At our middle school, I find emailing the student and BCCing the family helps gets the books in. I schedule them to be sent in the afternoon with the hopes as soon as the parent sees the email, the hunt begins and it makes it into the backpack. I also find that including the Amazon link to replace the missing book helps kick them into gear. Here is an example email below....

Hi Fiona,
Here are the three overdue/ potentially lost books that we've talked about several times. 
Please give one last look around for the books at home and at school- if you are unable to find them, please purchase replacement books.
These are popular books so we want to get them back on the shelves for other students to enjoy.
I have attached the Amazon links here for your convenience- you can either have them sent directly to school or sent to your home and then bring them in!
https://www.amazon.com/Sun is Also a Star Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/When We Collided Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Tree Paperback
Thank you!

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: Helping kid remember to return their books
      (Martha Wright)
   2. Re: Helping kid remember to return their books (Kristen Frost)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Martha Wright <marthawright@gmail.com>
To: Jenny Lussier <jlussier@rsd13.org>
Cc: "Hsiang, Sara" <hsiangs@stratk12.org>, CASL-L@mylist.net
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:03:45 -0500
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] [EXTERNAL] Re: Helping kid remember to return their books
Thank you everyone, for all the wonderful ideas!  Very helpful as we try to address this issue here.

Read on,
Martha

On Tue, Jan 17, 2023 at 10:36 AM Jenny Lussier <jlussier@rsd13.org> wrote:
Hi all - the other thing I do is to message their parents. We use ParentSquare and since for me there are only a few that really are behind, it is pretty easy to just message them. All the parents use ParentSquare and they respond very quickly. But I know that may be hard at the MS/HS levels.

Jenny

On Tue, Jan 17, 2023 at 9:53 AM Hsiang, Sara <hsiangs@stratk12.org> wrote:
My high school students cannot purchase Jr. Ring Dance, Prom, Senior Picnic, or Graduation caps and gowns until all obligations are cleared. I let 9th graders know (and continue to pass this on) to urge students to avoid overdue fees. They were told something similar in middle school but it was a ploy that never went into effect. LOL
If you don't have overdue fees, you don't have that leverage (I waive most fees these days, BTW).
Of course, it take approval of administration for this sort of policy. Luckily, it was in place when I arrived years ago.
Sara

On Tue, Jan 17, 2023 at 9:22 AM Martha Wright <marthawright@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello CASL colleagues,

I've been following this thread with interest and wanted to add that I work in a high school and am finding this a challenge.  This is my first year here--this library has not been operational for the past few years.  Although many students have been checking out materials (to my delight), they don't seem to prioritize bringing them back.  One student I chased down (because someone else wanted her book that was overdue) told me that it was just sitting next to her bed at home and that she had never read it.  I was like, well bring it back then!!!  I don't have the time or energy to do this with everybody.  

In addition to stuff that's been checked out this year, we also have a lot of materials that have been out for several years, pre-dating my time here.  For these long-term overdues, we just sent letters home and hope that we get some back that way.  Will plan to continue doing this every other month until the end of school.

Any words of wisdom for the 9-12 crowd?

With thanks,
Martha Wright
Killingly HS



On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 8:00 AM CASL Vice President - Jenny Lussier <vicepresident@ctcasl.org> wrote:
Good morning all - those are great suggestions! 
At my PreK-2 school I don't have so many issues, but when we are talking about how to take care of library books at the beginning of the year, one of the ideas that the kids usually make is to keep their book in their backpack. That way it's always with them. This is especially helpful for kids that go to more than 1 house. 

I also have a slip I send home with kids who have forgotten their books. I copy it on colorful paper. Thank you to Wendy Garland of Massachusetts for sharing this idea. 

Jenny

On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 5:46 AM Fredricksen, Wendy <wfredricksen@wallingfordschools.org> wrote:
At my grades 3 - 5 school, we tape a paper date due slip onto the inside back cover of each book when we purchase it (you could start this by taping one in each book when a student checks it out).  At the beginning of the year, during our library student orientation lesson, we teach our new/incoming students the check out process.  During that time, we teach them how to stamp the due date onto that slip after we check them out.  We have 3 stamping setups on our circulation counter, each with a stamp pad and date stamp so that multiple students can stamp simultaneously to save time.  Students really enjoy stamping their books, and the slip is a visual reminder for them of the due date.  As a bonus, having the date due slip in each book also makes weeding easier, as we can quickly look to see the last time that book was checked out.

On Mon, Jan 9, 2023 at 9:34 PM Aimee Guerrero <guerrero.obrien@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Michelle,

At my old school, all the books had "pockets" at the back. I created my own "date due slips" that would fit in these book pockets. My older student volunteers loved to have the job of stamping new due date slips each day. They would cross out the old due date and stamp the new one for all the classes for that day.

I'm at a new school whose books do not have these pockets, and I also could use a suggestion for a new system. Right now I have a book checkout calendar on my door and I also put an announcement about the next book check out dates in the principal's weekly bulletin for teachers to remind their students.

Thanks for putting this question out there!
Best regards,
Aimee 



On Mon, Jan 9, 2023 at 11:42 AM Michelle Farella <michelle.farella@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
My kids are having a hard time remembering to bring in their books lately so I wanted to go over strategies to remind them.
What are your suggestions that seem to help them?
Thank you!
-Michelle
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kristen Frost <kfrost@sbsenfield.org>
To: Michelle Farella <michelle.farella@gmail.com>
Cc: CASL-L@mylist.net
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:06:35 -0500
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Helping kid remember to return their books
Just chiming in to this thread. In addition to some of the other aforementioned ways of getting overdues back (emails, reminder notes home, etc.), one thing I've tried in desperation that seems to work (note: I am at the elementary/middle school level) is printable wristbands. You can buy them for inkjet printers and print out a generic message on them (i.e. "Remember to bring your book back!") or take a sharpie and write the book title on a wristband and then just put in on your student's wrist/backpack as a reminder. Sort of like an updated "tie a string around your finger" reminder from days of old. 

Not sure if this is something you'd like to try or not, but I use it sparingly (and only in desperation) and it often brings results. (Photo attached)


 IMG_8113.jpg


Kristen Frost
St. Bernard School, Enfield

On Mon, Jan 9, 2023 at 11:42 AM Michelle Farella <michelle.farella@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
My kids are having a hard time remembering to bring in their books lately so I wanted to go over strategies to remind them.
What are your suggestions that seem to help them?
Thank you!
-Michelle
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Library Media Specialist
Helen Keller Middle School Media Center
Instagram: @hkmsmediacenter

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