Tuesday, August 15, 2006

This is your library

Some advice for kids visiting their school library for the first time this school year:

This is your school library.

This is a library you can get to by yourself. You do not have to wait for you parents to take you and you do not have to fill out an application for a card.

This is the one place inside the school where you don't have to walk in a straight line.

This is where you can stroll, meander, mosey, walk, amble and saunter as you search the shelves for a book. Check out the magazines too!

This is where you can find out everything about one thing or one thing about everything.

Here is your library card. I hope you have another one from the public library but if not, don't worry, you have one here.

These are new books that came in over the summer. See how the book jackets glow? Have you smelled them? They are lovely!

Remember to love these books. Handle them carefully. You are their protector. Dogs love to chew on school library books so keep them somewhere safe. Water bottles like to spill on library books so keep them in a plastic bag when they are in your backpack.

When you take a book off the shelf to look at it, remember to mark the spot with a shelf marker in case you need to put it back. ALSO -- this is important-- a shelf marker is NOT a sword, or a light saber, or a tennis racket or a golf club, or a baseball bat or a drum stick or a librarian's shoulder tapper.

Choose what you want. Read what interests you. If the library does not have a book on your favorite subject, tell the librarian. A librarian will go to the ends of the earth to find books for you.

If you don't like the book you borrowed, bring it back. No biggee. The library has lots more.

Come to the library as often as your teacher will let you. A week is a long time to wait when you've already finished your books.

If you learn to use your library then no one can stop you from learning. You will be a master of information!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely piece!

Kelsey said...

I am currently studying library media education in graduate school here in Ohio. I was a first grade teacher and I'm mostly a mom right now. I am looking forward to the day that I extend a welcome like this to my own library (especially the part about the shelf markers, sounds a lot like a conversation I used to have about rulers). Have a great school year!

MotherReader said...

Again, beautifully put.

Unknown said...

I love it!