Our library’s most popular resources in 2020
What library resources are popular with which classes? How can we use that information?
General topic of interest
Initially, I had trouble setting the scope of my research. My main interest is formative reading. I wanted to know how the books that our students are reading now will shape their future selves, particularly their academic and professional achievement… but I was biting off more than I could chew. With Damian's guidance, I decided to find a more manageable, actionable research question for this piece of research.
Participants
For this research, it was not necessary to interview anyone or ask anyone to answer a questionnaire. I relied on our library circulation log for data.
Data collecting approach
I used the library’s management system software (Follett) to generate a report of 2020’s fifty most frequently borrowed books , then I looked into who had borrowed what books.
Data collecting example
The system has a feature that lists the top fifty books over a given period of time. I then checked each book’s history to see who had borrowed it.
Most of the loans were graded readers borrowed by lower-schoolers.
Emerging results
The vast majority of those 50 books were borrowed for students in the first grades of lower school, often by their teachers.
Most were graded readers used for the guided reading program, so they were mostly not freely chosen by the student.
These readers are part of a guided reading program.
Reflections
It is only natural that the first grades of lower school will borrow more books because their books are short and meant to be read quickly, and because they are under closer supervision of their teachers. However, our library’s collection is designed to contemplate the literary interests of the students in higher grades too and may have been underused.
Our library has something exciting for every one of our students.
Next steps
Show the students in higher grades what our library’s collection has to offer them.
Facilitate circulation even further.
Encourage students to choose books spontaneously, in addition to their required reading.
