefully the information I post as needed, but all volunteers must "get certified" before they head to the stacks to put books back in their homes. Click on the link below to access the shelving tutorial and instructions on getting "certified" to shelve books.
Shelving Books 101
GET TO KNOW OUR LIBRARY
Our library is organized into several different collections. Here is a library map which might help you understand the overall arrangement of our library and where you can find certain types of books.
Click here to download a PDF version of this map.
CALL NUMBERS
Every book in our library has a label on its spine called a call number. This is the book's address and it will tell you "where it lives" on the shelf. Regardless of whether a book has only letters, or numbers/letters or letters/numbers on its spine, the information listed on the spine label is referred to as a call number. In order to know where you should put the book back, always look carefully at the spine label.
If the call number begins with... it belongs here...
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000-999 (numbers) - Non-fiction collection
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B - Biography collection
- BB - Board Book collection (in alligator bookshelf)
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E - Everybody/Easy collection (including E SERIES books - pink label)
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F - Fiction collection (including F SERIES books - dark blue label)
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ICR - I Can Read/Beginning chapter book collection (including ICR SERIES books - bright blue label)
- MEM - Memorial collection (pink hilighted label)
- REF - Reference collection (yellow REF label)
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P - The Pond (Preschool/Adaptive area - green P label)
Pick up a library book and see if you can figure out what collection it belongs to.
SORTING
When students return their books, you must first check them in on Destiny. After books have been checked in, you should sort the books based on their collection on the cart behind the circulation desk. The cart is clearly labeled with the designation for each collection mentioned above.
SHELVING
When you have sorted all the books, it is now time to get them back on the shelf! There are two different ways books are arranged in our library: either in alphabetical order (for fiction books) or by numerical order using the Dewey Decimal system (for non-fiction books).
HOW TO SHELVE FICTION BY ABC ORDER VIDEO
HOW TO SHELVE NON-FICTION BY DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION VIDEO
GET CERTIFIED TO RE-SHELVE
Now you can show me how much you know about shelving the books in our library! All volunteers must turn in a certificate of completion of Levels 9, 10 and 11 before shelving books in our library.
Instructions (Printer-friendly version)
1. Please access the game Order in the Library.
2. Click on the PLAY button.
3. Enter your first and last name.
4. Choose a character.
5. You may practice or play at whatever level you want, BUT...
6. You MUST complete Levels 9, 10, and 11.
7. Print out a certificate of completion from levels 9, 10 and 11 and turn in to Mrs. Brooks.
Don't stress if you don't get them right the first time. If there is something you don't understand, ASK ME!! I'm here to help. If you can't pass, it's OK; we can still use your help checking out books to the kids. But we must maintain ORDER IN THE LIBRARY! So volunteers will not be shelving until you get "certified."
I am thrilled to have you come in and help in the Media Center!