🎉A Year of Library Growth!

As the school year draws to a close, we're thrilled to celebrate some fantastic milestones here in the library! This year has seen a wonderful surge in engagement with the collection and the space. We've been buzzing with students checking out more books than ever before – our circulation numbers have shown a significant jump over last year with 41.9% more circulations! It's been inspiring to see so many of you diving into new stories and exploring the wealth of knowledge the collection holds.

Beyond students' increased interest in borrowing books, the library has become an even more integral part of classroom learning. We've welcomed a record number of class visits this year, hosting engaging lessons, collaborative projects, and research sessions across various subjects. Nearly 350 class periods saw full or partial classes of students in the library this year! The energy and curiosity students bring during these times truly make the library the vibrant heart of our school.

Thank you for making this such a successful year for the library! We can't wait to see what amazing things we'll discover together next year!

📋📚 Top 10 Titles

Now that we've wrapped up Semester 1, here's a look at the Top 10 titles based on circulation numbers. With the addition of a "Throwback Reads" section in the library, several old favorites, like titles from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Space Case, make an appearance. Also on this semester's list are popular authors with new releases, as well as YA literature debut authors. Take a look!

📚✨ Quarter 2 by the Numbers: A Look at Our Library Stats

The second quarter was a busy and exciting time for the library! The infographic below highlights some of the happenings and key stats:

• New Books: Our collection grew with 133 new titles, featuring a mix of fresh fiction, nonfiction, and highly requested reads.
• Advisory Sessions: More than 20 sessions--both library related and led by Student Services--brought students into the library for engaging activities, from book talks and hands-on projects to college visits.
• Class Visits: A large increase in class visits this quarter meant 94 times classes were in the library. These opportunities allowed students to explore the library, expand their learning and research skills, and discover great books.
• Circulation: With more than 1200 books checked out, it’s clear our students are staying connected with reading!

These numbers reflect the vibrant role the library plays in supporting students and staff! We're excited about Quarter 3 and are eager to see everyone after the semester break!

🗓🌟 Quarter 1 Library Statistics

As the first quarter wraps up, it's time to look at library statistics and to share some incredible highlights! This quarter, print and electronic circulation numbers soared, reflecting a fantastic increase in reading. Numerous classes visited the library, creating a vibrant space for learning, collaboration, and exploration. Additionally, literacy activities during advisory have been a hit, giving students fun and engaging ways to dive into reading and boost their literacy skills. It's great to see the energy and enthusiasm from students and teachers so far. Here's to an even more successful second quarter--let's build on this momentum!

🎊 📚 Celebrating Literacy and Learning in the Library

Our year-end infographic, showcasing the literacy activities, classes, and collection development, highlights the various programs and resources offered to support and inspire students' love for reading and lifelong learning.

From tailored collection development tasks to research skills classes and interactive AO sessions, the library was a hub of activity enriching students' school experience. The diverse collection spans a wide range of genres and subjects, ensuring that every student can find something that captivates their interest.

Take a look the infographic and discover how the library is making a difference in promoting literacy and learning. Whether you're a student, teacher, or parent, there's something here for everyone. Join us in celebrating the vibrant community of readers and learners at our school!

🙌🎊 CelebratingTerm 2

As we reflect on the recently concluded term, we are thrilled to highlight some library statistics that showcase the tremendous success and impact of the high school library. The term has seen growth, exploration, and community-building within the library space.

Between class visits and advisory offerings, student engagement with the collection has increased, and the diverse collection continues to inspire curiosity and learning.

🙌 Term 1 Library Statistics

With the first term behind us, there is much to celebrate in the library!

Term 1 statistics show a lot of reading and library use--it's great to see so many checked out books and library visits!

Top Ten Books

It's that time of year when we look back at the most checked-out books from the entire school year! Here they are!

What a great representation of students' interests and reading habits! New releases and old favorites? Yep! A variety of genres and formats, along with both fiction and nonfiction titles? Sure! Stand alones and series books? Yes! Screen adaptations? Of course! A celebration of readers and reading, for sure!

👏👏 Celebrating Collection Development & Improvement

 After a two years of deliberate weeding and intentional purchasing, the nonfiction part of the collection is something to celebrate!

In just one year's time, the average copyright age has improved by four years, and the nonfiction books are now nearly 20% of the entire collection vs. 15% in August of this school year. 

Upon moving to the high school a year ago, it was evident that the nonfiction collection had been neglected. Years ago--under different building leadership--the nonfiction collection was significantly impacted by decisions related to a library remodel. It's taken more than five years to recover to this point, so while the current stats might be paltry by some standards, they're pretty impressive considering where we started. 

So how did this happen? Small steps with focus! Because of the popularity of graphic novels, that was the focus area last year. Using grant money and a portion of the budget, including using a subscription to graphic novels from a vendor, the graphic novel shelves began to fill and appeal more broadly to students. Gone were the older graphic novels and those that primarily appealed to younger readers; instead, students could choose current, full color, popular titles. Here's how the case looks now:

And this year? After hearing from students about what they were interested in, the nonfiction collection grew in these areas: biographies, true crime, poetry, and history. Many of the true crime and history purchases also fell under the "narrative nonfiction" umbrella, like Blood and Germs, and American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South, as well books by Erik Larson and others. Another focus area this year was agriculture-themed books. After receiving a grant from the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation (see earlier blog post), these 12 books also helped bolster our growing nonfiction collection and were popular among a broad range of students.

With measurable improvement so prominent in the nonfiction collection, it's inspiring to think of where the collection can be in another year's time! 

Top 10 Titles in 2022

It's time to get on the year-end bandwagon of Top 10 lists. :) Here are the 10 most checked-out titles from all of 2022:

Several of the titles continue to be popular even with earlier publication dates--word of mouth is a powerful force when it comes to books circulating often. Movie tie-ins and streaming service adaptations certainly help, too! You'll find fiction and nonfiction on the list, along with series and stand-alone books, as well as graphic novels. Likely you've heard of several, if not read them yourself!

Looking to create your own lists or year-end stats to share? This one was created from a template on Canva, where you can find all kinds of templates for your needs.

Term 1 Statistics

Our term ended today, so it's time for some quick statistics about our first nine weeks of school! Thanks to Canva, it's easy to create colorful, detailed posters--like this one that highlights some of the things going on in the library since August:

Here's to the second term! More good things to come!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Checkout Edition

With the start of the new semester, several reading and English classes have visited the library recently to return, renew, and check out books. Overall, 22 groups in seven days' time have stopped in, and a total of 364 titles were checked out!

Here's the breakdown of nonfiction books checked out:

With almost 15% of the titles as nonfiction, that left the remaining 85% fiction titles. As expected, students checked out many popular authors, like these:

Other popular authors included Courtney Summers, Marie Lu, Elizabeth Acevedo, Becky Albertalli, John Green, and Carl Deuker.

Fall Library Stats

 Now that we're several weeks into the school year--more than half-way through the semester!--it's time to take a look at some library-related stats. Thanks to Canva for making it so easy to create beautiful infographics! Take a look: