Tried It Tuesday (library checkout!)

Happy Tuesday!  I am super excited to share with you a new checkout system for my classroom library for today's Tried It Tuesday!

If you are new to Tried It Tuesday, read more about it here.

My Tried It:

Classroom Booksource! 

I don't know about you, but I am a little protective of my classroom library.  I love buying books from garage sales, ebay, getting donations from students, and ordering books from Scholastic with bonus points.  However, once I get the books, I can get really (I mean, REALLY) annoyed when a "popular book" goes missing!  It happened with the Hunger Games series this year.  I introduced the books to our library and wouldn't you know they were gone and one wasn't returned for over a month.  That was when I used the "honor system".  Yeah right.  We all have those students that the honor system doesn't work for.  They want the most coveted books from the library and then don't read them.  They end up lost at home or in some messy locker or desk.  Ugh!
Then, I started my library system inspired by this post at All Things Upper Elementary by The Peanut Gallery.

I now have two librarians and students must have one of the librarians mark their card when checking out books.  See the post here for more about my classroom jobs.  When students return books, they place it in the return basket with their index card and the librarians check off on the card that it is returned when they have time.

It really has been working great but I was on the lookout for a digital system where students didn't have to take their cards out of the index card box every time they return a book.  I also can't easily tell who has a particular book out without looking through the cards (this can be time consuming with having 40 students with access to my library!

My solution was to test out Classroom Booksource!  The students and I have been working like crazy to get about 600 books from my classroom library scanned into Classroom Booksource!

What is Classroom Booksource? It is a FREE web-based program that allows users to maintain and inventory books and ebooks in their classroom library!  

You can use it to scan titles from your library using the ISBN number (I use the iPad app but a smart phone would work too)!  

Student rosters can be imported easily or you can type in the name of your students by hand and it enables each student to be able to check out, read, and return books using a scanning system.  Here is a picture of a student scanning a book using the class iPad.

  

You can even run assessment reports on student and title activity (I haven't tried that yet).

When students want to check out a book, they select their name from the class list that the teacher set up and then scan the ISBN with the iPad or smart phone.  If there is no barcode, the name can be entered by typing in the title to search it.  Here is a snapshot of the student page on the computer to check in or return books.

On the computer, students can be prompted to type in their password to check out books or this option can be disabled. (I set the passwords myself to match their AR passwords).  

When using the iPad app, I noticed that students didn't get prompted for a password even if I had that option checked in my classroom settings.  Here is a picture of one of my students selecting his name to check out a book.

Teachers can select from a number of options on the "Classroom Settings" page.  

You can customize:

1.  The number of books allowed to be checked out at a time by each student.

2.  The length of the checkout period.

3.  Option of prompting student for rating, condition, or review of book when returning.

4.  Students can be emailed an overdue notice.

5.  The book's location, genre, and condition can be tracked.

6.  The user can be prompted when adding a duplicate ISBN.

I am looking forward to having the books already scanned for next year so we can get started with this system right away.  I know many of you are already out for the year and may be reorganizing your library over the summer.  Students LOVE to scan books into the library, so I would suggest trying to find some volunteers that can help you out over the summer or save the majority of the job for the new school year when you have eager helpers and early finishers:)  Having a job like this is a great motivator for students!  Students can also quickly scan books to "add them to the library" before checking them out if they are not in the library yet.

We haven't had the system in place that long yet and I am excited and anxious to see if it runs smoothly.  I am still going to have classroom librarians that will check in and out books and manage the iPad.  I am afraid that if I don't have the librarians keep order during check out and return time, the students will be arguing and throwing around not sharing the iPad in an appropriate way or stealing taking books without signing them out:)  Time will tell if this method is successful for my classroom.  I would love to hear your thoughts about the method you use or your experience with Classroom Booksource.

Many readers and bloggers wanted to continue the linky WEEKLY over the summer!  Yay!!  It wasn't unanimous though (about a 75/25 split).
 I have worked out a little compromise:

Continue hosting WEEKLY FOR JUNE.
Host JULY ONLY ONCE on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month (July 9th)...

"TWOSDAY"...get it? :)
Go back to hosting WEEKLY IN AUGUST.

So, update your blogging calendar!  I don't have one of those yet but I think I need to start one soon:)  Of course, as always, you can link up ANYTHING you have tried (NEW or OLD) and it can be classroom or home related!  I love reading about them all and have learned so much.  I will need the summer to sort through all the new pins:)  Thank you again for your bloggy love, whether it is by reading, commenting, or linking up!!

I am also sharing some bloggy love and linking up this post with Chelsea from Flip-Floppin' Through 3rd Grade's new linky, Take-Away Tuesday.

If your Tried-It Tuesday fits Chelsea's theme, link up to both parties!  I know I try to link up as much as I can with blogging friends.  No one wants to join a party alone:)

Her is a summary of Chelsea's linky:

Every week of June and July I will be hosting Take-away Tuesday.  The purpose for this link up is to share your great tips, activities, organization, or summer planning ideas for Back to School 2013.  If you are like me, summer break is GLORIOUS, but you are already planning, purchasing, and creating for the next school year.  What better way to get new inspiration from others, while sharing your tried and true methods for a successful start to a new school year.