Summary
Currently, the ALA website discourages libraries from shelving books by grade level; I wholeheartedly agree, as ambitious young readers should be encouraged to challenge themselves. [...] the organizational system described in this article does not physically shelve materials by grade level; rather, it incorporates beginning books at various "reading levels" and places these materials on the same shelf, allowing library users both young and old to browse at their leisure. [...] it is important to remember that this is an imperfect system, meant to act as a guide for library patrons.
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Extract
Developing Content Collections
The Slater Public Library, of which I am director, serves a central Iowa community of approximately 2,000 people. This town, like many Iowa towns, is but a small boat, thrashed in winter by icy winds. But in summer, it is surrounded on all sides by a sea of green fields. Though the country landscape is idyllic to many, the residents of Slater and the surrounding area share many concerns with the metropolitan. These concerns include the desire of parents, teachers, and librarians to locate reading materials that are appropriate to the varying reading levels of beginning readers.
It seems, at times, that a frantic race persists to ensure that a child, in the crucial learning stages of early elementary education, acquires the appropri...See the full content of this document
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