I love this list! I got SOOO many helpful responses, I'll just
summarize briefly.
People suggested using 2X4's (get odds and ends from the local lumber
yard for free!), molding, tension curtain rods, bankers boxes, old
card catalog boxes, empty video boxes, empty napkin boxes or empty
tissue boxes to place behind the books to keep them from being pushed
back to the back of the shelves. (I am going to try the tissue
boxes, they seem to be the right size!) The boxes laminating film
comes in were also suggested, and I noticed that our laser printers
toner cartridge boxes might also work (they are a little wide for my
shelves, about 5 1/2 inches, but those of you that have those 13"
deep shelves might be able to use them!)
I got one person who said they didn't front the books at all, just
pushed them to the back of the shelf.
One really clever suggestion was to use the mini-shelves you get for
your deep pantry shelves to make 'double shelves' if your shelves
are tall enough. (Thanks Toni!)
Another suggestion was to put cork, rubber backed place mats, stair
tread tape or a piece of non-slip carpet backing on the bottom of the
plastic book ends to keep them from slipping so much. (I bought a
roll of cork from Office Depot for about $12 with our school
discount) I also just noticed you can actually order the plastic
ones WITH a cork backing already on them, but not the particular
models I bought from Gaylord...
I also discovered that Gaylord sells some varieties of tape that are
supposed to prevent book slippage on shelving carts or other surfaces.
There were a couple of responses I had to include verbatim. Some of
the explanations are really fun!
"Isn't that what librarians do all day? Go around and make sure all
of the books are lined up on the edge of the shelves? : ) Seriously,
that's where I like my books to be but it's hard to keep them that
way. We were especially having a hard time with our fiction books
because we intershelve the paperbacks with the hardcovers and they
were always falling off the shelf or disappearing in the back behind
other books. I bought some storage boxes at our local Michael's
store. When laid on their side, they are tall enough to hold
paperback books. I put them in in the areas where we had lots of
paperback books, usually series like Junie B. Jones. Then I made
triangles of cardboard that fit behind them so the boxes stay toward
the front. That has worked pretty well for us. I've seen some
libraries that put Contact paper around Kleenex boxes and put those
behind the books so they can't get pushed in."
"I tell the little ones that the books are on the shelves in
families, when they are not in their space, they are lost and missing
their families. How would they feel if they could not find their
families?
It helps sometimes, but not always!"
Something I didn't know: it's actually 'healthier' for the books
because it keeps the air circulating around them and in high humidity
areas keeps them from getting mildew! (Thanks Terry! You took care of
my something 'learning something new' for today!)
Since I'm in the high desert, it's not an issue for me, but I think
I'm going to do it for the aesthetic reasons!
This is my favorite: Two reasons to give the kids for why books need
to be at the front of the shelf. They need oxygen (if you push them
to the back, they can't breathe and then you have to 'rescue' them!)
OR the books are afraid of the dark! (I laughed out loud! I love this
list!)
Thanks so much, you are all WONDERFUL!
Lizanell Boman
North Star Academy
Library Media Specialist
lboman@north-staracademy.com
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