HCPSSOakland Mills MS Project Empowers Students to Shape Library Book Collection
January 25th, 2022
Six years ago, Oakland Mills Middle School (OMMS) library media specialist Jennifer Hamilton was approached by an English teacher looking for ways to get her students more interested in reading. Hamilton’s suggestion: let students buy the books they want to read.
Hamilton’s idea was well received. Three English classes were allotted $100 each to purchase books for the OMMS media center. But before they could make any purchases, they had to participate in a week-long lesson on the standards and approval process for acquiring books in Howard County.
“Essentially, I wanted to teach the students to think like a media specialist. I wanted them to understand that buying books for schools isn’t like buying books for home. School books must undergo a rigorous approval process that includes reviews by certified educators and sign-off from HCPSS’ Coordinator of Library Media.”
Hamilton also required that her students come to consensus about which books to buy.
“They couldn’t just pick whatever books they wanted; they had to discuss the choices and agree that the final selections were what our community needed.”
Since that first year, Hamilton has significantly expanded the scope of what she calls “the book buy project.” The project, which now spans multiple weeks and different content areas, begins with a review and translation of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights into easy-to-understand language. During this phase of the project, students discuss such topics as censorship and the role of personal beliefs and opinions in selecting books for the school community.
Next, students evaluate the contents of the library’s existing collection and identify topics that are underrepresented. They also compare the existing collection against the demographics of the school community and graph their findings.
“By graphing and analyzing this data, students can see where the gaps lie in our collection and make informed recommendations about the types of books we need to fill in those gaps,” explains Hamilton.
In the process, students also have the opportunity to apply the lessons they are learning in school to “real life,” says OMMS math teacher Jennifer Marker, who developed the data analysis lessons that are built into the book buy project.
“This project moves the topics they learn in math class from theoretical to a tangible experience,” she says.
In the next phase of the project, students read book review journals and use the online library catalog to identify specific books that they recommend for purchase. As part of that process, they also have to develop a slide articulating to their peers why they feel those books must be included in the final book buy. Students then vote on which books should be presented to Melissa Daggett, HCPSS’s Coordinator of Library Media, for final approval. Once the books arrive, they unpack and help catalog the books that ultimately get purchased.
“The students essentially go through the entire library media book buying process, from start to finish,” says Hamilton.
While understanding that process is a key part of the project, the sense of investment and ownership that students gain from participating in the process is equally important, Hamilton says.
“Giving students a voice in this space is hugely valuable. It gives them a personal – and lasting – connection to the books that are on our shelves. For some students, that can spark an interest in reading that hadn’t existed before.”
The book buy project “gives us books that we chose and that we want to read,” adds Matthew Clark, who participated in this year’s book buy.
The book buy project also teaches students to think about themselves as part of a broader community, says OMMS seventh grade English Language Arts teacher Suzanne Meredith.
“The students had to do more than just choose books that they might personally like in the Media Center. They were challenged to decide what the entire school community needed in the Media Center.”
Megan Milholland, who also teaches seventh grade English at OMMS, agrees.
“My favorite thing about this project is seeing kids get excited about books and taking ownership in the selection process. I also love how they consider the needs of the school, not just themselves as individuals, when choosing and promoting which books they would like to see in their community media center.”
For several students, the best part of the project is the legacy it enables them to leave behind.
“It’s fun to know you pick books for kids to enjoy for years to come,” one student says.
As an added benefit, students who participate in the book buy project are able to earn service learning hours, helping them to meet service-learning graduation requirements.
This year, Hamilton is dedicating 50 percent of her media budget to the book buy project.
“I fully believe in the value of this project, and am excited to be able to invest more heavily in it this year.”