[CASL-L] UPDATE: Realistic Non-fiction and Dewey

[Norton, Keely]

Hello all!

Thanks to all who chimed in on this topic. I've been getting a lot of questions from individuals as to what feedback I received, so thought I'd share one of my responses to Elaine which pretty much sums things up:

Yes, I did get quite a few responses, and of varying points of view.

I've decided to make a Narrative Nonfiction section (already bookmarked the Genre labels in my Demco catalog) which will be located between my fiction and non-fiction sections.
I'm also thinking of asking some of the LA teachers to let me do some read alouds with their classes to introduce this new section and increase circulation.
There are a lot of purists out there who argue that if students don't learn Dewey in the primary grades, they'll never be successful in academic settings from HS through college. The other side argues that people who know Dewey are just as adept in a book store setting where everything is genrefied.


I tend to agree that whatever way you have your collection organized, students should be taught the skills to find information efficiently within that system. I think students can adapt to a new system later in their educational careers. However, to build a love of learning I think you should do everything you can to remove barriers to reading.


Think of it this way: When a child comes to you and wants a book, do they ask for books by authors whose last names begin with GAR, or do they ask for a book about horses? If the latter is true, then why don't we set up our libraries to make it easier for young people to become more independent and seek out what interests them. This, as opposed to forcing them to learn a counter-intuitive system that may or may not get them to something they are interested in before they give up and move on to a device or computer screen.


I teach in a middle school, but when I started three years ago, I had very little knowledge of Intermediate and YA literature. Students asked me for recommendations, and I really struggled. Now, after literally putting my hands on every single title to determine its genre and relocate it, I can put the right book into their hands more efficiently. And, if I really don't know a good match, I ask them if they like humor or action-adventure more and send them off to whichever section they choose. Most of the time they find what they are looking for and then some!


Hope this helps 😊 Sorry for the long-winded answer; can you tell I'm a little passionate about this? LOL

Best,


Keely Norton
Library Media Specialist
Scofield Magnet Middle School
203-977-2754
"Work hard. Be kind."
________________________________
From: Elaine Shapiro <elaine.shapiro7 at gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2019 9:41:41 PM
To: Norton, Keely
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Realistic Non-fiction and Dewey

I am curious if you got any responses to this question.
You make a good point about students finding these books.  I am in a preK-4 school, and it is strictly by author in F, and by Dewey # in nonfiction.  But I am intrigued and don't love Dewey.

Elaine Shapiro
Broad Brook School,
East Windsor

On Thu, Jan 17, 2019 at 11:00 AM Norton, Keely <KNorton at stamfordct.gov<mailto:KNorton at stamfordct.gov>> wrote:

Thought I'd reach out to the collective on this one. How do you catalog your Realistic Non-fiction books?

My fiction section is genrefied, but I'm considering putting Realistic non-fiction into a section in the genrefied area because I don't think these titles get as much circulation on the non-fiction shelves. For example, Hidden Figures. The story is awesome, but most kids don't go look in the non-fiction section for space/planets, etc. for a 'good book to read'.

I would appreciate your thoughts...


Keely Norton
Library Media Specialist
Scofield Magnet Middle School
203-977-2754
"Work hard. Be kind."
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