I have a lot of bookshelves and a lot of books. I have a relationship with my classroom
some of my current shelves
library like many drivers have with their cars. I shine it up and keep it running smoothly. I love the new book smell.
Quite often someone asks about how I organize my library. Very carefully. When I know which shelves hold which books, I can more easily match books to readers. Shelf labels matter.
The labels on my shelves do a couple of things: They help me know what holds what, but more importantly, these labels serve to pique curiosity and press readers to explore.
When you get to know a lot of books, you realize that most books may sit comfortably on several shelves, especially if we sort them by topic or theme and not just genre. Sometimes I group the same copies of specific books together, and sometimes I break the sets a part to put on separate shelves.
sports and war books need a taller shelf
When school returns in August, I will be in a new classroom. A different classroom. That means that my hundreds of books had to move down the stairs and down the hall. Now those boxes wait for when I have time. I’m going to need a lot of time.
I am thinking about how I want to organize my shelves in this new learning space — maybe two reading nooks instead of one, fewer books on the lowest shelves? more intriguing labels on more shelves with the hope of inviting more readers?
I’m thinking for sure on that last one: changing up the category labels on the shelves. I could use your help here. I think it would be fun to be clever, but clever is hard for me.
So far, I’ve read through a ton of quotes on books and reading, and pulled phrases for shelf labels I think will work for most of the books in my library.
Here’s what I have so far:
Born into Chaos
Clapping for the Wrong Reasons
Burning Bridges
Gracefully Insane (or Close to It)
Black Sheep Own the World
You Cant Just Get Over It
Holding Close My Secrets
Making Myself into a Hero
Stop Reminding Me I Need a Life
Do You Kiss with Eyes Open or Closed?
You Just Can’t Get Over It
The Present Hides the Past
History is Herstory, too
History: Echoes Heard & Unheard
The Edge of Possibility
Foul Play (and other sports stories)
A Likely Story
Detecto Mysterioso
It’s Going to Break Your Heart
Using My Life as a Lesson
We are Magnificently Confused
What labels would you add?
And the question of the hour: What high-interest books would you put on these shelves?
Amy Rasmussen lives in north Texas and teaches AP English Language and English 4 (new prep in the fall). She loves talking books, daughters’ weddings (two this year), and grandbabies. She also loves facilitating PD for other teachers making the move into a workshop pedagogy because it keeps her focused on her own improvement. Amy adheres to the words of Emerson: “We aim above the mark to hit the mark,” and Jesus: “Love one another.” Imagine a world if we all aim higher. Follow Amy on Twitter @amyrass. And she’d love it if you follow this blog!
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Tagged: bookshelves, Classroom Library, classroom library books, classroom set up
Three Teachers Talk 
[…] We are Magnificently Confused and Other Names for Bookshelves. […]
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I am so glad that I found this blog post!! I read it in June, and just spent the last hour…thinking WHERE did I see that amazing posts on creative ways to label the class library?? !!! Can’t wait to get started with this!!
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Yay! Glad you find the post helpful. I’ve had to change rooms, and thus, move all my books! Still working to sort and label myself. Makes me excited to share great books with kids again this year. Wishing you all the best in the coming school year!
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Do you kiss with eyes open or closed? = How I know you don’t teach middle school!
I also micro genre my classroom library the way you do, but with much smaller bins.
I would add shelf like, “So you think YOUR parents are bad?”
My most popular shelf by far is the all-time favorites bin. I do try to make my library navigable for the kid who just wants to try *a* book and needs a little steering.
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A few of my shelf labels that I was particularly proud of were “Good Friends Are Hard to Find,” “So You Want to Be An Action Hero,” and “Being a Teenager is Good/Bad/Weird.”
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My students will love those. Thanks for the suggestions!
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I’m packing up my books today and left the Realistic Fiction for last — I always have so much trouble categorizing them. So when I Googled my problem but couldn’t find what I was looking for, I came here. And, voila!! Just what I needed to get my juices flowing. Thanks!
🙂
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Once you get settled, I hope you will share the categorizes you decide on.
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Now I want you to come and organize my books, too! That’s on my “to do” list this summer. I may steal some of your labels.
“It’s Going to Break Your Heart”–
Fault in Our Stars
All the Bright Places
This is Where It Ends
Whale Talk
“Making Myself Into a Hero”–
Underwater
North of Beautiful
I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl
The Testing/Independent Study/Graduation Day
Zeroes
The Hate U Give
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Oh, no! I do not have all of these titles! My book buying habit is a really big problem. Haha.
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