Everyone knows reading is important in school, but just how many books does a teacher need in their classroom library?
Although that answer varies, on average students read 3,600 minutes each month. That requires a lot of books! The problem is books are expensive. No matter how many books you may want or need for your class, you definitely cannot buy them all. So, if you’re working on building up your classroom library, here are some tips to stretch your budget and fill your bookcases!
Quick Links
Advertise
Request new or gently used books from your students in the school or class newsletter. Consider doing this towards the end of each school year. At that point, some of your students will have outgrown the books that they own and parents may already be planning to get rid of some to make room for new books.
Partnerships
Talk to your local bookstore or Half Price Books to see if they would be willing to set up a box for donations at their store (you could even provide a list of titles). You could also approach your local library to see if they would be willing to put out the word for your school or classroom.
Scholastic Monthly Deals
Each month Scholastic offers book deals (they also have some good deals if you are buying books in bulk!). You can also rack up points through your students if they purchase books using your classroom code. Then you can invest those points right back into your library.
Crowd Source
Set up an account with Donor’s Choose or Adopt a Classroom (check with your school first)… there are plenty of people who want to help you out, but they don’t know how to on their own. You could also mention your looking to add to your library on any social media accounts you have. Just be cautious about putting your own address out there (aside from friends and family of course). Consider asking for books to be sent to your school or central office building.
Library Sales
Public libraries often hold sales of used books that they have too many copies of (check with your library to see if they have any deals like “as many books as you can put in the tote for $10”).
Thrift Stores
You will often find books for just a quarter at Goodwill or similar thrift stores. If you’re going bargain hunting this way, take a few minutes to flip through the books before purchasing. Sometimes these books are marked down because the store has a lot of inventory – other times there are pages missing from the books.
Scholastic Warehouse Sales
Warehouse sales don’t happen very often in person, but when they do you can stock up on tons of books for just a fraction of the normal retail price. You can shop the website version of the sale and get 25% off the books here.
Kohl’s Cares
Each month Kohl’s swaps out their book selection near their checkout stations… you can grab a handful of hardcover books for just $5 and the adorable plush characters that go along with them. This is a great opportunity to build up your classroom library AND grab some adorable stuffed animals.
Retiring Teachers
Not every teacher that leaves the classroom will need their books in the future, see if you can buy their books. Often teachers will leave books (and other materials) in a central location of your school like the break room at the end of the year or during room prep at the beginning of the year too.
Garage Sales or Yard Sales
Nearly every garage sale will have at least one tub of books and they’re typically pretty cheap. These are usually great for adding to a kindergarten classroom library because little kids tend to have tons of books!
Book Drive
Hold a book drive as a school or a community.
What are some ways you’ve built up your classroom library?
Creation Castle
Heather is the author of Creation Castle. She has experience with general education, special education, and ESL students in kindergarten through fifth grade. She specializes in early elementary math and literacy, as well as organization.
