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Designing Classroom Libraries for Access

Designingclassroomlibraries

The following is an adapted excerpt from Tammy Mulligan and Claire Landrigan's It's All About the Books.

Elementary classrooms are busy places! The design of the classroom library is critical to the flow of traffic in a classroom and the tone it sets for literacy. We want the classroom library to say, “Come on in—all readers are welcome here!” Ideally we want space for students to gather, talk, swap, and browse. We find it helpful to design the classroom library with sections to support this type of activity.

When we design classroom libraries, we think about how we can support students in finding books they love and can meaningfully read. When we do this work with our particular readers in mind, and when we are set up to flexibly meet their changing needs and preferences, the classroom library truly becomes the home of an active reading community. We consider:

  • the location within the classroom
  • traffic patterns in the classroom
  • space for adding or rotating books throughout the year
  • sections to support instructional model.

Location, Location, Location 

The size and shape of your classroom will clearly have a big influence on where you put your library. The library should be a central presence, but we also want this space to have a cozy, enclosed feeling. Some teachers like the classroom library to be right in the center, surrounding the meeting area. We love the message this sends when you walk into a classroom: this community is all about reading! We also understand that roaming, distracted hands may be overwhelmed by having baskets of books surrounding them during whole-class lessons. The age of your students may affect the space you choose for your classroom library.

We also consider the walls. A corner of the classroom may not be central, but it does provide two walls to enclose the space. It gives the space a cozy feeling and some privacy for conferences, partnership reading, or book club meetings. The walls also provide support for bookshelves and other shelving to display books. Some classroom libraries are spread around the room with different types of baskets of books in different areas. We have even seen a few libraries housed in converted cubby areas or closets.

Traffic Patterns

We often step back and observe students during transitions to see which space will be easy to access but not interrupt the traffic flow of the room. Students often meet with teachers to choose books in the classroom library, and it may be distracting or disrupting to other readers if the library is in the middle of the classroom. When we choose the location of the classroom library we think about how it impacts the work spaces around it.

Room to Add

We also think about how we can rotate our inventory. We always want to have enough books to support choice but not so many that we overwhelm. If the space is jam-packed, we will not be able to add books throughout the year. As our readers grow and change, we will want to add books to support their interests and instructional goals. We also want to think about how we can add books that relate to shifting units of study.

Sections to Support Instructional Model

Having the right book at the right moment makes all the difference in our teaching. We design the library to support the different types of reading experiences and instructional groups that take place. We typically include sections for mentor texts, small-group and partnership reading, content area reading, and independent reading. 

Author, Genre, and Content Area Reading

We organize baskets so students can find books written by their favorites authors and delve into a genre study of interest. Other students want to continue to explore the topics we are studying in our content areas. We want to highlight these books so students know where to find them.

Read-Aloud

Students like to reread, discuss, story-play or respond to texts the teacher reads aloud. We organize the read-aloud books by the month we read them so students know just where to find the book they are looking for. 

Topic and Interest

This section of our classroom library is the biggest since it needs to support our students’ preferences, interests, and instructional needs. Balancing the needs for scaffolding text complexity without sacrificing reader identity is no simple task. Keeping this balance in mind when designing the space is critical. We need to think about the flexibility of the design—is it easy to move and revise inventory? We need to reflect on the books the design is “selling”—which books are front and center? We need to make sure our inventory matches our students’ interests and needs—can students access the majority of the texts in the library right now? We need to consider the attention and focus of our readers—are there too many books in the classroom library? We also need to pay attention to who owns the library—are we doing most of the library organization, or are students getting involved too?

The baskets are organized by topic, interest, and genre. There are often multiple baskets with the same label. Each basket is organized with a different band of text complexity for levels A–I. This allows students to choose books that interest them while still giving teachers a way to point readers in the right direction in terms of text complexity.

Series

Readers love to stay with a character, or group of characters, over many books. We dedicate a section of the classroom library to series. This invites our readers to see all of the options side by side to find a series of interest. We want to make sure there are options in the section for all the readers in our classroom. Teachers are aware of the level of each series so they can match books to readers while providing choice. The levels are often indicated somewhere on the book, but they are not prominent on the basket label. 

Small-Group and Partnership Reading

Students love to read together and talk with each other about books. We want our students to know which books we have multiple copies of so they can plan their partner and book club reading.

Mentor Texts

We organize the mentor texts we want available to students for each unit of study in one section of the library. Once these baskets are in the library, students can access them when they are reading and writing independently. When we have a section of the classroom library set aside for these texts, not only do our students know where to go to find them, but we are also implicitly encouraging them to fold the practice of learning from other authors into their own work. Over the course of the year, we add student and teacher writing to these baskets as well. 


A practical yet detailed guide to creating a system where classroom libraries and bookrooms work seamlessly together to make it easy for teachers to find books to engage and scaffold all students in a school community.