Extreme Makeover: Library Edition

Tomorrow I finish my 23rd year teaching, all 3rd grade too!  I started building my classroom library my first year.  At that time there were several book order companies, and I would purchase from all of them.  I kept my library in alphabetical order by author.  I will admit, overwhelming to maintain!  Our site also purchased subscriptions to Reading A-Z and I printed many leveled books.  Several years ago our Reading Specialist (now 1st grade teacher) let me borrow the following book:

A challenge for me was it leveled by Fountas & Pinnell's system and Reading A-Z was another system.

So, I combined the two, Fountas & Pinnell in the parenthesis, A-Z to the left.  I just labeled the inside of the back cover:

I was able to find the levels of about 1/5 of my books.  I put them in a variety of different kinds and colors of baskets.  Then two years ago I began pulling out all of my nonfiction and keeping them separate.  I used sticky dots to classify...

Then I saw wonderful labels on one of my favorite blogs Ladybug's Teacher Files (http://ladybugsteacherfiles.blogspot.com/2011/03/leveled-bin-and-book-labels-letters-to.html) and was inspired...but what pushed me over the edge was one of my favorite places...

where I spotted these a couple of weeks ago...

It was ON!  I decided to go with Fountas & Pinnell only so....

The relabeling began. I decided to use green baskets for the books I had previously leveled or could level, now checking all of my titles in Book Wizard by Scholastic! I choose red for my nonfiction, blue for those that I didn't have levels for, and yellow for magazines. (I've bought out all of there green for now, so leveled is currently green and yellow).

After hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, and packing tape, and packing tape, and packing tape...here's the transformation...(just image what the before might have looked like)

bottom row on left are non leveled books

Thanks to Avery, I'm making these dividers within levels to highlight chapter books and soon favorite authors!
(that just cardboard cut down..I always save them from paper packs!)

red nonfiction, blue teacher books, yellow magazines

top shelf general non fiction

1st red shelf marine life, animals bottom shelf weather & natural disasters, biographies, space
I also wanted my magazines organized (we had several subscriptions donated this year)

2 81/2 x 11 cardboard sheets taped together

A GREAT BIG THANKS to all of the wonderful teachers who have shared their book bin/basket labels!!!

Ladybug's Teacher Files

(http://ladybugsteacherfiles.blogspot.com/2011/03/leveled-bin-and-book-labels-letters-to.html)

Mrs. Jump's Class

(http://mrsjumpsclass.blogspot.com/2011/05/oceans-of-fun.html)

Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons

(http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-bin-labels-finished.html)

Beth Newingham

(http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/)

Oh, and I'm even trying to 'declutter' (I'm unfortunately :( the 'queen of clutter!)  These were in my library and tomorrow (LAST DAY!!!) students can 'buy' them with my reward currency!