How to Organize Your Classroom Library

I get asked all the time how to organize a classroom library! Honestly, this part was really fun for me when I was in the classroom. Granted, my library was not always clean and pristine. Actually, you’d often find misplaced books and a bit of a mess, but there was a system in place. So, I could easily put things back in order with the help of a student or two.

I want to share a few ways you can organize your classroom library. However, if you’re still on the fence about having a classroom library or overwhelmed at the idea of finding all of the books, you should check out those blog posts.

Why Organization is Important

Before we chat about how to organize, let’s discuss why you should organize your classroom library. Simply put, having an organized classroom library makes life so much easier for both you and your students. 

When things are organized, students can easily find books, and they’re able to put things away without assistance, which will control the mess over time. You’ll need to frontload the work of organizing your library at first, but then students will be able to maintain the systems you put in place, and you’ll just have to do an occasional cleanup. You can even have students help with the cleanup by assigning it as a classroom job or an early-finisher task.

An organized classroom library also helps you keep track of what books you have, and even allows you to monitor trends of what your students are enjoying or what is less interesting to them. When you can physically see those trends, you can make a plan for which genres or collections you want to grow.  

How to Organize Your Classroom Library

#1 Find an Organizational Structure 

When you organize your classroom library, pick a system you will use – and stick with it. I organized my books alphabetically by author’s last name using Lessons with Laughter’s book spines. Not only are they bright and colorful, but they make it super easy to organize when things get messy. Plus, once I had this in place, it was incredibly simple to add new books to my classroom library. 

You may also have some books that you separate. For instance, I separated my graphic novels and had them in a standalone section. I also keep book club books separate because I don’t want these to get lost.

#2 Return Cart

Having a return cart was one of my favorite ways to save time. When students finished a book, they just placed it on the cart, and the check-in process was done. Simple and easy! This may not seem like a great way to organize your classroom library because it can be a bit messy when books pile up, but it keeps students from throwing a book back on the shelf (‘cause they will!).

Once books were returned to the return cart, I would put them away when I had an extra moment in class or have a student help out. This is a great task for a student who needs a little bit of extra responsibility or a break from reading.

#3 Genre Posters 

I always get questions about my genre posts, so let’s talk about them! Genre posters are a super helpful way for students to choose their next book or explore new genres. 

The best part is that you can customize the posters. I liked to add books that we’ve read together on the poster or books that were in my library. Students can then use the examples on the posters to pick out their next book.

You can get the editable genre posters, and customize them to your classroom. Or you can use the general books I placed on the posters.

#4 Check-out System 

This check-out system doesn’t need to be fancy at all. You can use Booksource or a Google Doc with QR codes, but having some system in place will help you organize your classroom library.

I get asked all the time, “What about missing books at the end of the year?!” My opinion on this may be unpopular, but a few missing books doesn’t bother me too much. I bought cheap books for my library, so a missing book isn’t a lot of missing money for me. I also tried to think through the lens of positivity here. Perhaps a missing book means the kid took it home, read it, and loved it. If a few missing books from my classroom library means a few more students excited about reading, I’m really not going to sweat it too much.

#5 Keep Book Club Sets Separate

If I was relying on having a certain number of books in a set for a book club, I made sure to keep those apart. Book clubs don’t lend themselves well to book sharing, so I knew to keep those sets in a different area of my classroom, so I could easily find them when students were starting a new book club. 

If you don’t want to single them out from your library, you can add these books to your check-out system to keep track of them, since they’re a bit more important to get back.

I hope these tips help you organize your classroom library! Putting a little bit of extra effort in at the beginning will make for much smoother sailing throughout each school year. And remember – if things get chaotic or messy, those same systems will help you bring order back to your library again.