Library Points - Rewarding the Readers

Library Points - Rewarding the Readers

Kendriya Vidyalaya Dholchera

Library Points - Rewarding the Readers

Reading has cognitive consequences that extend beyond the general notion of an extra-curricular activity. Accumulated over time, the reading habit of students has profound implications for the development of a wide range of cognitive capabilities. Reading is not only essential for academic growth, but is also required for intellectual growth. So developing reading skills in children cannot be just conceived as a scholastic activity, it is a life-long process.

The School Library is the central focus in the teaching and learning process. It is essential for the student to learn and master information acquisition skills so that the capability for self-learning can be developed in the child, making him a life-long learner. Cultivation of individual and collective habits of reading is essential for the intellectual growth of the child.

A system of awarding Library Points to reward the readers for their reading and library related activities will be introduced from Feb, 2022 as the first step towards motivating the students to read.

The library points were awarded to the students for their library usage and library behavior. To ensure the transparency of the library point system, the points awarded to the students were made available on library website where anyone can search the library points secured by the students. The students were also able to point out any errors and omissions in the library points awarded.

Library points were given to the students in the following ways.

Objectives

· To develop reading skills

· To ensure maximum utilisation of library resources

· To nurture the students to life long readers

· To enhance ICT skills and to encourage creative writing

· To develop 21st Century skills

· To create a reading friendly environment in the school

Issue of Books

The students will be given 2 library points for every book they borrow from the library. In order to encourage returning of books in time, negative point is also introduced. Every late return results in 1 point to be deducted.

Book Reviews and Library Notes

The students are encouraged to write book reviews and to maintain notes on what they have read in the library. For every book review 2 points were awarded and similarly for library notes 1 point is given to the students. Posting the book reviews online will also help to get 1 bonus point.

Library Competitions and Activities

The lack of interest from the students to participate in the library or book related contests and competitions organized by the Vidyalaya revealed their disinterest in the routine competitions like literary quiz, book review competition and various other regular activities. So we have devised innovative competitions for our students to encourage more participation in the competitions.

School Reading Together

Class of Readers Award The School Reading Together will be organised in the school where in all the staff and students are encouraged to spent one hour reading a book. This is to create a reading friendly environment in the Vidyalaya and to motivate the reluctance students to reading.

Library Treasure Hunt

Library Treasure Hunt aims to:

· Familiarize the students with the library resources

· Create awareness on various types of reference sources and how to refer them

· Enabling them to search the library catalogue

· Awareness about the authors, publishers and editions of books

· Fact finding skills

Library statistics

In the Library Treasure Hunt, a set of ready reference questions will be posted on the library notice board and library website for which the students have find answers from the best suitable reference source. Each correct answer will be given 1 mark and an additional two points will be given to the correct answer taken from the appropriate reference source with the correct reference format.

Get Caught Reading

Get Caught Reading will be introduced during the National Library Week celebration (14-20 November 2011) as a new method to get the students to make use of their free time in the school effectively. The who were get caught reading a book inside or outside their classroom during their free time (like lunch break) were photographed and they were rewarded in the assembly. Library points were also awarded to the students.

User of the Month

Every month a student was selected as the best user based on the library points he/she secured during the month concerned. The user of the month was announced every month in the morning assembly. The photographs of the winners were also published on the library website. These have helped in motivating the students in effectively utilizing the library resources, making the task of selecting the best user difficult for us.

Outstanding Reader of the Year and Appreciation Certificate to the Class

Every session the classes that secure more than 1000 library points will be selected as the Class of Readers and an attractive big certificate is awarded in the morning assembly. Similarly weekly appreciation certificates are given to the selected class for best library usage and behaviour to encourage proper utilization of the library resources.

Book Reviews and Readers Club Blog

A blog will be hosted very soon to provide the students a platform for sharing their reading experiences. It was seen that only a handful of students submitted their book reviews to the library or to the language teachers. This attitude prompted me to have a blog for the students and to reward them with library points for every review submitted in the library. Bonus points were awarded to the students those who have published the reviews online so as to encourage them to explore the possibilities of ICT and have helped them in making use of blogs as a platform for interaction and creative writing.

Library Celebrations and Book Exhibitions

The Vidyalaya library celebrates World Book Day (April 23), Book Week (August), International School Library Month (October), National Library Week and other important Book Exhibitions from the leading book publishers and sellers will be organized during these celebrations.. Besides this, topical exhibitions were organized with the available resources in the library during the Gandhi Jayanti, World Environment Day, Swami Vivekananda’s Birth Anniversary, Premchand Divas etc.

Donate a Book

The Gift a Book on Your Birthday will be introduced this year and the students were rewarded with library points for making book donations to the library. The name of students along with the book donated was posted on the website.