So, there’s a library in your English classroom this semester?  Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of your library experience.

• The class library is here for YOU.  You are welcome to check out books here.  You also aren’t obligated to read books from this room.  You can bring your own, visit the media center, borrow from friends, or even read on your Kindle…
• Books are divided by section / genre.  But oh-so-many of them crossover and could be incorporated into multiple sections; it’s just a starting point.
• There are NO reading levels (i.e. Lexile or “gold star”) so just read whatever you want.  If you want a break, read something easy, or stretch yourself and go for that challenge read.
• To check a book out, add the title, author, and YOUR NAME to the checkout clipboard.
• PLEASE be sure to actually check the book out when you plan on taking it out of the classroom (and you WILL take books out of the classroom – you can’t just leave them here).  What I mean here, is, you may sample anything for the alotted in-class reading time and feel free to return it (to the same shelf) if it doesn’t work for you, but when you find a book that grabs you, make sure to check it out, so its whereabouts are known.
• When you finish a great read or need to switch books, just return your books in the basket over by the windowsill.  Mrs. C will get them checked back in for others to borrow.
• To see what is available in the class library, browse the shelves before or after class or check out the website link to the class library and search for specific titles.
• Book Etiquette:  If you haven’t borrowed books in a while, remember a bookmark or post-it note is the preferred way to keep track of your page number.  It’s typically considered impolite to turn down the corners of or make any kind of marks inside books that do not personally belong to you.

Read like “real” people.  Don’t force yourself to finish a book you’re just not into.  Try sticking with it for the first 60 to 100 pages (sometimes there’s just a slow or confusing start), but if that doesn’t hold you, let it go, ask for suggestions, attempt something else. You are not obligated to finish just because you start.  That being said – DO try to find some books you can finish.  Don’t just wander aimlessly from bookstart to bookstart.  Figure out what isn’t working and focus your next search in a way that avoids the same pitfalls.

Aaaannndd… a note on rereading:  It’s okay to reread books – when it’s your favorite, when it’s just SO good you need to read it again, when you want to notice the fine details, when you want to read the next in the series and need to get the feel for it again, or even when you’ve forgotten what happens.  Just don’t let rereading become a crutch that keeps you from taking risks and experiencing new reads, new authors, new genres (or use rereading as an excuse to not really read and just sort of “fake it”).