Day 12

Book orders are hard work!  You would think spending $5000 on new books would be so easy, but that is not the case.  I learned today that our district has a policy requiring us to consider book reviews before ordering materials for the library.  Having ordered from a variety of book companies myself, I was curious to learn my mentor's perspective on this topic.  The first thing she showed me was School Library Journal.  Here we found recommendations for top books of the year. This was a great starting place.  Another source she suggested was ALA's award lists.  Next, she showed me a great feature that Follett offers through Titlewise...they have reviews collected within the program for titles they sell.  They also show you titles already in your collection.  This was so helpful as I chose new titles!  Another concern I have is ordering books that will last...strong covers and bindings.  My mentor was able to give her opinion and share her experiences with this issue.  Today was a great learning day, and I will definitely be able to use these new strategies right away.